You may have been lucky enough in life to meet your soul twin? I have, and I cherish it.

Our First Meeting

From the moment I met Jodie Cooper over in Perth for a collection viewing when I first launched Eadie Lifestyle,6 years ago, a very firm friendship and kinship started. She walked in the room with her frenetic pace, her gorgeous fur baby Berba and a ton of unbridled energy and heart. In that instant, we got each other and I am still as much as I was then, in admiration of her brilliance, style and creativity. She is a force!

Our Friendship

Skip to six or seven years later and Jodie has become one of my besties. There has been a holiday together in her amazing, award winning villa, 353 Degrees North in Lembongan (which she designed and constructed). A number of relationship counselling sessions via Face Time (sometimes for me, sometimes for her). It's the type of friendship that doesn't require much maintenance, we understand there may be months that go by where we haven't touched base. No judgement, more, simple acceptance that we get it. Life gets busy, and we still have each other's back.

The Peru Trip

When Jodie called me one October afternoon in 2019, I was out doing a quick walk to de-tune and de-stress. My work schedule was becoming a little overwhelming and I needed to clear my head and break the cycle of monkey mind. Jode's didn't bother with a "Hello!" or "How are you?"

Instead she went straight into;

"Hey Coxy, want to come to Peru with me in January?"

I said yes, before I even knew the dates. My stars had aligned. I had ALWAYS wanted to go to Peru, and to be able to experience it with Jodie was a no brainer. It really was one of the very few times in my life where I based a decision on little logic, and absolute intuition.

Jodie and I had the trip of a lifetime. It was life changing for both of us, and the experiences we enjoyed in Peru, will be our permanent bond. We were lucky enough to experience a 10 day, women's retreat in the Sacred Valley in Peru. Whilst there, we shared the most beautiful tipi/tent looking over mountain ranges that were majestic. We dug deep, went within, shared our fears, our hopes and revealed to ourselves and the group absolute authenticity. At times it was thrilling, other times confronting. We also experienced Machu Pichu together. I will never forget that -  it was so incredibly beautiful, I cried.

The Drawing

To date, Peru and my time there with Jodie, represents one of the most memorable life experiences I have had (up there with the birth of my 3 daughters). Jodie is not only one of Australia's most talented interior designers, she is also an incredible artist. Jodie created a visual diary when we were in Peru, and rather than taking photos to remember our adventure, she would sit, observe and create the most beautiful illustrations instead. They were breathtaking.

We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at a restaurant in Cusco. We had finished our retreat, had both got a tattoo on our wrist to celebrate our amazing time, and enjoyed the most exquisite lunch (and too many cocktails) at an outdoor restaurant that had a serene garden. We were seated, and about to study the menu when Jodie said "Coxy, stay just there, don't move, I want to capture this moment."

I did as I was told (it's always easiest to do that with my beautiful friend), and within a couple of minutes she had produced this amazing sketch. I loved, loved, loved it! So much so, that with Jodie’s permission, I have included this into our brand's signature going forward. Eadie is part of my heart and so is this, and of course my clever friend, Jodie Cooper.

I have asked Jodie to collaborate with me on some up and coming designs scheduled for release in 2021. I am so excited to work with such a special friend, and I am so grateful that we got to experience this life changing trip together.

Trudie xx

Discover more about the talented Jodie Cooper at jodiecooperdesign.com.au