I first met Miss Chardy back in 2014. We were both attending Problogger – a two day blogging conference on the Gold Coast.
Miss Chardy had driven from her Northen Territory station, then flown from Mt Isa to Brisbane and THEN caught the train from Brisbane to the GC. I think it took her approximately 2 days and 3 in flight chardys just to get to the conference.
Meanwhile, I drove for a whopping 55 minutes to get to the venue. It would’ve been 45 minutes but I had to stop for petrol.
I can’t really remember how I knew Miss Chardy was going to be at the conference but I’m going to assume it was from reading her blog posts. Four years ago, all the action happened on our blogs.
Everyone was still using insta to filter and frame grainy photos of their stir fry and DM’s didn’t exist.
As a result blog posts was where all the borderline oversharing happened. The comments section also used to go off like a frog in a sock. They really were fun times.
But back to the conference.
meeting Miss Chardy
Fast forward to the end of Day One and I hadn’t bumped into Miss Chardy once.
Not at the networking drinks event the night before – I know, I’m shocked by that too. Not at any of the workshops or talks that day. Not even during the lunch break.
But then, during the afternoon tea break I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Excuse me, are you Kirsten from Kirsten and co?”
OMG, I thought. Someone has actually got my name right! Who is this magical mystical creature?
I spun around – literally. It was not cute – and there was Miss Chardy standing in front of me.
“Yes, I am! OMG IT’S MISS CHARDY! I’ve been DYING to meet you!” I pretty much yelled at her.
We chatted for a bit, snapped a photo together and have been firm friends ever since.

{not so} serious business
A lot can change in a year, but the last four year have changed my life in ways I could never have imagined.
I now own a skin care company – who knew that would be the silver lining to my IIH diagnosis?! – and love sharing business and blogging tips here, on social media and at events.
I know sometimes I write in a way that isn’t exactly serious. And let’s face it, my team meetings on insta aren’t really what you’d call ‘official’ but my business brain NEVER stops.
Some people have told me that I’m completely underselling myself by approaching social media with humour and I should work on becoming more serious.
I’ve told those people I’m not ‘approaching’ anything. I’m just being myself. Because I truly believe business doesn’t have to be boring.
Hard work, yes. But…
You CAN run a business and have fun.
You CAN share your knowledge with others and share a laugh at the same time.
You CAN do your thing without telling the whole world you’re doing your thing.
You CAN be yourself and be successful.
In fact, you SHOULD be yourself.
And look, at the end of the day, I love a good microphone situation.
Standing in front of a crowd, sharing information and having a bit of a laugh is all sorts of awesome.
Wild Spark Event 2019
So if you’re not doing anything on Friday 8th March, book your tickets and come along to the inaugural Wild Spark Rural Women’s Network event.

It’s being organised by my amazing friend Miss Chardy and her fabulous friend Edie.
I’ll be hogging the microphone sharing my business tips alongside Kristy from Incy Interiors, Tahlia from Birdsnest, Fiona from Cloud Bookkeeping, Nikki from Styling You and Shelly from Trek West.
You can find all the event details here but I promise you, it’s going to be one incredible day. Miss Chardy has been talking about organising an event specifically for rural women since we met. She has SUCH a knack for bringing people together and making everyone feel welcome.
I hope to see you there!
Will you be attending the inaugural Wild Spark event?
Have you driven for days on end just to have a wine with someone?
Tell me all the things.
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