We have been major Oh Sierra fans for quite some time now and when we caught wind that they were designing their first (of many!) vacation rentals in Tulum, we knew it was going to be gooooood. Xanthe and Frank possess very similar values to us at Stay Here (and can we also say, couple goals!) They are passionate big picture thinkers that care about creating great work while at the same time really valuing the importance of PLAY.

These two are proof that it is possible to design a life where you can live and work in tandem —from anywhere in the world.

To celebrate the grand opening of the Swim Club we’re hosting a giveaway on the Stay Here Instagram. Today is the final day to enter, click here for the opportunity to win a two night stay at the Swim Club in Tulum and and $300CAD towards your flight! We’re also meeting up to chat on IG LIVE later today at 4 PM EST to chat all things interior design, branding and travel. Be sure to follow Oh Sierra to catch the live!

Let’s start with the basics, tell us a little bit about you two and how Oh Sierra came to be:

We’ll we’re Xanthe and Frank Appleyard, co-founders of Oh Sierra and… married couple. Hahaha. We founded the business back in the end of 2017 (New Years Eve, to be precise) when we were both working in communications and marketing roles for small businesses. In those roles, we could feel the pressure to constantly be innovating and creating, but didn’t have the resources or internal support needed to make the changes we saw the potential for. Our idea at the time was to be an anything-you-need agency for small local businesses, but quickly realized that we were most skilled in developing strategy, and shaping creative decisions from the idea-up. From there, we honed our offerings to be primarily brand and website design specific, and have since extended our reach as experts in foundational strategy, messaging and communications development, brand and business consulting, working with small and medium-sized businesses and teams on a global scale. At this point, it’s truly wild to look back at the business owners we were in 2017 – we’re located in new countries, our team has grown significantly, and we’ve shifted our vision in terms of how we work and who we work with. It came with a lot of fear and took a lot of leaps though, I’ll tell ya.

One thing that really drew us to collaborating with your agency is your focus on the hospitality industry. Can you share more about how/why your agency shifted into this niche?

Fundamentally, it’s who we are. We feel hospitality is essential to the way ALL brands do business, and the way ALL people live their lives – whether they realize it or not. We both grew up working in the industry between restaurants and hotels, and truly don’t associate a good time without good food, libations, and conversation. Since we first met, we’ve taken every weekend trip we could, explored new cities (by eating + drinking our way through them) and formed a business that allows us to travel so that we can engage in the kind of enjoyment that we value most: culinary culture.

When our agency was first finding its footing, the majority of our clients were in the hospitality just as a result of the communities we had been intertwined with – at some point along the way, as we started working with more brands outside of our local bubble, we found ourselves getting further away from that. Over the last 8 months, we’ve been evaluating what we want this agency to look like as it grows and expands, and what we kept coming back to was: experiences that cultivate enjoyment, infusing hospitality into all of the brands we shape, with an emphasis on working with brands in the hospitality, travel, and lifestyle space.

Ultimately, we’re simply returning to our roots – but with a more confident, seasoned approach, and fresh perspective to offer through our own travel experiences.

More and more we’re finding people are leaning towards living and working as “digital nomads”. Can you share a bit about how Oh Sierra operates abroad?

We hesitate to identify as true “digital nomads” because although we can live + work from anywhere and spend much time travelling, it might paint a picture of us being a little more FREE SPIRITED than our actual lifestyle entails. We started in Canada, and then purchased our home in Mexico with the intention of moving down there to renovate, design, and get it ready for rentals. We said a LEGIT goodbye to our life in Canada – let go of our beloved loft apartment, and somehow packed everything we own into 4 suitcases (with two dogs in tow). We ended up living in Tulum for 8 months, and spent much of it in the weeds getting the property ready and working within the agency on a daily, full-capacity basis. Now you’ll find us between Los Angeles, Tulum, and Canada (with a few surprise getaways in between, no doubt), but the truth is: we’re big routine people! We’ve found that even while hopping around, the best way to feel connected and on top of things is to follow a pretty standard working structure, check-in with the team daily, and give ourselves working timelines to stay accountable – but we’re clockin’ out at 5 and hitting the closest natural wine bar… promise.

Any top tips for anybody considering packing their bags and living life on the road?

It’s easier and harder than you probably think.

It’s easy to say fuck it, and leave everything behind, and still be able to thrive and find success in your work. Those little things and creature comforts you’ve felt so attached to – you’ll be FINE without them. All you really need is a laptop. The harder part is rebuilding routines and relationships, and channeling resilience in a new place with new cultures, languages, and ways of life.

I (Xanthe) thought I was going to come back from Mexico SOOO chilled out and different, but it’s actually the most focused, driven parts of me that flourished. Maybe because it took a lot of grit and resilience to be so far from the things we knew and loved for so long, I don’t know for sure. But I had to channel a lot of perseverance to wake up every day and say, “I chose this and I’m rolling with it” even when it wasn’t exactly what I imagined it would be.

Basically – the things you think are going to change about you while you’re away, might not. It’s important not to put too much pressure on who you’re going to be on the other side of your journey, and instead embrace who you get to be every day. Is that cheesy?!

**We had a bit of banter back and forth on Instagram about the importance of PLAY. You even have a tattoo that says “Take it Easy”..**

The tag line for Swim Club is WORK PLAY LIVE.. What is your philosophy on the importance of play when it comes to business?

Here’s the thing: we live and breathe this business. We think about it every second of every day. WHY WOULD WE WANT THAT TO BE BORING? There’s such a cultural obsession over “don’t live to work, work to live!” and we kind of… live and work in tandem in such an involved way, that we can’t afford to not make it fun. The work always has to get done, but so does the play. And we are living proof that it can all happen at the same time. You don’t have to give up one for the other, or schedule them around each other. I think that’s also a big reason why we’re so drawn to the hospitality industry – it has that immersive culture, not just for the patrons and guests, but for the people who work in the industry, too.

When it came to the Swim Club, we really wanted people to look at it as an opportunity to understand that you don’t need a vacation from your life – you can just show up and keep living it in a new place, with new inspiration, and it’s a beautiful thing. We call it “a destination for possibility” because we hate the idea of having to plan for months to get time off for a vacation, only to come back after a week feeling like you need another one. We believe it’s possible to just be able to carry on doing all of the things we love (working, living, and playing) under one inspiring roof, anywhere in the world (but especially at Swim Club), and to come back feeling more fuelled and inspired than ever – no escape from reality required.

SWIM CLUB, let’s dive in. What is the Swim Club? How did the idea come to be? (We are obsessed with the name by the way!)

OUUUU OKAY. This was one of those ideas that always lingered in the backs of our minds as a “someday.” We were travelling so often, realizing that no AirBnB ever quite nailed the aesthetic we wanted, or didn’t have the right kitchen tools, or office space, or just felt disconnected from the experiences outside of it. We mused about investing in a vacation property, and as the universe does, the opportunity came our way much sooner than we anticipated.

The Swim Club is a two bedroom, 2.5 bath villa located in a quiet corner of Tulum Pueblo (Spanish for town) that backs onto the Mayan jungle. It was built WAY before the Tulum tourism boom, and has the most incredible grounds and pool – and it’s only ten minutes from the stunning beach. When we purchased the property, it was a shitshow, but because it was built so well, we knew we could make magic there. We gutted it, remodelled the kitchen and bathrooms, painted over the orange (!!!!) walls, and made it our own, to share.

The Swim Club is the precursor to an overarching brand that we envision for Oh Sierra – a series of Clubs around the world that harbour the same values of working, playing, living, and enjoying our spaces and the cultures that surround them. Because brand messaging is so important to us, we chose the word “club,” to signify a sense of belonging amongst travellers – the idea that you can visit the Swim Club from anywhere in the world, and still share experiences and memories with everyone else who has stepped foot in it. We plan to expand on the “club” element as this side of the business grows, but that’s a little teaser for ya.

One thing we LOVE about the Swim Club is the attention to detail in every aspect. The Swim Club is a BRAND and we firmly believe every Air bnb needs its own brand. When it came to the conceptualization for Swim Club—what were some of your main inspirations?

We were first and foremost inspired by the future users of the space. We wanted to make sure it was created in a way that would accommodate the lifestyle that our ideal guests value, which is one that gives them freedom to create, areas to lounge, and plenty of opportunity to entertain and enjoy company. Because of this, we have extensive indoor-outdoor dining space, the nicest couch we’ve ever sat on, and desk space for multiple guests to be working and taking calls at the same time.

So, that’s function – but as far as form goes, we really leaned in to the minimalist + modern decor that we’re drawn to, while mixing them with materials influenced by local style and architecture. Concrete is a widely used building material in the area, and almost all of the wood furniture in the house is sourced and made locally. It was important to us for it to feel warm, but not cluttered – a space where you’ll instantly walk in and feel comfortable, but can also make your own.

This was your first foray into designing a space.. Can you tell us more about that experience? Any major advice to anyone looking to tackle renovating and designing an air bnb on their own?

Ohhhhhh jeeze. Best advice? Don’t try to live in the same space you’re renovating. We did, and never will again. Hopefully. Second best advice? Renovating a home in a different country has totally different rules. Be prepared to know nothing, and be open to everything. It’s also extremely important to find your allies and find your voice. We had an amazing contractor that we worked with who made the process much more comfortable for us (thank you, Hector!) but we also had a few instances of working with others where we needed to speak up to make sure things were done right.

From a design perspective, we found it really helpful to draw things out the old fashioned-way! We put pen to paper (and literal Sharpie on the walls) to design the counters, sinks, and shelves. When it came to styling the space, our Director of Operations + Hospitality who was staying with us at the time, Sandy, scrawled it all out on a notepad over some mezcal.

Also also, ALSO: remember to laugh. Shit is going to hit the fan. But, it’ll be a great story.

We actually haven’t designed any properties outside of Canada— how did you find the furniture sourcing process? What were some of the main brands you worked with to bring the space to life?

Tulum is unique because it is smaller community – there are definitely some areas in Mexico where there are TONS of textiles, and incredible makers and artisans outside your doorstep. Tulum is a little further removed from that, so we found a challenge in sourcing options at a lower price point. As mentioned earlier, almost all of the wood furniture was sourced from a local woodworking operation that happened to be right across the street, which was amazing. For some other items we definitely had to decide where to splurge (our stunning couch is made to order from Casa Atica) and where to save (the living room chairs are from an amazing spot in town called Calido). In all honesty, H&M Home also came THROUGH for some essentials. That said, there are definitely so many amazing people to meet, and the space is stocked with plenty of little gems from other local spots that we love to hype up and tag on our Instagram.

Your Instagram for Swim Club is ON POINT. What advice can you give property owners for upping their grid-game?

Well, THANK YOU. Our main goal with the Swim Club presence was to stand out by capturing the live/work/play moments as we were living/working/playing them. So many of the other properties in the area have a VERY curated aesthetic, which is gorgeous, but just don’t feel overly lived-in. We did one small styled content shoot, but other than that most of the images were taken on our iPhones while we were hanging out and enjoying ourselves. It doesn’t hurt that Xanthe and Sandy have an aesthetic eye and are constantly on the lookout for *vibes,* but the best advice we can offer is just to live in the moment, document it, and then use it to showcase the experience in an authentic way.

Another thing we particularly love is that Swim Club has its own (really well designed) website. Why is it important for a property to have it’s own website in addition to a listing page on Air bnb?

Ohhh, love this one. In a basic sense: AirBnB is a rented space on a platform. Your website you get to control – create a look and feel, make it truly immersive. From the beginning, we wanted Swim Club to be a branded experience before a listing. By creating a website of its own, we’re able to share information in a way that feels most compelling to our audience without any limitations. Not to mention, it adds major credibility to the brand – a layer of accountability outside of a single app, and the opportunity to grow into something bigger.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today! Before you go, for anyone out there with big dreams to have their own Air bnb, what is your best advice?

If you’re thinking about it, start making moves towards it. ANY MOVES. Small, big, it doesn’t matter – just don’t stay stuck in the dreaming phase for a second longer.

That’s standard Oh Sierra advice with ANY dream or vision you have, but I couldn’t tell you the amount of times someone says “I want to do this too, but I don’t know where to start!” and let’s be real – we had NO IDEA where to start. We saw a house that looked like it could be something, and we started making the moves towards it. First it was an email, then a meeting with the bank, then a lawyer, then a lot of Googling, and… the rest is history, right?

Well! There you have it folks. It’s safe to say that we are MAJORLY inspired by Xanthe and Franks story and will be adding Swim Club to our bucket list pronto. Be sure to join us later today (July 12, 2021) at 4PM on the Oh Sierra Instagram for a little live chit chat about all things design, branding and travel. See you there!

Check out the IGLIVE we filmed together here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRPZ7C-Fvps/

A Destination for Possibility: The Swim Club in Tulum