As shopping lists go, Rose Hawkins drew up a doozy when she went searching for the right property for relocating her family and yoga studio. With four adult children she needed five bedrooms so they and their partners and children could comfortably all visit at the same time. Having grown up in the wide open spaces of the Northern Territory and central western Queensland she knew her dream home needed to be have some land around it. She also wanted to run yoga classes and retreats from home so a studio was another box on the wish list.
It may have taken five years searching, but amazingly Rose found precisely what she was looking for not far from Montville in the ranges behind the Sunshine Coast. “The house not only had the requisite number of bedrooms, it also had a cool farmhouse profile,” she says. “It’s on acreage with a beautiful outlook so there’s space for people to be alone. The fact that it came with a studio and office and a swimming pool was a bonus, and it’s all within an hour and a half’s drive of Brisbane, which is essential for city dwellers looking for a weekend retreat.”
Rose’s personal passion for yoga morphed into a profession when she completed teacher’s training and followed up with advanced courses in India at Rishikesh, Pune and Rajasthan. These days she’s completing an intensive yoga therapy (for illness) course and has a full schedule of classes at her studio. As well, she offers monthly weekend retreats and private residential retreats for small groups of six to 10 on demand.
Rose says her love of colour comes from a life-long fascination with the work of Tricia Guild, founder and director of the English interior furnishings company, Designer’s Guild tempered with a fair measure of influence from her travels in India. “When you travel you realise how far the Indian influence has spread,” she adds. “You can see it in French Provencale fabrics and even certain Italian colour combinations.”
In her “spare” time, Rose imports ethically and sustainably manufacture fabrics from India under the label of India Rose Textiles and dabbles in painting for a hobby. “I drift in and out of painting depending on when I find time,” she says. “It’s been a lovely journey and I truly believe I have yoga to thank for most of it. Every now and then it just dawns on me how lucky I am.”
This story was originally published in the September 2015 issue of Australian Country. Order the issue here.
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Words Kirsty McKenzie
Photography Anastasia Kariofyllidis
Styling Simone Barter
