'A Father's Day surprise': What it's like to live and work with family at Blackshaw Real Estate

With The Chamberlain’s

Andrew Chamberlain is no stranger to Canberra’s real estate industry. He’s worked from the ground up and now spearheads nine offices throughout the capital with a team of 90 people across the organisation.

We speak to Andrew and his twin daughters Chelsea and Jessica about what it’s like living and working with family.

Andrew, tell us what is it about real estate that you enjoy.

Andrew: I love the variety of the job. When I finished school, I started a university course but found I wasn’t too interested in that direction in my life. I was pretty keen to work, but I didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk, so real estate was where I saw the potential for growth based on how much effort I put in. I loved meeting people and the excitement of being able to find solutions for people. I also met my wife in the business, and fast forward to now, it’s flourished into a big family.

What was it like growing up with both of your parents working in the real estate industry?

Chelsea: It was great watching Mum and Dad work together. They didn’t bring too much of the work home. They were really flexible when it came to work and family time and spent heaps of time with us. 

A: The original plan was that when the girls finished year 12, they had plans to take a year overseas but would work in the business for a couple of months to save a bit of money, but then COVID came around, and they’ve both just stuck around. Jess now works as a marketing co-ordinator in the corporate team, and Chelsea is a personal assistant to a bunch of agents.

What is it like living and working with family, particularly with your dad?

Jessica: What’s good about having family in the business is that we know how our parents think, work and what they mean. For instance, Dad will come to the corporate team with something and sometimes what he’s trying to explain won’t make much sense, but I get it. I understand what he’ll mean. 

C: And it’s actually a lot of fun because if fun things happen in the office, it’s nice that we’re all in on it too.

Where can we find you when you’re not working?

A: My wife and I are keen social cyclists. For our 20th wedding anniversary, we did a fundraising trip to Thailand. And when the weather is good here, we’ll often get out in the morning bunches on the weekends and meet a few people, go on a mountain bike ride or a road ride. 

We used to do that as a family before as well … we like to have downtime with the family because we recognise that having all of our kids at home is very precious and something that won’t last forever, so that time is very valuable to us.

C:  Since COVID hit, Jess and I have tried breaking into the modelling industry. We’ve driven up to Sydney during most weekends to attend events or a photo shoot, and it’s just so much fun. We walked in the Sydney Fashion Week, which was unbelievable, and we met so many incredible people.

J: It’s so different from our day-to-day, so it’s really great to do that. There’s a massive difference between a marketing co-ordinator role, which is very strict and task-driven. In contrast, modelling is quite creative … and every job in modelling is different. It’s such a fun way to spend downtime.

Any plans for Father’s Day?

J: It’s a Father’s Day surprise, but we have a Sunday tradition where our grandpa would come through in the mornings after rowing and wake the whole family up … it’s our Sunday ritual, so we’ll probably expect that and a big breakfast for them.