Embrace your quiet side

Hello. I'm Gethin, the founder of The Quiet Community, a new Sydney start-up that encourages people to embrace their quiet side. For some folk that means being more focussed and productive in their work day. For others it's the time to meditate and be still. And for many quiet people, we are a new retail experience where you can find your calm in the chaos.

Originally, I thought this idea would only appeal to quiet people, the introverts like me, who sometimes need to flee to the closest cave to recharge their batteries (or hide from the predators!).

But the more I spoke to people, the more I came to realise that everyone needs some quiet time.

And while most people accept the nobility of this idea and recognise that we would all be happier if we had more time and space to think, they then quickly ask me: 'why are you doing this now? Why are you designing a fancy chair for a shop in the midst of a health pandemic?'

The easy answer to this question is necessity, the mother of all invention. At the time of writing, it’s been seven months since I last earned a wage, a situation largely of my own making, save for a global health pandemic that made things a little bit more chaotic.

However the truth is more personal than that. Something a bit more painful that I don’t really want to talk about. But as you're potentially about to part with some of your hard-earned money in return for the promise of my idea, I feel like you deserve a good answer to this question. So here we go...

For long periods of my life I’ve felt lonely. I’ve had this choking feeling at the pit of my stomach and the back of my throat, that I’ve been unable to express in a healthy way.

It’s a feeling that you don’t want to own up to, something you swallow down, shake off, or in my case, run as far as you can until something else hurts instead.

I guess it’s the introverts curse, to be surrounded by loved ones, with the privileges I enjoy, in the beautiful place that I live, to sit here and think: what do I truly have? Who can I reach out to? How can they be there for me?

I’d like to say that I’ve learnt over time that it’s a nonsense, a trick of the mind to catastrophise and feel sorry for myself. But some days it pops up and you think ‘why me?’

So why am I building The Quiet Community? 

Because I don’t want anyone to feel lonely.

I want to make a place that anyone can come to on their own, whenever they feel they need to. And if they just want to sit and read a book and watch the world go by, then great. If they want to tentatively make a friend, speak to a barista, or play a quiet game of chess, then great. If they want to learn to see themselves in a new light, to find some quiet both inside their minds and in the outside world, then even better.

In times gone by, you might have called this place a community centre, or a pub, or any other club, temple or society that opened its arms to those in need of company or purpose. And frankly, I’d encourage you to do that too.

But if you just want to sit and be still, then The Quiet Community will be here for you and our Q Pod will be our primary attraction.

The Q Pod is a self-contained privacy pod that offers all the comforts and benefits of a business class airline experience. So for those people who just want to sit back and relax, the Q Pod is a comfortable chair with drinks holder and adjustable lighting. For those who want to work, the Q Pod has a fold-out table top and mounted touch screen that you can connect to via Bluetooth. And for those who want to meditate, the Q Pod comes loaded with guided meditations and a privacy blind.

Each Q Pod will be fitted with biometric sensors so if a customer wants to prove the productivity and wellbeing benefits of some quiet time, then we can do that. Other features include a retractable privacy blind, headphone holder, adjustable LED mood lighting, soothing acoustics and sustainable, tactile materials. Future design features might include temperature control, sound proofing and massage mode.

So I ask you, as a brave, farsighted, creative and kind supporters, to help me to get to the start line of my business by funding the manufacturing of my first batch of Q Pods.

And in return you can help lots of other people to embrace their quiet side.

Please follow our story and let us know if you would like to be amongst the first people to own your very own Q Pod.

Thank you.