Tribe Interview: Sophie Renzen
There are people who seem to positively glow from the inside out. One such person is Sophie Renzen. We love Sophie’s Instagram feed and her beautiful way with words and were delighted to discover she’s just as authentic, positive and lovely in real life. The proud mama to Gabe, six, Milo, four, and seven-month-old Edie, and her husband Cameron are in the process of relocating their little tribe from the Gold Coast to the sleepy seaside village of Wooli in the quest for a simpler, more natural way of life. The Children of the Tribe team spent the morning with Sophie and Edie at a secret spot just outside of Byron Bay where Edie tested out our new swim and Sun Child ranges and we chatted to Sophie about her quest for a slower pace of life and her tribe’s impending sea change.
You’re moving your family to Wooli soon. What prompted this sea change?
Cam and I had been juggling a lot this year and it caused us to really sit down and talk about the way we were living, and the way we wanted to be living. A lot of things didn't add up for us so we began to focus heavily on our key values in life, and started to draw our lives closer to those points.
Once Edie was born, we bought a tent and started spending a lot of our weekends away, just driving up or down the coast, freeing ourselves from some of the pressures that were building up from our heavy workloads and spending quality time together, while also immersing ourselves in more natural environments. Through this, we began to crave a less built-up town to call our home. We desired a more natural way of life, and a lot of our visions simply couldn't be met where we were living.
We have amazing family, friends, strong connections on the Gold Coast, so we will always have strong ties to here and will be back often but in the meantime, we have sort of decided to pull back from the things that have been holding us back from living a life that feels genuine to us. Basically, we want a lot more of what we value, and a lot less of what we don't. The way of life in Wooli needs for a lot less, reducing the pressure massively for us and allowing us to spend more time together as a family; exploring our surrounds and really enjoying our lives, slowing down and having less to distract us from being hands-on, present parents who are really teaching and guiding our kids in a positive and heart felt direction.
Aside from just our needs, we feel we need to slow our kids lives down a bit, have them move at a more relaxed pace and allow them to find their joy and stimulation in more natural ways. Wooli has so much natural beauty around it, so much to explore, we think it will be so good for them. The local school has a very strong focus on sustainability, they have an enormous organic veggie garden behind the classrooms and teach the kids to grow and harvest their own vegetables. It's a tiny school with a huge heart and I felt that as soon as I walked in, and that helped us hugely in making our decision to relocate.
Will you be building your own dream home down there?
Yes, Cam is a builder and has a deep passion for building. He has built so much for so many people and now he will finally be building something for himself and our family. This means a lot to both of us.
We definitely have a vision and are hoping to build a home that is as sustainable as we can make it, but it's still very early days so we are just busy researching and putting our plan together of what it is we want to bring to life.
For you, what is the best thing about being a mother?
Personally I have grown so much since becoming a mother. My kids challenge me like I've never been challenged before and fill my heart to the absolute brim, every single day.
How has the addition of a baby girl changed the dynamics of your family?
It has definitely softened the boys - all of them. Watching Gabe and Milo with her is incredible; they adore her, they are so loving and so protective towards her. I think it has given them a new dimension of love and compassion.
Cam is besotted by her; there's just something so incredibly beautiful about the father/daughter relationship, and watching it unfold has had my heart virtually explode almost daily.
Edie is an angel and we are all so blessed she's with us. Her energy is so calm and joyful, so she has definitely injected more of that into our family.
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