Beci Orpin
& Raph Rashid

Beci Orpin
& Raph Rashid: Creative couple

Who we love can shape how we spend our days. For some, a partner’s push in the right direction can mould who we become, and even what we create. Lovers have inspired great works of fiction, sweet melodies and masterpieces, sparked projects, and birthed new ideas – as well as new humans.

It is so fascinating to discover how people navigate relationships in their day to day lives. For a creative couple that collaborates together, this intrigue is amplified. How do you continue to creatively inspire one another while also talking all things shopping lists and bin night? How to you make time for another person when your lives as individuals are jam-packed with creative projects?

To find out, we’ve turned to Melbourne’s creative couple royalty: designer Beci Orpin and foodie entrepreneur Raph Rashid. The dynamic duo met many moons ago through mutual friends when Beci was working at nightclub. Both with other partners, for many years the pair were just good friends, collaborating together on fashion label Princess Tina.

‘We were just good friends. We just hung out. Then I don't know what happened – we just moved into something else,’ said Beci.

Now decades later, and with two beautiful boys, between them they have created fashion labels, designed homewares, published books, dabbled in the music industry, as well as design, photography and kickstarted the food truck scene in Melbourne.

Raph is the founder of the hugely popular food trucks Beatbox Kitchen and Taco Truck as well as All Day Donuts, which recently extended its trading hours from Thursday to Saturday to serve eats and drinks in his latest venture Juanita Peaches.  

Endlessly creative, Beci Orpin is an inspiring local designer, artist, and illustrator. She juggles freelance projects, designs homewares for her label Arro Home and has published several books.

It’s clear that both Beci and Raph possess a pioneering spirit that evidently spurs them on. While they may have their individual ventures, everything is a team effort.

Yet behind the book deals, new ventures, and creative success, is endless curiosity – the pair are simply trying out new things and doing what they love.

‘I mean anything you do will have parts of it that feel like a chore,’ said Beci. ‘But on the whole it doesn't feel like a job … I’ve always felt really lucky to have that.’

From the kids drop off at school, to learning how to switch off from projects, Beci and Raph generously share the often private world of a couple and the magic and the mundane within it. 

... A day in the life of Raph 

9:10

My routine depends on what is happening that day. On Mondays there is always a staff meeting. In the summer there will be around thirty staff, but it mellows out over the winter. Also there are two people full-time in the office plus managers as well. 

Usually Mondays and Fridays are more of an admin day, so it is just checking in on all the different aspects of the business.

During the week it’s usually more about testing recipes or just practicing what we make. I still do service and go out in the truck so my time is really spread across the business.

12:30

I usually take my own lunch each day.

14:00

There is a loose system but things just pop up. There is a roster that I am on for service, but then the rest of my time is spent on the business and working with everyone.

15:00

I generally work from nine to three because I pick up the kids from school most days.  

16:00

I work at Juanita Peaches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so on those days I might pick up kids but then goes back to work to start in the restaurant around four and work until 11 or 12. 

WEEKEND ROUTINE 

Beci: We usually have a hot breakfast on the weekends, something like pancakes or Raph likes to go and get a baguette. The kids might have tennis or judo. We'll do the shopping for the week – we go to La Manna or local grocers on Sydney Road, we try and avoid supermarkets.

Raph: In the summer period I work all through the weekends. But otherwise there is not really a plan … we're just rolling.

Beci: We usually end up cooking for friends who come over. We have a group of friends that all live pretty close and have kids, so we tend to be the people everyone comes to. Sometimes we might go out and Mum will babysit. 

On the reality of a dynamic duo …

Beci: We used to work on everything together when we ran the clothing label and Raph used to manage my freelance work – he would always have my back. But now I have my business and he has his.

But Raph always points out that everything we do is a team effort, whether we work on something separate or together. So I try and keep that in my head.

Raph: We are kind of independent, but when we need someone, we’re there.

Beci: It does get hard though – we have to stop ourselves talking about business. Sometimes it feels like that is our entire our lives. It gets boring and I think do myself, “Do I have to listen to you take that phone call? Do we have to do that thing right now?” 

On being stronger together …

Beci: I think our work is stronger together. There is no way I could have accomplished most of the thing I’ve done without Raph.

We definitely drive each other mental, but we are very open with one another – there is never anything left unsaid I don't think.

If I am annoyed, I’ll let him know! That is pretty important I think – to let someone know how you feel straight away, especially when you spend so much time together. 

On learning from your mistakes …
 

Raph: Mistakes are just part of your day to day – if you don't make any you are not trying anything new. 

But it is really frustrating if someone continues to make the same mistake over and over again. Far out that drives me crazy! You’ve got to take in the impact – if you are not learning from it, it is kind of boring.

Beci: But I also think the longer you do something, the more you know what you are good at and what you can develop.

We've made heaps of mistakes. There is that saying that you can't have success without mistakes.

I feel like that is part of the reason that Raph’s business is successful. It also really suits him, it’s instant. I feel like when we ran the clothing label, it was fun but we weren't very good at it – it just didn't really suit our personality.

On the importance of a routine with children…

Beci: The kids' part of the routine is really important. We always get to school on time and we have dinner at the same time each day. Kids need that as far as I’m concerned ... our kids need it.

They really thrive off that and it gives them a security, even though our lives can be pretty hectic.

Raph: Our kids like to be at school on time, and they don't let us be late. 

Beci: ...We are not loose in that way at all.

Raph: We are on it. 

Beci: But it all holds together because we are our own bosses. That is the only way that it has been able to work because we are both flexible.

Raph: And we have heaps of support from family and friends and a good network we can call on if we need – it is incredible. 

On balancing the busy…

Beci: There are a lot of ideas between us, which works if one of us is busy and the other one isn’t.

But sometimes if we both have a lot on, it can become really stressful because we are both trying to do so much and neither of us will let up.

Raph: You almost need to check where the other person is at. We just need to be a bit more mindful about where we are both at in order to go into creative discussions.

When we first started working together as friends, before being a couple, the energy was always flowing. But now we have other distractions and other important things in our lives – we are not always on that same speed. So if you try to enter into things and you are not resonating at the same tempo, then ideas will just be ejected.

On writing and publishing as a couple …

Beci: I think books have nearly caused our divorce! [Laughs] … It's really stressful. It is so much time and as far as monetary rewards, it doesn’t really have any. It's a lot of work and you can't do it half-arsed either. This year I decided not to do a book and it is awesome having that break. For a book, you really have to lessen the client work. I usually put aside up to four weeks to work solidly on the book and get extra help in the studio.

I think you can get a book done reasonably painlessly if it is the only thing you are working on. But often that hasn’t been the case and I’ve had to do freelance work at night. It can be really stressful, but you just have to create the time.

Raph: They are really tough … I found trying to lump a whole project on top of your day-to-day routine is really difficult. But the motivation came from someone being interested – I had the recipes there and a good idea of what I wanted it to look like, it was a challenge and a blast. But you can’t hold back – and it was a lot of work. 

Beci: I feel like we do three people’s jobs – for mine I do the styling, come up with the ideas, the art direction, the photo shoot the whole book.

Raph: Maybe we make it hard on ourselves, but it’s because you’ve got an idea and you want to take care of all the aspects.