s at University and was lucky enough to live abroad and study fashion journalism. It was here that my passion was ignited and I made a personal commitment to spend my working days doing something I love.  Shannon: I was born and raised in beautiful Rotorua, New Zealand. I came from humble beginnings where I studied business management out of school and went on to launch my own business at 21 years of age. Business is certainly in my DNA. I just love it. I always have ideas floating around in my head. It drives my husband crazy! My mind never stops. I have always been very creative so naturally I fell in love with styling when the opportunity came my way. What are some of the invaluable skills/lessons that you picked up from your career in media that have helped your role now? Versatility: Working in the media means working with real women and styling an array of different sizes and body shapes has significantly helped our role now. Relationships: Nurture all relationships! Your network and relationships are key.Continuous learning: Throughout both our careers, we’ve been mentors and mentees. What we learn in life becomes who we are.  What sort of skills does a personal shopper need? Communication is key, always. Be a good listener and ask the right questions! Relationships with stylists in-store is a must. The regular (and close) communication means we’re across any pre-launch pieces and collections.  Empathy is crucial in communicating with clients, particularly when the client is lacking confidence. Honesty. Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ when something doesn’t look good. A personal approach. The ability to understand the way someone feels, through their style, affects mood and performance.  The ability to ensure the client maintains individuality throughout the styling process.  Who are your clients and what are they looking for from a personal shopper? Our clientele varies. Predominantly they are professionals who are time-poor and they recognise the importance of looking good and the correlation between feeling good and performance.  The majority of our clients are looking for direction – most men and women feel lost when selecting clothes.  The most common question asked is, “Is this appropriate for me to wear at this time in my life?” They’re looking for trust, honesty and inspiration.   A ot of people think that being a personal shopper is really glamorous. What’s it really like? It’s a mixture of glamour and incredibly hard work! We love to make our clients at The Quarterly Edit feel and look their absolute best. Curating and creating beautiful wardrobes and looks for our clients is our purpose. We have many glamorous moments and when we see our clients ooze with confidence, sophistication and style, it’s a wonderful feeling.  How has the pandemic impacted personal shopping as a profession? We have embraced the challenges of the pandemic. We are a concierge service and the pandemic certainly highlighted the need for our service during this time. All our clients remained with us, they called upon us even more. Our newest service TQE VIRTUAL was born through this interesting time and we’re very excited for 2021.