Coclico Meets Amy Woodside of OKREAL for Coffee at Happy Bones
Amy Woodside’s inherent creativity has translated into her many professional endeavors. The New Zealand born and now New York-based writer and artist’s culminating projects ultimately led to the inception of her women-focused community, OKREAL. Through this platform, Amy is providing both on and offline opportunities for modern women to connect and share real stories in a meaningful way. In addition to the inspiring site, Amy also has a hand in one of our favorite Soho coffee shops, Happy Bones. It was there we joined Amy on a warm April afternoon to chat forever items, women and finding fulfillment.
Meet Amy
Hi! I’m Amy Woodside. I’m the founder of OKREAL: a resource of women’s wisdom for a life of fulfillment. I’m originally from New Zealand and have lived in NYC for the past seven years.
On Women
The greatest bonus from OKREAL is being able to learn from all the women I come in contact with. I’m the biggest student of the site, for sure. In terms of what we, as women, should be talking about, I think it’s more about transparency than an actual topic. By being open and honest, we give others the courage to do the same. This leads to more women speaking up and strength in numbers—the start of any movement or progression toward change.
Finding Fulfillment
For me, fulfillment is a sense of peace that comes with doing what is right for you. It’s more substantial than happiness. It’s rooted in being honest with yourself about what you need and making choices in line with that. I think Latham Thomas gives a really beautiful description of how she does this in her OKREAL interview: “I’m someone who really listens to my GPS: my glow power system, intuition. I am guided to do work that serves others and nourishes my soul. I got very clear signals that I was on the right track by staying attuned to the feeling. When something doesn’t feel right—I don’t do it. I know that I won’t feel overwhelmed with excitement every day, but there is always an underlying joy that I connect with everything I do.”
From New Zealand to NY
I think New York and New Zealand are the two best places in the world. I feel very lucky to call both of them home. They each nurture two very different parts of who I am: New York fosters my drive and ambition, and is an incredible environment for me to build my business. New Zealand gives me perspective, grounds me and reminds me that there’s more to life than work and that the ocean solves a lot of problems.
Forever Item
On the topic of shoes, I actually have some ballet slippers that fit as a newborn hanging up in my apartment in NYC. My dad got them for me, and there’s something comforting about seeing them and remembering what’s important (family) and how far I’ve come.
OKREAL quick wisdom
You don’t find yourself; you build yourself. You are responsible for creating your own opportunity.
Photos by Bridget Badore for Coclico
