SHG: Who have you chosen to isolate with, animals included? LT: My partner Ezra and I are isolating at my parent's house in Waipu, with my parents and brother, Dalton. Mum has three chickens. SHG: Where are you isolating? In detail please, like a short story. LT: In Waipu, about an hour and a half north of Auckland. Mum and Dad live close to Uretiti Beach. Down a long driveway flanked with paddocks and native trees, is their cottage. It has an outdoor courtyard out the front with shell paths, an outdoor fire and herb planter boxes. Dad’s built the outdoor area himself. He’s building an outdoor shower now, while we’re in isolation. Ezra is helping. Mum’s chickens keep trying to come inside (the reason I bolted from our Zoom call the other day). SHG: Describe your office space right now? Or do you have multiple? LT: It’s the kitchen table…a table we’ve had for at least twenty years. It had ‘Lauren’ (in a seven-year-old’s handwriting) engraved in the side until about three years ago when my mum sanded the base and legs down and painted them white. I’m usually calling you from outside though. SHG: What has surprised you most about being isolated? LT: That I have been making pasta from scratch! It’s sore kneading dough. I’m also playing Scrabble every night which is odd, I usually don't have the patience. SHG: You had concussion almost two years ago now. Do you feel you've fully recovered from this now and does it help to be by the beach? LT: I feel recovered but, I picked up some habits that I’m trying to shake. Concussion is so bizarre, you feel like you’re going crazy (I definitely did). It’s as if your brain is a room full of filing cabinets and then someone has shaken the whole room and the cabinets are broken and all the papers are strewn everywhere and you have to put it all back together. Some things take longer to file than others. Being by the beach is peaceful, luckily we’re in walking distance here. If I start to get grumpy I’ll go for a walk. SHG: Where is your favourite place to meditate? LT: In bed, right before going to sleep. SHG: What are you missing more than Honey Bones at the moment? LT: Ha ha. My friends, but we’re keeping in touch. Something I’ve noticed that does make me happy, but I never was aware of before, is all the small daily interactions with people who aren’t close friends or family. Pat from Allpress, Jess from Wall Fabrics, Rachel from The Pattern Table, Andy from Honey Bones etc. I miss seeing people outside my bubble. SHG: I know you suffer from an identity crisis when it comes to coffee, ordering a different one every day. Has this continued in isolation? LT: Ha, no! I am only having black coffee. I’ve realised I only need one type of coffee, when we’re out of isolation though I’ll probably go back to my old ways. SHG: Most visited URL on your laptop? LT: How do I find that? On my bookmarks bar (which are my most visited) I have Vogue, Xero, FedEx, New York Times, Shopify, four Google sheets of various Harris Tapper documents, Matches and Disney Plus. SHG: What outfit have you worn most since the lockdown began? LT: The same outfit I wear every day, lockdown or not. A Kate Shirt with black Soft Slacks or our Ivory Wool Zip Knit for cooler evenings in front of the fire. SHG: How many beauty tutorials have you watched since alert Level 4 began? Be honest. LT: I have honestly watched Liv Tyler’s 25-step routine on Vogue’s YouTube more than once, but only because her voice is so soothing. I like the beauty tutorials from people who have soft voices, like @Violette_fr. It’s relaxing. SHG: Favourite thing about working in isolation? LT: Because we’re on a lifestyle block, Mum and Dad have lots of fruit trees and produce growing. Their limes are flourishing which is perfect for the Gin and Tonic I’m having every night. SHG: Least favourite? LT: We had to move out of our place just before the country went to lockdown Level 3, so all of our things are in boxes waiting for the lockdown to end. I’m just living with what possesions I need. I miss having more than one book on my bedside table, but we know we’re fortunate to be able to go to a safe, nice place while we wait out lockdown. SHG: Do you dream of Harris Tapper HQ being based in Waipu when we’re big and famous? LT: Ha ha. Why do you want to move to Waipu? SHG: Will you retire in Waipu? LT: We’ll see.