Montarna Pitt
Physically, where are you right now? Are you at home, on holiday, in the office or elsewhere?
I’m at home in Paddington, Sydney, drinking a coffee in my kitchen.
How does your current environment inform your creative process and what is inspiring you right now?
Whether I’m working from home or the office, I’m in a space that stimulates my creativity – I love interiors and spend a lot of time workshopping rooms before we renovate and decorate. Life is busy and I’m constantly jumping between work and family life, so my house and office are calming in their design with beautiful things that catch the eye.
Travel had always been a huge source of inspiration for me. With the arrival of my daughters and COVID we obviously haven’t been able to explore new countries for a while, so I’ve had to rely on social media for inspiration. I’m booking in a few overseas trips for next year and looking forward to getting that fresh hit of creativity.
For every good idea there are many more we reject. Do you ever salvage ideas that didn’t come to fruition at a later stage or do you just move on?
All the time, I bank all of my ideas and know from experience that they may not be right for that particular moment but the seed of potential will come into play at some stage. After almost 9 years of The Audience Agency and recent experience creating my own content, I always find an appropriate brand moment, event or campaign to roll out these ideas
What have been some personal milestones that you have achieved outside the expectation or perceived expectation of others?
At the moment with a three-year-old, a one-year-old, my husband, our dog and my own business, getting through the everyday is my biggest achievement! I really try to give myself a little pat on the back each week because what I’m able to get through even blows me away. If you’d told me ten years ago what I’d be juggling daily I never would have believed you.
What have been some of your most profound personal challenges and have they ever informed your creative process or interrupted it?
If you analysed the most important factors in your success, what would say these have been?
Starting young – I worked at PR agencies while studying for my BA, so as soon as I graduated I already had experience and a job in the industry. Being a risk-taker, something my parents (who are both entrepreneurs) encouraged in me from a young age. They would always say what’s the worst that could happen, and they were the ones advising me to set up my own business at the age of 23. And in that same vein, having an incredible support network, from the brands and colleagues I’ve worked with who recommended me to clients and helped me build my business, to my amazing family who are my rocks while we’re raising our girls and continuing to grow The Audience Agency. It really does take a village and my village deserve huge credit, I couldn’t have done it without them.
What are your personal and creative rituals, if any?
I need and love to have some alone time. I am a super social person and a huge part of my job is spending time with people but for me to be my best self I need to recharge with ‘me time’. Since having the girls it’s hard to carve this out daily so I try to have a bath every night and this is my 45 minutes of calm. I often end up editing my content in my bath as I get a lot of clarity when there’s no distractions.
Where do you go to find creative refuge?
The Pilates studio or an Infrared sauna – somewhere I can’t take my phone and I can really switch off.
If you could go back in time and begin again without knowing what you do now, would you?
100 percent – I wouldn’t change a thing!
What piece of wisdom currently resonates with you and how does it inform your approach to life right now?
