Balancing the Grind with Adie Robertson, CEO of Wonderland Skin Spa

Adie Robertson is the founder and CEO of Wonderland Skin Spa, where her goal is to bring wellness to the world through preventative health, detoxification, relaxation and nutrition.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

An eclectic mix of qualifications, career moves and life experience have culminated in where I’m at today, fronting my wellness and beauty brand Wonderland Skin Spa.

I began my illustrious working career as a Dental assistant to my late father as a teenager during school holidays in Cootamundra, an in-clinic experience that has stood the test of time in terms of client etiquette and professionalism, and served me well.

After completing school I made forays into communications and business studies and wound up working in Sydney’s East in the art world. From here I stepped randomly into stockbroking, gained some ASX and LSE qualifications, and moved to London.

I wound up running a creative department in a cool advertising agency in Soho, riding my bicycle through Piccadilly every day, living the dream. Marriage and a move back to Australia then more studies.. massage and aromatherapy and a design degree from the Whitehouse School that trained my eyes and honed my senses.

I lived the next years between London and Hong Kong, enjoying expat life, giving birth to three sons and starting small businesses along the way. I made hats for Liberty in London and freelanced in Hong Kong whilst importing and selling Portuguese textiles.

Moving back to the Australian countryside my ex-husband and I began wheeling and dealing in property, raising our children in the idyllic homes we built, picnicking by the river amidst the picturesque landscape of the southern highlands.

I brought a container of Turkish antiques from Istanbul and opened a shop in Berrima during this time and was heavily involved in the school community.

Years of studies in Dru Yoga and Meditation followed, coinciding with a marriage breakdown and a move back to Sydney. Standing on my own two feet, broken and bewildered, this was the making of me. I worked as a Yoga and Meditation PT at the SCG, taught corporates then bought into my wellness business on a whim.

Wonderland Skin Spa has evolved, and is about to be reinvented in a new flagship site with a shopfront, online store and greater capacity, offering a lot more than before.

2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

Any one day is not the same as another. We’re currently working out of a pop-up space in Woollahra, necessitated by a Covid closure and brand pivot. Spa hours at the moment exist on a fledgling schedule compared to the pre-Covid seven day grind of Bondi where the brand was built over the past three years.

At any time of day you may find me: searching for new premises, taking bookings, tuning the website, strategising, studying business, researching beauty and wellness trends, doing treatments, networking, talking to clients, interviewing staff, washing, researching equipment, talking to press, writing blogs, working on social content, ordering supplies, and so the list goes on.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

I love the diversity and flexibility of running my own show. With the office set-up in my apartment currently I have thoroughly enjoyed being at home much more than my hectic work schedule would normally allow,

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Balance is everything. I like to keep things interesting and am spontaneous by nature. Family will always come first. I admit to being more heavily weighted on the work front over the last few years, but prior to that it was the other way, where time was too much on my side and I yearned for fulfilment.

A purposeful life lived well is what I enjoy and am striving toward. I have found my rhythm and I like the flow.

5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

Every day you will find me outside in nature, working through my yoga practice, meditating, walking, lifting weights at the gym or even lying on the beach relaxing, this is how I change my life every day.

Being present. Mixing it up. Each day beginning afresh. My days are embellished with rituals, which are symbolic and powerful. It may be chanting mantras, lighting a flame or clearing a space energetically. Establishing rituals around what I do brings a specialness; a sacred invitation to begin.

Only this morning was I reminded of the all important part that my daily routine plays in my mental health and keeping me balanced and strong from inside out.

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

I love reading of days gone by. Works by the Ancients, their wisdom so relevant today.
As a creative, I love design and art. I am constantly researching and discovering wellness and beauty trends. I thrive on my Dru yoga resources and you will find me poring over Blinklist titles and LinkedIn.

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

Please don’t take my yoga mat, deva and ghee, and be sure to leave me a match to light the flame. I would miss my iPhone most terribly if I parted from it as who knows anyone’s numbers anymore.

Necessities high on my list also are products I stock at Wonderland; Osmosis skincare and magical Equilibrium bottles. iTunes, Photos and Camera are essentials.

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Gandhi, Marcus Aurelius, Russell Brand.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

In October I’m turning 56. I am acutely aware recently of a massive shift happening inside me; an awareness that my youth has passed, and I have arrived in the middle of the road of my life, with a new-found wisdom.

I feel timeless. I’m enormously aware of the gift of everyday, of how precious and fleeting life is, of not wanting to waste any of it, and of leaving a legacy. I’m extremely grateful for the twists and turns my life has taken and for the ones that will inevitably come. Yes, yes, yes and yes again.

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