[00:00]
Kayla Henley you moved where
[00:02]
I moved to Orange in the Central West
[00:05]
of New South Wales.
[00:07]
Fantastic and before orange you were a born and bred country girl from Leighton, but straight
out of school. You took off the Wollongong and then lived over in Sydney where you stayed for a
bit of time did any of these places feel like home or was it always kind of transient for you?
[00:22]
Yeah. Yeah. It was definitely always transient. I I did love my time in both Wollongong and
Sydney, but was always looking to return somewhere Regional or rural even and what was your
childhood in Layton?
[00:37]
Like is that what sort of inspired you to aim to get back to the regions Layton is a town of
[00:43]
about 11,000 people and I just had the best childhood there it was.
[00:49]
Filled with um, just Community lots of sport. Everything was easy. Yeah. It was just a wonderful
place to grow up. I think that sense of community is probably the driving
[01:00]
force for wanting to return somewhere Regional so you grew up in and you had quite a you
know, small community experience there in Leighton and then you took off overseas. What was
your desire to go out of Australia and international?
[01:18]
Yeah, that was
[01:19]
Is oh, I would say I had to meet life crisis in my early when I wasn’t in midlife. I was studying at
Wollongong at the time and really wasn’t enjoying my course and just decided to go and take a
gap year and I deferred University for a year. And I think I was just looking for adventure
something new. I was a bit lost really as well. So think I was just really quite unhappy studying.
So I was like, let’s go overseas fresh perspective on life like seeks adventure and a chance to
kind of reassess what I wanted in my out of my life. I was 21 at the time and with you, where did
you go
[02:01]
specifically like did you have anywhere in mind because you were influenced by you know
something you’d read or watched or did you literally throw a dad at a board and be like, this is
where I’m gonna travel to and then off you went one way to get.
[02:14]
Yeah. It was the time where
[02:16]
I’m pre Instagram. So everyone had I can’t even think of them now those. Oh the Lonely Planet
guide. I bought a Lonely Planet guide and I booked I booked a top debt trip because that was
when it like they were really popular. That’s what I started with. I was like a 21 day top deck you
saw a ridiculous amount of countries for like one day each
[02:39]
And then from there I had planned to work in England and got a visa to do that as well. Yeah,
England I guess was the main destination
[02:48]
after the travel and how long were you there for until he came back to Sydney?
[02:53]
Yeah. It was just over 12 months. I decided to come back and finish nursing. So it was good. I
felt like I ultimately came 360 knowing that I wanted to come back and finish my degree. And so
you came back to finish your degree. And
[03:07]
then did you have another life event happened? Like, when did you meet your now husband
Charlie? And can you tell us a little bit about that story?
[03:15]
Yes, so, you know returned finished my degree worked for two years and then moved to
Sydney. I’d been living in Sydney for three years at that point and
[03:29]
Was very actively dating at the point in which I met Charlie. I had been on 56 First Dates up to
him. This is over a course of like quite a while. But yeah, I would say I was like, I was pursuing
dating almost like a job, but it was fun. I really enjoyed it was a great time and it gives some
context to then meeting Charlie. So I was talking to a friend and
[03:56]
Charlie was her colleague and he had a spare ticket to a ball and needed a date.
[04:01]
So she put us in touch. She showed me a photo of him on Facebook.
[04:06]
And I was like, oh, yeah, he’s okay.
[04:10]
Which isn’t fair he’s actually so he’s so handsome but I don’t know. I think at that point it took a
lot to probably maybe impress me. You become so, um desensitized, you know, just working
right on Tinder. Long story short Charlie sent me a text. Oh, sorry, my friend went to work the
next Monday and said to him that she found him a date.
[04:34]
So then Charlie sent me a message and asked me out for a drink. So we met up it was
completely blind. I guess you could say a blind date. If we were to have matched on Tinder. We
never would have come across each other because he’s young like there’s just a few things that
we wouldn’t have ever met. I think.
[04:52]
We don’t have a lot in common on the surface
[04:54]
and ultimately you start gold with Charlie because then guys ended up getting married. I believe
talk to me about what happened after that first blind date.
[05:05]
yes, so we met on that blind date and just completely hit it off, but I had low expectations
because
[05:14]
Sydney dating scene then. We went on a second third and then kind of from there. It just very
organically became a relationship which was wonderful.
[05:25]
Then we moved in together.
[05:28]
Interestingly Charlie never wanted to leave Sydney. It was always a bit of I would say a hurdle or
maybe that’s what I’m looking for. Like it was the thingy now relationship that we did discuss a
lot. I was very keen and from the start had always
[05:49]
Indicated to him that I wanted to move out of Sydney.
[05:54]
I just felt like the things I wanted in.
[05:59]
Life because I was working as a nurse and there was just no.
[06:04]
Foreseeable way that I was ever going to afford to buy property, especially in the Eastern
suburbs. I think just generally Sydney affordability was the big reason why I wanted to
[06:15]
To leave Sydney just so I could have a backyard and a dog.
[06:19]
So that was always a discussion. We were having and kind of never agreed on but always
agreed that we wanted to stay together it got to
[06:27]
Three years of being together and I kind of continued to express my desire to move out of
Sydney.
[06:33]
And Charlie had maintained that he wanted to stay. He was pursuing a corporate career and
was very passionate about that.
[06:42]
Really know what happened, but he kind of just I think slowly saw the appeal of moving out of
Sydney in the way that I did. So I’ve been telling him how I wanted a dog and a house with the
backyard.
[06:56]
And then a friend of his told him that a job with the government had become available in Orange
and that he should go for it. So Charlie interviewed for the job and was successful. So we had to
actually drive out to Orange because we both hadn’t been too Orange.
[07:16]
And so that was interesting that we now live in love this Regional town that we didn’t really know
much about at the time. And so
[07:23]
you guys jumped in the car headed out to Orange with like very little understanding about it and
how soon did it take for you to go? This is a great decision. We’re so glad we’re here.
[07:36]
Yeah, we came out for that we came out for that weekend to just see before he agreed and
accepted the position and I remember we walked around like great restaurants great coffee. We
went to a few wineries. There were some beautiful boutique stores. So I was like, well, there’s a
little bit of shopping here people were so friendly. So I feel like in that moment. We we were a
little bit excited. We’re like this. This could be really great. We obviously made the move. I
believe it was like a month later and pretty much from the get-go. We’ve just loved it. We’ve just
immersed ourselves in in the community Here Charlie plays rugby. So that was really helpful for
him to just immediately have a group of friends.
[08:19]
Who have a very similar interest and I’ve got it on good authority that you had your own strategy
for building a network similar to your Tinder approach or your multiple dates and like getting a
really good Knack of interviewing prospective husbands. I believe you applied the same
methodology to finding friends. Tell me about your ability to create a network on the ground in
Orange shortly after you arrived there.
[08:45]
Yes, so when we moved I I actually thought Charlie would be the one that would struggle to
make friends, but ultimately ended up being myself.
[08:56]
I’m much more outgoing and he’s more introverted.
[09:01]
So I just my approach to making friends was quite similar to dating. I guess you just don’t have
the apps in the same way. I would just say yes to everyone that we met I would suggest coffee
dates to everyone and some of them didn’t quite take me up on the offer. I think in hindsight.
Everyone’s very busy.
[09:22]
Probably don’t want to meet up with his friend and girl. I think it paid off in that. I have a really
diverse wonderful group of friends now, but it did take time. I love that as a concept because
[09:33]
you can talk about all the wonderful things about moving but there is a pragmatic reality to
actual tools that you’ve got available and strategies and approaches that you can Implement to
make sure that it feels like a long-term solution for your life and for an outgoing person obviously
having an active friend group and you know, really solid relationships is super important. But like
where do you start like you say you don’t have the tender for for mates? So when you’d go for
these, were you go to the same coffee shop or would you change it up and like was it awkward?
When you first met how did you kind of like feel that Rapport? It’s just such an interesting
concept and I love
[10:14]
- I think I appreciate quite similar to how I used to approach dating like there’s classic
questions. You can ask Everyone likes to talk about
[10:22]
Themselves generally, so I think I probably took the approach of asking lots of questions. Did I
go to the same coffee shops?
[10:31]
Don’t even isn’t it Becky’s if I can’t even really remember what I did now. I just remember being
desperate and I failed to mention. Sorry. I think the thing with um, Charlie and I we moved here
not knowing anybody. So we had no one to introduce oursel or almost like I’m like a bit of social
like social proof or credit to be like, oh me Charlie and Kayla like they really lovely they’ve just
moved here. So I think that may for me so much harder because I had to really I feel like I really
had to prove myself that I was like friendly or normal or whatever it is people looking for.
[11:10]
It’s Made Me much more aware
[11:12]
When other people are new to town I try and try and help connect them or at least be friendly
and invite them to group activities or just because
[11:22]
I know it’s like to be on the other side. Were you sad to leave Sydney or how did you feel about
leaving that big city life behind? I
[11:30]
definitely there was a sense of relief when we left Sydney. We actually left with a brutal puppy
which was like my dream come true. I’d found him the moment Charlie accept the job. I went on
to Trading Post and we had these gorgeous puppy Fred within two weeks.
[11:49]
So I think I just felt like there was so many things to look forward to rather than dwelling on
perhaps what we were giving up which we were, you know, we were leaving behind friendships
and the community there and Charlie was leaving pretty well his dream job. I guess you could
say
[12:05]
but it felt like we were pursuing a much bigger Life by leaving is how I felt so, um, there wasn’t
sadness there. Yeah,
[12:14]
and I guess Orange. It’s such a big small community with so much going on, you know and a lot
going for it. It’s very vibrant. What do you love about it?
[12:23]
Oh, there’s so much. I love about Orange.
[12:28]
I guess firstly it’s beautiful autumn in Orange is
[12:32]
Such a site to behold. There’s just incredible like just awesome colors. It’s orange red yellow
everywhere.
[12:41]
But then aside from the scenery people here are so friendly. I really a really feels like a small
country town. I do have many. I have three local coffee shops. I go to all the time and the breast
is know your name. They know your order. I love that.
[12:55]
So much the the food and wine in Orange is really well renowned. So there’s lots of wineries. I
just always feels like there’s something to do as well. There’s lots of activities is a great Regional
Gallery here. There’s a lot of culture it takes all the boxes like orange has had a transformation
even just in the last four years in which we’ve moved here definitely feels like it’s like a bit of a
hotspot to visit post-covid or even during covid.
[13:27]
All our friends want to come and visit because like a lot of wineries of opened up even in the
time in which we’ve moved here.
[13:36]
So it is a great place to host people. I feel like someone wants to described it as the barrel of the
Central West which I would agree.
[13:47]
That’s really funny Kayla. We’ve got something in common. We’ve both got newborns. Um, my
newborn is sitting here on my lap because I cannot get her to sleep today and you’ve been very
kind listening to all the Huffs and puffs of my little baby Poppy. You’ve got two boys that you’ve
had I’ll be in George since arriving to Orange. What’s the community like there as a mum of two
young children?
[14:15]
Oh, it is incredible. There is so so many beautiful young families around us.
[14:22]
I catch up with basically a mom or a friend every day we go either to like the local park. There’s
a few local playgrounds that we meet at.
[14:34]
Everything’s just so easy. So you get to meet up with people. I guess everything’s just like a five
minute drive. The sense of community with mums is just so wonderful. Someone was joking the
other day because I’ve started like a what all the mums that have had babies in the last kind of
six months. You don’t need Community Health. You just need Kayla’s mom’s group. Yeah. It’s
just wonderful. Like I just feel like we’re running like for example, you’ll go to the the local park
and you’re running into three families that you know, incidental friendships almost and catch ups
with people like you don’t
[15:09]
You don’t plan to me, but you just run into them, which is just it’s just lovely and there’s there’s
just I feel like oranges having a boom in in young families and babies this we seem to be
everywhere
[15:21]
which is wonderful as a young family. Have you seen the shift of couples in their 30s making the
move to the regions as that happens since you’ve been there or do you think it’s sort of started
before you arrived?
[15:33]
Yeah. I wonder I guess we might not have known them, but I feel like
[15:38]
All our friends here predominantly, they’re not from Orange. They’re they’ve moved and most of
them have moved from Sydney. Actually. I feel like there’s only and we’ve got like quite a vast
network of friends through our workplaces and the Rugby Club like 95% of them it people that
have made the moves themselves. I feel like most weeks.
[16:01]
We meet a new couple or hear of a friend of a friend that have decided to make the move back
or out to the central West.
[16:12]
Yeah,
[16:12]
Kayla your career is so interesting. You’re an emergency room nurse, but you’re also an
incredible painter. Can you tell me how art found its way into your life?
[16:22]
I started just painting randomly when we lived in Sydney, but never like never took it seriously
and just was teaching myself in my my spare time and loved it.
[16:35]
Then when we moved out here, I was working full-time. Yeah as a emergency nurse at our local
hospital and I just I let it go for like well over.
[16:46]
Would have been two years.
[16:48]
Just didn’t prioritize creativity at all. And then when I was on maternity leave with our eldest child
Albert, I just started painting again and I shared a picture on Instagram and it really took off from
there. And that would have been about 18 months ago now and I just seem to have found this
sweet spot of what people wanted and what I wanted to create as well.
[17:16]
So it’s it’s been oh, it’s been so wonderful. So life-affirming
[17:20]
Orange Is Knowing for this wonderful store jumbled which has
[17:27]
An incredible range of homewares and artwork and fashion that is super sexy. It’s glittery
colorful the curation done by the owner their peep it Rivals any top store in the cities and people
will actually go to Orange for the store alone because it’s just got so much appeal. What I love
about jumbled is that it totally revives the image that people have written Australia particularly in
connection to creativity where they sort of think of, you know, those very romantic sort of more
somber characteristics of the regions and yet here in jumbled you see this highly visible creative
community that really draws on.
[18:12]
future and Progressive ideas of
[18:16]
color and vibrancy and joy Kayla, you have got artwork in jumbled, which is a massive
achievement. Tell me about that experience for you. Oh it is it is such a dream come
[18:30]
true. I I followed jumbled when we lived in Sydney. So I knew where orange was obviously and
followed them because as you’ve touched on they have such an incredible Instagram
[18:42]
presence and they’re so vibrant and so fun.
[18:47]
And when we came out here for that trip jumbled was like top of my list to visit. I was like I have
to go to jumbled and I did.
[18:54]
And I’ve actually got a photo of me having a coffee there because there’s also a cafe and it just
feels like I’ve come 360 to now have artwork featured in their store.
[19:04]
I would say it doesn’t get any better than that. That’s probably like to me. It’s a really big deal
how it came about they jumbled for the last few years have held a competition where artists
admit.
[19:17]
Portfolio and I was lucky enough to be one of the finalists. So there was an overall winner and
then I was a finalist which means you get your work featured and you get a one-on-one
mentoring session with Pip and yeah, it’s just that’s been incredible. Um
[19:33]
having
[19:34]
peep kind of back you like what that’s done for my my own like Instagram profiles being
incredible. Just seeing all the followers. I’ve gained just from her sharing my work. Yeah, and
where do you
[19:46]
paint at Home with special place that you do your work. I’ve painted our we’ve got a little
[19:52]
office which should be in office but it’s now a semi studio and then I’ve also got a little I call it my
studio which it’s a cornering the shed that I’ve come indeed next to the Roby lawn mower in the
blower
[20:07]
love that like the man cave and the shed should totally yeah. Fantastic and what are you
inspired by like for your art is a local and is that your experience in Orange that kind of Fades
into your creativity?
[20:26]
Yeah. I think I I create them like at the moment. I’m doing these little floral still lives.
[20:34]
Predominantly just color like as in the inspiration is color and bringing like color and joy.
[20:41]
I would say on this. I just want a general life here in Orange. I feel so sounds so lame, but I’m I
feel so happy all the time. Like it’s in that I think comes out in my artworks. They’re very joyful.
Tell me about your experience of joy
[20:58]
in in the country. Why what do you attributed to? Why do you feel happy? All the time
[21:03]
life is just so easy here. It’s I feel like there’s not much that I’m I get like maybe stressed about
or you know, like there’s your everyday stresses but life truly is I think far more enjoyable, you
know in a regional area, you know, just like the basic things are so accessible like
[21:27]
Going to the supermarket.
[21:28]
Parking. I’m a bit of a disorganized person. So so easy now that if I forget the milk, I can just
quickly go back and get the milk. Whereas when we lived in Sydney. We just go without it.
[21:41]
I think it’s as well like just that sense of
[21:45]
community here as well. I feel like people here have been really supportive of my artwork as
well. I think I’m what jumbled and a lot of other businesses here. They have such a platform that
shows you anything’s possible now social media and even the internet I guess you don’t have to
leave in a city to be successful especially culture like in the Arts a lot of artists suffer from well a
lot of people suffer from imposter syndrome.
[22:13]
And it’s almost been the people locally bolstering me up that have made me want to share.
[22:19]
And continue on this journey to now the point where I do really actually believe in myself and my
abilities. Whereas probably a year ago. It was just very much a hobby. Whereas now I’m I’m
[22:32]
Toying with the idea that this potentially could be like my next career. I’m when I think about.
[22:38]
The support here this you may connections with other business owners just really organically
because it is a smaller place if you do run into them at the local cafe.
[22:48]
You will follow each other on Instagram, you know, you have conversations on Instagram and I
feel when people that I really admire.
[22:58]
In businesses locally, you know send me a message that they love my work. I can’t tell you the
Boost to my confidence that that brings and it’s a sense of like I see them as such credible
sources as well.
[23:11]
So Caleb, what is
[23:12]
magical about orange that may not be on the tourist pamphlet?
[23:16]
I would say there’s a really thriving creative Community here that I’ve really recently tapped into
there’s a orange the orange Regional Gallery had a refurb about a year ago and it’s this
incredible space in the center of town. They host a yearly exhibition where local artists can
submit their work.
[23:37]
So that’s an incredible opportunity for emerging artists to be featured in this beautiful space.
[23:43]
And then just recently like there’s been this artist group start by another local artists that’s been
wonderful thing to tap into which again, I just don’t know that I would have that opportunity if I
wasn’t living somewhere Regional that’s just each other like finding each other on Instagram. So
they meet up once a month for coffee and just brainstorm and
[24:04]
Connect with I guess because everyone, you know Works in a studio by themselves. So it’s nice
to have a colleague in a sense. That’s probably one of the magical things. There’s um orange
has the food week, which is it’s like a really big they have all these events that attract a lot of
visitors. Like there’s um forage where you get to you get dropped off at One Winery and me and
through a number of different Wineries and it’s like food stations the the nature. He’s incredible.
We have a late chord like novelist.
[24:39]
There’s these beautiful workout that looks over across orange called Pinnacle in Orange you
have access to all these other smaller towns, which I love meal thought molong car call.
[24:52]
The over gold Reserve is spectacular will orange in the surrounding areas. I think have so much
to offer. So one of the things
[25:01]
that we like to do on this podcast is dispel many of the misconceptions and the wacky ideas that
people continue to push about life In The Sticks when we’re talking to people like yourself we
can uncover that some of these things aren’t entirely true. So this is our Buster myth section.
And the myth that we’d like you to bust for us today is that there is limited entertainment like live
gigs in the regions. I would definitely bust that
[25:31]
meth. We have a incredible orange Civic Theater here which hosts quite big names. I saw
human nature last year.
[25:41]
And then there’s also we have there’s a local cafe called Factory espresso and the owner is his
brother is Tom Gleason. Sorry, so he runs like a monthly Comedy Club where he gets like quite
big names from Sydney coming out on a Friday and Saturday night and then lots of the wineries
attract Talent out here as well. Yes. I think that there’s always something to do on a Friday and
Saturday night here Kayla. If you would have Peach Regional Australia, what would you say?
Oh, I’d say just do it make the move. I don’t think anyone would regret it. I
[26:19]
I think if you’re thinking about it, give it a shot. I don’t think you’ll miss much about City Life.
[26:24]
Okay, like it’s been so awesome to talk to you today. Thank you so much for your time. And it’s
just been wonderful to hear that you can move to the bush as you’ve done and actually pursue a
career that you’ve always secretly hope to have gone after but never had the confidence and
found that confidence in the community that you live in and continue to grow on that and to go
from an emerging artist to winning that award to now actually being an established artist who
sells their work. It’s such an inspiring thought that you can actually reimagine who you are and
what you do in in the bush when you take that labor faith and move as you’ve done. So thank
you so much for being so generous with your story today. It’s been wonderful to chat. I’m like, I
believe in like
[27:13]
this you’re the story you’re telling like it isn’t what is podcast stands for so much. I’ve Loved this.
[27:19]
And I love Orange.
