Meet Alosi Bloomfield

I have known Alosi for many years; we're great friends and old teammates and I have seen her journey over the last couple of years flourish. She runs a business called The Bloom Boxed Bakery with her sisters, has her very own fitness account as well as currently studying a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery. If that wasn't multitasking at its finest, I don't know what is.

I wanted you all to meet Alosi as she is beautifully kind and her story is not only motivating but also inspiring, her ability to be able to juggle many aspects of her life while also maintaining her wellbeing and social life is incredible.

Oh, and head on over and give @thebloomboxedbakery a follow, their boxed goodies are the best idea for a lockdown pick me up for friends and family, they look so so delicious!

Meet Alosi Bloomfield...

YOU ARE A VERY BUSY WOMAN! HOW DID THE BLOOM BOXED BAKER START?

In the midst of uncertainty and lockdown, my 3 sisters and I wanted to share something with our families as a way to connect from a distance whilst also showing our love to those we loved. The idea came around Easter and we were thinking about what we could do and the idea of baked goods boxes came up as 1. We grew up baking and always did for family functions and 2. No bakeries were open so that was one thing I know a lot of our family and loved ones were missing. This idea turned into a big bake that made us realise it could be a unique idea that hasn’t been done much involving baked good boxes that others can send to their loved ones and it’s been a hit since then! So so blessed to have people enjoy our creative work and expression through baking and gifting to others.

WHAT DO YOU CREATE AT BLOOM BOXED BAKERY?

We specialise in cakes and gift boxes with a range of baked goodies. We have customisable boxes that people can decide what to fill with and send to their loved ones! We also have been doing set menu boxes which change each week for people to taste test our new flavours and goodies! We really try to diversify our options for everyone to enjoy.

HOW DO YOU FIND JUGGLING LIFE, UNIVERSITY, AND YOUR BUSINESS?

It definitely is a juggling act for sure! but I try my best to prioritise my uni first and everything else second. My uni journey is a long one and baking is one of the many passions that I like to incorporate when I do have the time. I’m still learning to juggle everything but being organised, having good communication with everyone involved, and allowing time to wind down has really helped me find some balance in this hectic life we have.

YOU ALSO HAVE A FITNESS ACCOUNT, WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CREATE THIS?

Ahhh yes! Another lockdown inspiration. I have followed and loved fitness accounts and have been loving fitness for quite a few years now and I’ve always been way too scared to post about it or even share it. Now that it’s been a few years, the fear of judgment has disappeared and being much older and hopefully wiser I didn’t want to let my vulnerability and fear stop me anymore. So I decided to start @bloombod_ as a passion project to post whatever fitness-related things I want. Whilst there are many fitness accounts out there I don’t seem to find any people who look like me or who are in New Zealand that I can relate to so hopefully others can relate to it too. It’s a big part of my life and I really enjoy interacting with everyone.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN SIX WORDS?

Oooo tricky one

WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?

Social media/ Pinterest, my partner Aaron and generally from the people around me. I am grateful for my life every day and take inspiration from those I love. I can scroll through Pinterest for hours and create multiple mood boards it’s very addicting. My partner Aaron is super supportive and is very creative himself through his art, martial arts, cooking, and overall fitness which has inspired me a lot. My family is also supppeerrr creative, my dad is the ultimate handyman and gardener who can teach a lot of patients, and time turned to nature. My mum was the first baker in my life and is creative with weaving traditional Tongan crafts and she can sew. All of my sisters are also creative in their own ways and the creativeness flows through our whole family. Definitely been passed down

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO BE CREATIVE?

I really am self-motivated to be creative. I need an outlet away from the monotony of life so it’s really saved my mental and spiritual health. Once the motivation is gone the habits I have formed through continuously applying my creativeness have formed a lifestyle that is almost routine for me. Externally I do find motivation from my friends, family, and partner to encourage me. My mum bless her soul would suggest we have a girls' band if we sing together once my parents have always been so supportive in my creative ventures and those around me don’t ever put me down or discourage me from doing the things I want.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND PASSIONS AROUND FITNESS?

I started off fitness to look a certain way but now my mindset has completely changed. Fitness is now a habit used as a tool to maintain my mental health and makes me feel more like myself. I enjoy pushing my limits and being in the gym is a happy place it gives me an outlet and I would recommend it to anyone. I am grateful for this vessel that is my body and the relationship between the mind and the body is something I believe in greatly. The interconnection between the two allows me to live a calm, freeing, and purposeful life.

DO YOU LISTEN TO ANYTHING WHEN YOU WORK OUT?

Yes! At the gym, I like to work out to anything fast and catchy! Queen and Drake are my top faves atm

When I’m going for walks/ stretching or anything slow I really love listening to podcasts, maybe a bit more than music

WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL ITEMS IN BOTH YOUR KITCHEN AND GYM SPACE?

Kitchen - scales!! Everything is so much easier to make with scales especially big batches of goodies. We are lucky enough to have a big oven too and kitchen space to allow us to bake better.

In my gym- lucky enough we were able to come together and purchase gym equipment but I spend most of my time using a barbell and weights. You can make so many workouts with these two pieces of equipment and it’s been essential to my flourishing mental health during lockdown.

I also have a $2 Kmart skipping rope which I use as a form of cardio as running and I don’t get along haha

DO YOU HAVE A DREAM THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO FULFIL?

I want to incorporate what I’ve learned about fitness and hopefully apply it to my career with the main intention to help my people. The Maori and pacific island communities are always the most represented minorities for low social-economic groups, low education levels, and majority of major health conditions. Whilst there is medicine to fix problems there are lifestyle changes that aren’t always addressed which I hope to integrate. I hope that through the digital era my presence on social media can play a role in helping others whether it helps one person or many people.

WHAT'S THE HARDEST THING ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

I am a perfectionist and can get down on myself if things aren’t perfect or we as a business make mistakes. However, these mistakes had to be made in order for us to grow and get better and I’m grateful for them. I also find it challenging to juggle baking and life in general, especially when it can get really busy and sleep is on the back burner. Time management has definitely been my friend. With all business, there is always fear that you won’t be received well and it won’t work out but I think that’s the beauty in it.

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE CREATIVITY? AND HOW DO YOU PUT THIS TO PRACTICE IN YOUR WORK?

Creativity for me is the expression of one's thoughts and ideas into something tangible or not. It is the removal of all fear to imagine and form something valuable. For many years I let the fear of judgment and embarrassment stop me from pursuing my creative interests. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realised that the creativeness one possesses is what makes you unique and different. Once I started being creatively free and vulnerable the response has been amazing and I wish I had done it earlier. If I had any advice for anyone it would be to do it. If you want to start the blog, make a fitness account, start that YouTube channel you always wanted to do, then do it!! The worst thing you can do is not even try. I have so many ideas and though social media is my form of expression and I’m never going to look back!!