the 20/20 blog: meet clem

Clem, what do you do and how did you end up doing it?

Clem: I’m a tarot card reader. I also do complimentary therapies like reiki and hypnotherapy. It took me years to make the step. Two and a half years ago a friend of mine opened their own healing centre and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

When you were little did you always feel a connection to the otherworldly?

C: I’ve always had a sixth sense. When I was a little girl, I wanted to do nursing or have a caring role. Which I’m actually doing now, come to think of it! To me, readings are like counselling. When I was little, I always wanted to wear glasses too – but I had to wait ’til I was 40 to do so! *laughs* I kept on telling the Universe that I needed glasses, I wanted them so badly.

Do you remember your first  pair of glasses?

Rose Crulli (Che Business owner, and Clem’s cousin pictured below): Clem was wearing really boring glasses! I said to her – Clem, you’re not a boring person!

C: Those daggy pairs! Do you remember the square, rimless ones I used to wear? And one day I came into your store, and I was like a little girl in a lolly shop. So many frames! The first ones that I got from Che were little sixties ones, and then a pair of ‘Harry Potter’ round reading glasses.

That first pair of Che glasses – why were you attracted to them and how did they make you feel?

C: They were cat’s eyes, which made me feel like Dame Edna. Just beautiful! And interesting, too. I want to look different, to look unique. That’s why I love this place.

The glasses you’re wearing now – have you had them for a long time?

C: I got these last year. Jono Hennessy is my favourite designer.

Rose: There’s a story about the glasses Clem is wearing, actually. Last year the designer Jono Hennessy had an offer – if you bought a pair of his frames, you would also receive a pair of his sunglasses for free. Clem came in during this period and wanted to buy a pair of Jono Hennessy glasses – but she didn’t want the free frames to be sunglasses. She wanted them as a prescription transition lens, which is what we delivered.

What’s the most amusing pair of glasses that you’ve ever bought? That make you feel cheeky and mischievous?

C: It would have to be the Dame Edna’s. You can’t get much cheekier than cat’s eyes with diamantes!

Che serves a community of people interested in culture – in art, music, books and performance. What cultural experience has been important to your life? 

C: I’m always posting lyrics and music online. Adam Lambert has been speaking to me a lot lately!  I’m 57 years old and loving Adam Lambert! *laughs* I’ve also just discovered Byron Katie and I’m reading one of her books called ‘Loving What Is.’ It’s all about our thoughts and turning them around. Katie puts you through a process which makes you look at life from a different perspective.

What do you love most about Fitzroy?

C: Brunswick Street – I love the shops, just walking around. And people watching, too – sitting at cafes and watching people walk by. I can make up stories about them as they go by, it’s very imaginative!

Do you have any spectacle-wearing style icons? 

C: Rose Crulli! She rocks the glasses. Sophia Loren rocks the sunglasses. And of course, Zia Assunta, too. We can’t forget her!

Clem with her glamorous Zia Assunta