Self-Care With Su Tuttle from Nimbus Co
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A.L. Hi Su! Tell us a little about yourself, what attracted you to pursue a career in health and wellness?
I grew up in Brisbane and had a pretty chilled upbringing, I spent most of my early 20s travelling and exploring the world. In terms of my career, I have always known I would work for myself but was never really sure about what that path looked like. I would say I fell into the industry by chance as I was interested in health from a personal perspective and went on to study Health Science so I'm a qualified Nutritionist by trade.
After working in clinical practice for a few years I felt really disconnected and wanted to make an impact in a different way. I felt there was a lack of joy when it came to people’s health and wellness. The industry can be very unbalanced and often ends up with people feeling as though they are not doing enough, forever chasing an unrealistic expectation of what health & wellness really looks like. I guess I felt called to attempt to share that message with the world through my work.
A.L. After falling in love with the ritual of attending regular sauna sessions and captivated by it’s healing benefits, you and your husband founded Nimbus Co in 2016 with the vision to share your experience with a wider audience. We’d love to know, what inspired the name ‘Nimbus’?
We pondered over the name for a long time and had a few hilarious dinner parties with friends attempting to come up with a name that felt right however we kept coming back to clouds as they have a common theme in both our personal lives. Nimbus is a type of cloud; the precipitation cloud and we felt this was connected with the experience we were trying to evoke in the studios from the sweating element to wanting people to feel like they were floating and I guess a sense of renewal which usually comes with rain.
A.L. What materials, textures, and colours were used in each space, and why?
Alex from our Byron studio helped support the design process in the studios and has such a skill when it comes to putting together different textures, materials and colours. In the studios, the retail displays are quite tactile, natural timbers for seating or desks and we usually soften the spaces with custom upholstery for seating. The colours are kept pretty neutral as it helps to create a calm environment for people to unwind in. Bright pops of colour are usually fairly subtle and brought in through plants, artworks or flowers.
A.L. Based in Bondi, Byron Bay and Melbourne, all three studio’s house state-of-the-art private infrared saunas, holistic health practitioners, and a curated retail wellness offering. What considerations were taken to design spaces that encourage a connection to self?
We wanted the spaces to feel contemporary whilst ensuring the clients also feel at home, welcome, and calm the moment they enter. Key themes for us usually involve low lighting within the rooms, scent, feature plants, neutral tones, and small notes of colour.
A.L. How has Nimbus Co evolved since first opening in 2016?
The business has evolved so much over the past (almost) 4 years, looking back I sometimes have to laugh at some of the stuff we have done to grow this business. Neil and I started with one studio in Bondi wondering if anyone was even going to turn up and now the business has grown into the most incredible ever-evolving family.
The core values of the business have always remained the same and I always try to come back to those as a grounding point. In terms of the actual business it evolves daily and we are constantly doing our best to continually move forward, connect with our community, create beautiful spaces, educational content, whilst having fun along the way. We have the most incredible team and without each of them, we would not be able to bring to life all the things we do.
A.L. Adorning your shelves are a selection of carefully curated products from cult wellness beauty brands like The Beauty Chef and Ere Perez. Tell us about your go-to wellness essentials.
We have some amazing brands across the three studios! My picks would be the Beauty Chef Glow Inner Beauty Powder, our Nimbus face oils, Sun Potions; Mucuna Pruriens Powder (in my coffee) and our beauty tools such as the Gua Sha or Rose Quartz Roller.
A.L. How do you take care of yourself, do you have any daily self-care rituals?
I would like to say I practice daily self-care rituals but at the moment I have been making very little time for myself and I’d say self-care is out the window! I think it’s important to be honest, especially when working in the health industry that sometimes in life you are off balance and that’s okay. For the moment I'm treasuring the small moments of peace I get to have alone, walking our dog or a weekly sauna session.
A.L. What are you reading, watching, and listening to right now?
At the moment I'm watching the series Normal People, reading The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and listening to the latest Goop Podcast episode; How Do We Untangle Depression.
A.L. Tell us about your neighborhood, where are your favourite places to eat and shop?
We live in North Bondi currently and it has such a nice local community. Our favourite places to eat are Bru for morning coffee, Lox Stock & Barrel for lunch, and Pepe’s for dinner. Shopping wise my favourites are the local op shop, markets or Lucy Folk.
A.L. What are you working on right now, any new projects?
We have just launched our Nimbus online store so working on some fun product developments, we are also moving our Melbourne studio so in the process of finding a new site. Outside of Nimbus, I am working on a new business venture with my business partner called Foile which will be home to refillable skincare and beauty products. Few things on the go always.