I came to Sydney in my 20s as a backpacker. On a whim, I landed a job with Bellevarde in Vaucluse. The feel of that Vaucluse site was completely different to anything I’d seen before. Everyone cared. The site manager, Guy, was a perfectionist. Nothing that wasn’t up to scratch was let pass. John Fielding visited regularly and the finished build spoke for itself—curved copper roofs, mosaic baths with heating in the concrete, flush inside-to-out door sills in stainless. I was hooked. That was back in 2002 and Bellevarde have been going from strength to strength ever since.

Someone asked me recently why I like working at Bellevarde so much and the answer is job satisfaction. I get to work with the best architects on amazing designs and figure out how to get their ideas from paper to the finished building. The collaborative nature of the process allows us to improve on the design and come up with something even better. Then I get to work with an excellent site team to make sure it all comes together to the client’s highest expectations. When a job wraps up I can stand back with everyone on site and be proud of what we’ve done. It really is a team effort.

A smart man once told me if you aren’t learning something new every day, you’re not paying attention. Bellevarde projects definitely provide the conditions where you can continue to be challenged.

Looking back on the last couple of decades, I’m grateful to all the mentors that guided me and the people that helped along the way to deliver these homes I know we are all so proud of. I’m lucky that Bellevarde took a punt on someone untried and untested and gave me the chance to see what I could do. I consider myself fortunate to now be able to mentor the younger generation of Bellevarde people to ensure the future of the company is in good and capable hands.