For the second entry in our Women’s History Month collection, we spoke with Kerrie Lazarou, the Marketing Manager for both Imagine Floors by Airstep, and our sister company, Airstep Australia. Kerrie has been part of the Imagine Floors team for almost eight years now, and was kind enough to give us a glimpse into her life.
On Building A Career
The first thing we wanted to know was how Kerrie got to where she is today, and her journey to becoming our Marketing Manager is quite an interesting one.
“I have always had a passion for marketing and graduated from university with one of my Majors being marketing. I started in the wastewater industry then moved into publishing and newspapers working for Shepparton News. I had alot of fun in this role looking after marketing, circulation, Kids’ Page and events.
The highlight for me was hosting our biggest ever (at that time) Pink Ribbon Brunch, with over 730 guests, raising money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
I then moved to Melbourne and worked in the children’s craft industry until moving into flooring at my current role as Marketing Manager at Airstep Australia and Imagine Floors by Airstep.”
With such a varied background, the fact that Kerrie loves the flooring industry is obvious, and she attributes her success within her role to the way she feels about her work.
“I absolutely love this industry! It is a like a big extended family and is so nice to connect with our customers and retailer partners. I love that we get to have a place in people’s homes and spaces, something that is quite sacred, and let them show their personality.
I think that’s what has allowed me to be in this industry for over 7 years, I am passionate about flooring and what we provide to our customers. I am up for anything and happy to roll my sleeves up and get the work done. I would also like to callout the Senior Managers in the business who have seen my drive and helped me grow.”
Having watched Kerrie work, we can definitely attest to the fact that she’s willing to get her hands dirty when it comes to getting things done. Capable of installing all floors within the Imagine Floors by Airstep range, Kerrie regularly does so when a display floor is required. She can also often be found wearing high-vis and setting up or packing down display stands and spaces, and is even responsible for quite a few of the images we have of our floors.
On Design And Creativity
Speaking of our photoshoot looks, Kerrie stated the below regarding her creative process when setting them up:
“Now these are alot of fun!! Our branding style (and mine too) is very minimal, and modern. The room will be quite neutral to let the floors shine, but with a pop of personality in a statement chair or artwork piece. I love how changing a few design elements can give you a completely different look.”
“I think alot of us jumped on the Three Birds Renovation bandwagon and I am loving the paired back look, with alot of white. My white couch and doona don’t love it though with the kids decorating them…”
On Passions Beyond Work
Although Kerrie works hard, and our brand could arguably be referred to as her first child, she does find time to explore her other passions and give back to the community.
“My main passion is raising my daughters to be good people and supporting them in their journeys. I am also a committee member for the South East Business Network’s Women In Business group, and volunteer at the girls’ school and kinder.”
On What She’s Most Proud Of In Life
Speaking of her daughters, when Kerrie mentions them, you can feel the love and care that she holds for them. It comes as a surprise to no one, therefore that her girls are what she’s most proud of:
“My beautiful daughters, they are my world. Of course, marrying Tony too!!”
On Balancing Being A Mum And A Member Of The Senior Leadership Team
While the love Kerrie has for her family lights her up inside, it does mean that she has to perform the famous working mum balancing act. While many attribute being able to achieve this to running a tight ship with a strict schedule, Kerrie was kind enough to elaborate on how she manages to perform this juggling act:
“[Balance] Haha what’s that?!? I heard on a podcast, don’t try to balance, but blend. I think this is working but for most mums we will never feel like we are with our kids enough, but then when we have our time with them, we feel like we fall behind on work. I am very lucky to have the support from Senior Management to be flexible when meetings are set and to work a shorter week so that I can do all the school and kinder drop offs and have mummy and daughter days with my 3-year-old. My 5-year-old is jealous of this as she is at school…”
This blending of work mode and mum mode is highlighted in Kerrie’s daily schedule, which is certainly busy indeed:
What is a day in your life like?
5am: Alarm goes off and keep pressing snooze for as long as I can!!
5:30am: Get up and journal
5:45am: 3-5km walk checking company and personal socials and emails then workout listening to a podcast
7am: Get kids and myself ready. I am a creature of habit, so breakfast is usually the same thing: toast with avocado, spinach and eggs, and my homemade hot chocolate poured into my Airstep and Imagine Floors travel mug for the drive
8am: Start school and kinder drop offs
9:15am: Arrive at work and straight into emails and meetings for the day. The day usually includes alot of content creation and providing support to our sales team plus working on exciting projects.
6:00pm: Aim to leave work by to get home and make dinner for family
7:00pm: School readers and bed/bath routine
8:30pm: Kids in bed, load of washing
8:31pm: Put 3-year-old back in bed
8:32pm: Tony’s turn to put 3-year-old back in bed
8:33pm: Put 3-year-old back in bed…. repeat these steps until 9:30pm
9:00pm: Try to have tea and read in bed whilst still doing above step
9:30pm: Lights out! Sleep!!
It also contributes to the most challenging thing about her role, which Kerrie identifies “juggling all the different hats. We are small team with big goals so just managing it all. I always have a to-do list, which I am sure alot can relate, that we feel like we never get on top of!”
On the upside, the variety in her role means there are plenty of fun projects to work on:
“There’s so many! Redesigning our website, creating our social pages, organising stands for conferences, creating content with Jess – it’s all alot of fun!!”
On One Design Element Every Home Should Have:
“Really great floors and underlay! I happen to know some great ones 😉“
As a fun side note, this is also Kerrie’s favourite thing about her job:
“Seeing our floors and underlays in our happy customers’ homes and spaces. No better feeling!“
On Personal Style
When asked to share her favourite colour to use in a design, Kerrie was quick to answer:
“White, haha I do like white space. But pink is my favourite colour, so you will always see this. I use pink for my flower arrangements and artwork. My daughters are also very Team Pink, so their spaces are filled with it. Sorry Tony, you’re outnumbered!”
This theme carries throughout the home, however the master suite features cooler tones as part of Kerrie’s quest to turn it into a relaxing sanctuary for herself and her husband. In fact, it’s her favourite room in the house for this exact reason:
“My bedroom, I am trying to make this my sanctuary. A place where I can just relax and switch off. TRYING been the word used as last night my 3-year-old was showing off her flipping skills while I was trying to have my tea and read, again not a fun mix with the white doona.”
Unfortunately, this relaxation strategy doesn’t always work out with two young daughters, however, ideally Kerrie’s downtime would look like “enjoying a cup of tea in bed while reading (with the kids in their own bed and no flipping).”
And Finally, On Looking Forward (And Back):
To round out our interview, we wanted to know what Kerrie is most excited for in the coming year, and what advice she would give her younger self. While her answer to the first question was rather cryptic – “We have a very big project we are working on, but I can’t share more, so watch this space!!” Her response to the second was quite wholesome indeed:
“WOW, you have a fun ride ahead of you (and more to come). Trust and back yourself.”
Bonus Question: If You Were An Animal, What Would You Be And Why?
“A German Shepherd. I am loyal and very protective too.”
