SHAPING THE FUTURE
Turning 50 is a chance to reevaluate your life and take control of your own path. As BT reaches this milestone, we talk to artist Susan Simonini about how she’s preparing for the next stage.
Artist Susan Simonini knows all about embracing change and making it work for her. Originally a painter, she created a fresh financial opportunity by switching to ceramics when the art world took a hit during the global financial crisis. Since then, her business has gone from strength to strength. But as 50 loomed and the kids were finally out of the house, Simonini wanted to make sure the future was on her terms.
“My husband, Richard, and I were both turning
50 and wanted to create a new chapter for ourselves,” she says. “We wanted a challenge, an adventure, a spark - and to build a lifestyle that suited what we wanted to do.”
After a road trip down the east coast and a ferry across Bass Strait, the couple fell in love with Tasmania. They moved from the Gold Coast six months later, at the end of 2017. “The pace of life is slower and the people are really friendly,” she says. “There’s more time for us and we are focused on our dreams, not keeping up with the Joneses.”
Part of the appeal of moving to Tasmania was financial; Simonini and her husband are now debt-free after paying off their mortgage and are concentrating on living their best retirement in the years ahead. This includes Simonini winding back her work a little so the couple can travel more around Australia and the world. First on the bucket list: a motorcycle trip along Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
Ever the artist, Simonini says she’ll probably never fully retire. “I’m not an artist to do it; it’s who I am.” But as she and Richard move into the next phase, she doesn’t want the financial pressure of needing to sell her art to survive. Instead, she’s making smart moves, setting up additional income streams, such as ceramics workshops and occasionally trading in markets, to sustain her version of retirement. “The art world is very unpredictable so I’ve learnt to diversify,” she says. “I’m planning for the future to give us the best opportunity to indulge in all the things we want to do.”
Having the time to live your dreams is just as important. “There’s a lot of work in running your own small business,” says Simonini. She’s now looking at outsourcing tasks like buying supplies, packing and shipping so she can focus on creative work and find more time for the other things in life.
Simonini is grateful she’s been able to turn her passion into a business –“I’m happy I can make a living doing what I love” – but also has her eyes firmly fixed on the horizon. “Being 50 gives you clarity about what’s important, so we’ve freed ourselves up to be able to live our own life and make our own path.”
“THE ART WORLD IS VERY UNPREDICTABLE SO I’VE LEARNT TO DIVERSIFY.”