The Nine Lives of the Florence

One thing I'm sure of and that is the extraordinary talent of Florence Broadhurst. I, like many others, adore her time defying designs, what I wasn't aware of was her fascinating life story. After growing up on a station in rural Queensland in 1899, Florence became a singer and performer joining a comedy sextet that toured South East Asia and China in 1922. In 1926 she set up the Broadhurst Academy in Shanghai offering tuition in music and dance.

She returned to Queensland in 1927 where she was involved in a major car accident, following which she took off to England and married, divorced and remarried. In 1949 she returned to Australia and produced 114 landscape paintings known as "The Paintings of Australia" which toured the country. She was a foundation member of the Art Gallery of NSW and the Society of Interior Designers, a teacher of printmaking and sculpture at the National Art School.

That is an extraordinary life. As I approach my 30th birthday and contemplate whether I have done all that I need to so far, Florence's story inspires me to fearlessly grab every opportuntity that comes my way, to continue on a path of learning and continual reinvention. Can you tell I'm having a 1/3 life crisis?!

Image via Florence Rugs.