Behind every Renew Bohemian collection, community live and slightly chaotic office day, is a small but mighty team making things happen. And if you’ve been around for a while, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Hannah along the way.
Hannah was Brooke’s very first official employee, starting out as our Shipping Coordinator and general all-rounder. These days, her role is a little harder to define. She looks after our community, sustainability projects, PR, content, events and plenty of the other things that somehow find their way onto the Renew to-do list.
She’s also the person who keeps the office well-fed, brings a little witchy energy wherever she goes and proudly claims the Type B title, and we thought it was about time you got to know the person behind the videos, giveaways, blog posts and general behind-the-scenes magic a little better.
We sat down with Hannah to find out how she ended up at Renew, the first piece she fell in love with, what she loves most about our community and what her dream day off looks like.
Hannah wearing the Kantha Palazzo Pants and a Wanderer Bag
Hey Hannah, tell us a little about yourself and what you do at Renew Bohemian.
I am a bit of a "Jill of all trades", as Brooke would say. I started out as the Shipping Coordinator and general office fairy, and have since moved into a different kind of role. These days I focus largely on community care and sustainability, with a touch of PR thrown in. This means I take care of parts of the community group on Facebook and organise the live videos. I run the Community PR project, which has been really fun. I also work on back-end projects to ensure we continue to be as transparent as possible about our sustainability efforts and our brand ethics, which is really important to me! Oh yeah, and I write this blog. As a person, I'm a bit quirky, a lot witchy, and I love a good cosy vibe everywhere I go.
How did you end up becoming Renew’s first official employee?
I have my own small business, and I met Brooke through the local markets when we were both vendors. One year we worked across from each other at Woodford Folk Festival and bonded over a rough week as well as a shared love for bohemian threads.
We were catching up for a chai one day, and we were talking shop when I mentioned to Brooke that I was looking for work after being on maternity leave. Brooke happened to be looking at expanding the business and taking the leap into hiring an employee. She texted me later and asked if I would want to work for her! Of course, I said yes, and the rest is history. We've really grown together as the business has grown, and it's been amazing to watch her commit to Renew, take risks and really make things blossom in the way that she has, while also managing to stay authentic to herself and be a good friend and boss, even when things feel hard.
Hannah in shipping mode after our first Unicorn drop!
What do you love most about being part of the Renew community?
Gosh, I don't know if I've ever come across a more consistently caring and supportive community EVER. The Renew family really shine, and hearing all the incredible stories of how we are touching people's lives does something to my soul. It's hard to pick one thing, because I adore just goofing off in the lives with everyone, and I equally love meeting everyone at our events and seeing everyone just lift each other up in the comments of posts in the community group. If I had to pick one thing, though, it would be that our community is dedicated to becoming the best versions of themselves and leaning more and more into healthy self-expression and passionate self-love every day. All I want for women in particular is to finally release the ideas around what beauty 'should' be, and accept themselves exactly as they are each day.
Watching the New Year's sunrise at Woodford in her first Zephyr
You’ve been wearing Renew since 2021. Do you remember the first piece you fell in love with?
Yes, of course! It was the Zephyr Dress. I've since rehomed mine with one of our beautiful community members, Shannon, but that was the dress that caught my eye and sparked my kantha obsession.
Hannah's cacao and rosemary chocolate cookies
We hear you’re the person responsible for keeping the Renew office well-fed. What are you cooking or baking at the moment?
What am I not cooking or baking? I am creating in the kitchen at least 3-4 times a day; it's a bit wild. The issue is that I actually really enjoy making good food, and I like the taste of my own cooking more than takeaway or premade food most of the time (basically, I make my own life harder but also kind of in a good way). I am always obsessed with my roasted veggie lasagne; I make it with my own cauliflower bechamel sauce, and I cannot get enough (plus, my toddler loves it too). My all-time favourite baked good would probably have to be my famous chewy salted chocolate rosemary cookies, and I try to have a batch of dough in the freezer at all times.
What's something people might be surprised to learn about you?
That I'm actually very type B... I give off the impression sometimes of being type A, but it's really just 'perfectionist tendencies' and not true perfectionism. I'm definitely very chilled with most things, but I'm a Capricorn, and so by nature I often enjoy organisation and being a bit extra.
What does your dream day off look like?
Well, I'm a mum of a young child, so I don't know that there is ever truly a day off, but it would start with getting out of the house early and having breakfast at a good plant-based cafe. I'd then go and hit up a string of thrift shops with my friends, have a Practical Magic watch party with some of my own herbal cacao, and then take a nice walk around the neighbourhood with just myself and a good podcast. I'd finish it off by reading books with my little guy, doing some crafting with a nice candle on and reading some of my fantasy book before bed. Oh, and my house would actually be clean (lol).
So there you have it. A little peek behind the scenes at the person who might be answering your questions in the community group, popping up in an Instagram video, emailing you about a collaboration or turning up to the office with something delicious.
She loves a good bohemian thrift find
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Hannah in a new way! If you loved this little peek behind the scenes, come and chat with us over on Instagram, join our Facebook community group, and subscribe to our mailing list to stay connected with future drops and stories from the Renew world.
