Picture it: a crisp September sojourn in the Cotswolds, rooms full of brilliant women, and a row of very chic electric cars parked outside. Not a bad office for the week.
Last week we joined Volvo Car UK and She’s Electric at Heritage House, Daylesford Organic, for Living Thoughtfully: two days dedicated to smarter, calmer, more sustainable living. Think panels, workshops, fika, sustainable fashion and test drives of the new fully-electric Volvo EX60. Yes, all at one event. No, we didn’t want to leave.
If you couldn’t make it (or you did, and you want to relive it), here’s everything that happened…
Day One: Technology That Actually Makes Life Easier
The Future of Everyday Life
Thursday morning was all about tech that earns its place in your life, from AI to EVs. Our co-founder Natalie Salmon hosted The Future of Everyday Life with Jada Sezer, Dr Lauren Ingram and Natalie Enslow.
The brief? Prove that good technology is here to make life simpler, not more complicated. The panel got into how to build your own personal tech toolkit, the apps that genuinely lighten the mental load and, crucially, which shiny new things you can happily ignore.
Because here’s the thing: you don’t need every app. You need the right five. And you definitely don’t need to feel guilty about the rest.
Wellbeing & Living Well
In the afternoon, our own Emmy Brunner took the stage for Wellbeing & Living Well with Eleanor Hoath, Dr Stephanie Kuku and Lauren Murdoch-Smith.
The big question: what does it actually mean to live well now? The answer, it turns out, isn’t another 5am routine. The conversation covered routines that support you (rather than punish you), finding real moments of restoration, and self-care that doesn’t become yet another item on the to-do list. Revolutionary, frankly.
In between the panels there were test drives of the Volvo EX60, plenty of fika and rooms full of women connecting and asking brilliant questions. The best kind of networking – the kind that doesn’t feel like networking.
Day Two: Family & The Lives We Build
Choosing A Car That Works For The Whole Family
Friday morning turned to family and the lives we build. Natasha Bird spoke with Nicole Melillo Shaw, Anna Whitehouse (aka Mother Pukka) and Volvo ambassador Steph Elswood about how to choose a car that works for everyone in it – from the school run to the weekend escape, and everything (and everyone) you’re ferrying in between.
The Mental Load, Unpacked
Then Bex Day, CEO and founder of Still Curious and She’s Electric, led Family & The Lives We Build with Volvo ambassador Alice Liveing, Annie Phillips and our own Emmy Brunner.
This one took on the mental load head-first: why so much of the organising, planning and remembering still falls to women, and what actually helps. If you’ve ever been the only person in your house who knows when the bins go out, this was your panel. There were a lot of knowing nods in the room.
Fika, Workshops And A Little Light Shopping
Between sessions there was fika in the Greenhouse, a workshop with Volvo ambassador Annie Phillips in the Dovecote, and a chance to browse sustainable fashion brands in the Ox Barn followed by a movement workshop led by Alice Liveing. Alice guided guests on Volvo branded yoga mats through simple but important moves that can be replicated in daily life, such as at home, work or in your car. Daylesford, you really do know how to set a scene.
The Modems Panel
The day ended with a Modems panel featuring Natalie Salmon, Volvo ambassador Alexis Foreman and Emmy Brunner.
And then, the grand finale: guests left with a test drive in the new Volvo EX60.
The shift to electric cars and smarter tech is happening – and women are making more of those decisions than ever. But trust, confidence and a very heavy mental load can get in the way. Living Thoughtfully was about closing that gap: honest conversations, no-judgement questions and technology that makes life calmer, not busier. That’s exactly what we’re here for.
A huge thank you to every panellist and guest, to Volvo Car UK, to the whole team at She’s Electric and to Daylesford for making Living Thoughtfully what it was. Until next time.
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