Um, how did you get started?

You know, I always talk about my career like it was a little bit of a pinball machine experience.

I really thought I was gonna be a journalist, 'cause I loved creative writing and story, and then I got to a classic books program, and I realized story is even more important than that.

It shapes identity and culture.

So I became a history teacher.

But I became a history teacher about the same time I became a mom, and I ended up in a school district with kids who had stories that needed a lot of more time than I could give them and still have anything left for my kiddo when I got home.

So I jumped out of that thinking I would go back later, and eventually found myself in a room full of entrepreneurs.

What does that mean?

Mm.

So year one, we really focused on the foundations.

Like I said, we implemented a new ATS.

We created our own hiring philosophy that didn't exist.

We had V1 of structured hiring, where we had, like, everyone following the same process.

Year two, we really focused on, um, yeah, adjusting again with the business.

So we changed our values.

Mm.

And so if folks are just learning about you or they already love your wine, but they want to know more about the background of the winery and your family, kind of give us an idea how it all started.

Sure.

Well, I'd love to share it.

Yeah.

So my name's Amanda Johnson.

I'm the second generation of the Johnson family.

So my parents, Brian and Jan, first bought land here in the southern valleys of the Wairau Valley in Marlborough in the early 90s when the wine industry here was sort of just starting to take off a bit.

How is it in New Zealand? Are people making dessert wines as well? Yes.

So that means I've got a little bit better [laughs] chance of staying healthy through this outbreak.

Yeah.

You, you may not have to worry about it as much as someone else, but yeah.

The other thing is when we are talking about cleaning our food to make sure it's safe, we gotta think about the raw products.

We think about cookout, burgers, chicken, those type of things.

We have to make sure that those are separate from our fruits and vegetables.

We don't wanna contaminate.

But I would guess maybe the biggest faux pas happen during that cook and chill portion, that sometimes that's where we fall down a little bit on food safety?

glad my camera's not

working.

She's very – she's quiet.

I think to be a good designer, you have to be very observant, and I think that you have to be a good listener.

And she was able – and I've been able to see this in hindsight more than I was able to see it when I was in it and working with other designers – I think part of her gift is being able to ride the line between the director, the writers, the actor, and the network.

And I think that that really and her own intuition as an artist of how she visually sees the character being played and how she can give them the best clothing props to be able to carry out their job as the actor in the role.

And so that in itself is, like, pretty amazing.

Yeah,