The truth is out. Mothers rock. And they do it in a way that makes their male entrepreneur counterparts sit up and take notice. Moms are discovering that entrepreneurship affords them that flexibility in their lives that a 9 to 5 routine doesn’t. It is a bit of a challenge to balance the demands of motherhood with those that come with owning your own business. However, there is a growing number of mothers that are demonstrating that they aren’t ones to be left behind. Their professionalism and work ethic leaves nothing to be desired. Designer moms are also shaking things up in this respect. They are ardent believers in the art of compassionate design, a discipline that is sought after by businesses today in order to reach out to customers all the better.
Let’s get some numbers on this thing first. According to The National Women Business Council, there are some 7.8 million women-owned businesses in the USA. Their collective economic impact? Nearly $3 trillion! While adding 50,000 jobs in this uncertain economic climate no less. Professional women also have a growing presence in other territories like Canada, Spain, UK and other countries.
With numbers like these, many women want to know how they can make the most of their professional life, whilst juggling their responsibilities as a parent.
We take a look at some of the most prominent designer moms today and what they’ve got to say about their work and life. We have featured moms from 4 countries, highlighting why mothers are a major driving force in this globalized world.
Jen Meyer always had a passion for jewelry design from a very young age. She learnt the craft from her grandmother. After serving at two of the world’s leading fashion houses Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren, Jen wanted to roll out her own business. To this end, she founded Jennifer Meyer Jewelry, her own line of personal and versatile jewelry collection.
Her jewelry is made by loving and caring hands, and that is the secret behind her brand’s success. Says she,
“Ask any woman where they received or bought a certain piece of jewelry and they will tell you a story.’ – Jennifer Meyer
According to Isabelle Persenda Palmer, who has been working as a photographer and graphic designer since 2008, and just made the transition to a mompreneur in 2012,
‘You need very strong work ethics. Be very patient. A business rarely takes off in the first couple of years. Trust yourself. Believe in what you are about to set up and fight for it. Get help at home. Be super organized, set yourself rules and stick to them as much as is realistically possible. Be prepared to give your time to everyone but yourself. You are only about to add yet another huge responsibility on your shoulders but it’s just great!’ – Isabelle Palmer
She runs a furniture design firm called Insitu, fusing art, design and furniture as part of her brand.
5 Rules from Isabelle Palmer’s playbook: Strong work ethics. Be patient. Trust yourself. Be super organized. Focus on Small Details.
Another self-made mompreneur is Leslie Haugen, a single mother of four children who is based in Atlanta and runs her company Leslie Haugen Designs. Her work has caught the eye of small businesses across the city since her brand is synonymous with affordability and quality. Her work has made her children entrepreneurs themselves, helping showcase how being a mother can instill a healthy business sense in a family. Her method of undertaking research and her creative design flair have also seemed to have rubbed off on the others.
‘My favorite quote from a client is, “You created for me what I couldn’t verbalize that I wanted.” It was something in their head that they couldn’t see but I am able to bring their vision to a reality for them. I can get a good idea of what a client wants and needs from talking to them and I am able to produce that really quickly.’ – Leslie Haugen
Active philantrophist and CEO of her own company Kendra Scott Design, Kendra has established a multi-million dollar business that is the envy of many. The secret of her success? ‘I’m a mom first,’ she quips in a matter of fact way.
Kendra Scott loves designing jewelry for a wide and diverse clientele. She works hard and never misses out on her family obligations when it comes to her two sons. The idea for her business came to her a decade ago when she was pregnant with her first child. She experimented with jewelry during that period as a bold idea formed in her mind; finally deciding to create her own collection of affordable yet sturdy jewelry that appealed to working moms like her. She started her jewelry business after an earlier venture made her learn about the business.
Her hard work paid off and now celebrities such as Eva Longoria and Sofia Vergara swear by Kendra Scott Design.
Kendra Scott’s motherhood has taught her invaluable lessons in how to keep her 125-strong workforce happy and engaged. She lets the staff leave for their kids’ soccer games and events, arguing that family always comes first.
“I promise you, if every employer did that, the kind of productivity that they would see would blow them away. My staff, they’re on their e-mail at midnight after they’ve put their kids to bed because they left,” she said. “They appreciate their jobs. You don’t have to work more to get more out of it. You can be smart about how you work.” – Kendra Scott
We might know her full name but Lindsey from Arizona has a spiffy business promotion model that’s so simple and crazy at the same time that we’re surprised that no one hasn’t done that before. BetterAfter is Lindsey’s brainchild, leveraging the near-universal love of transforming everyday thrift store treasures into functional and awesome-looking décor. She takes submission from other design aficionados like herself who love to transform overlooked objects into stuffs of immeasurable beauty.
On why her business promotion is such a hit with moms and designers the world over, Lindsey quips,
‘No fifteen-paragraph tutorials to wade through, no endless scrolling through every nut, bolt and angle of the project, just a before and an after, and a link to find out more. Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig alittle deeper, its really how it works.’
Founder-owner of Curiosity Box, Cassie Krygsman believes in nurturing the creativity of children from a very small age. Her business model is predisposed towards this noble aim, providing kids of all ages with a box that contains arts and crafts tools and know-how, instilling a creative design sense in the young ‘uns.
“I love crafting, scrapbooking, baking and being creative and I wanted to see the same passion for creativity passed onto my children. With our busy and hectic lives, I always felt like our quality creative time was so limited.” – Cassie, on how the inspiration for Curiosity Box was born.
Follow Curiosity Box on Twitter here.
Last but not the least, we have Andrea Iervella, winner of the Mompreneur Award of Excellent (2015) and owner of Schoolworx. Her entrepreneurial effort solved two problems in one go – the preservation of childhood memories and restoring artistic masterpieces that have had the ignominy of seeing the inside of a storage bin. In short, her service relies on archiving and preserving nostalgic childhood artworks. Getting these crafty artistic designs in a high quality format is what Schoolworx specializes in.
“I always found it incredibly difficult to throw away something that meant so much to them and to me…from their first drawings of people (a circle with arms and legs) to the hand made cards with their little hand prints painted and stamped as a flower.” – Andrea Iervella on how her startup idea came into being.
The duo behind the Ontario-based Tri-Fun Kids Triathlons are going for something different. They have designed a program that combines physical activities with fun-filled twist. Its getting kids and family to exercise with custom-tailored events that involve swimming, cycling, running and more. And what’s more, they’ve got a world-class Olympic athlete Simon Whitfield to design these programs, infusing their programs with a deft personal touch that only a sports celebrity would bring.
“Teach your kids how to run and happiness will follow.” – Anonymous
Follow Tri-Fun here for daily updates on the races and fun-filled events.
Who says that moms that are carrying a child can’t look good? Julie Berg wanted something that made her look confident, beautiful and comfortable, instead of the dull-as-heck hospital gown that women traditionally wore. This was the whole inspiration behind her Dressed to Deliver business, giving expecting mommies an extremely versatile and multipurpose 3-in-1 Birthing Gown.
“Every woman should choose to wear what makes them feel like the strong, competent, confident and beautiful mom that they are.” – Julie Berg
You can follow updates from Dressed2Deliver here.
The graphic designer-cum-mompreneur from Montreal, Kelly De Luca runs Sucre + Confetti, her very own sweet and stylish baking + party supplies firm that specializes in holding unforgettable events. Her expertise in planning parties takes the cake, literally and figuratively. Holding themed birthday bashes and events is one thing, but Kelly De Luca goes one step further and provides nifty party supplies under one convenient roof for those who don’t want to run from pillar to post for the purpose.
“The lack of unique, stylish and modern party supplies in the area made me search the web for the perfect pieces to make my themes a reality.” – Kelly De Luca on how Sucre + Confetti came about.
Kathryn Cole has set up a successful business that takes her love for illustration and graphic design to greater heights. The graphic designer from New Forest operates a business that turns normal everyday photos and memories into watercolor paintings. She even does toy portraits for children, making extensive use of nostalgia to give her business a personal edge over the others.
As to why she has named her brand ‘little red boots’, she says she got the idea from a favorite memory of hers:
‘Why Little Red Boots? well these red boots are the tiny size 3 boots from my old Paddington Bear that I believe me, my brother and sisters wore and subsequently my 3 children and my niece stomped through many a puddle in, so they have a story to tell and will continue to be treasured forever.’ – Kathryn Cole
Leicestershire-based Kerry Parnell is an illustrator and graphic designer par excellence. As a designer women, here’s how Kerry describes her creative work process:
“My general style is fun, vibrant and quirky. I take on a wide range of projects from graphic design, digital manipulation, illustrations, brand Identities, typography, packaging and traditional art.” – Kerry Parnell
Though she’s not strictly English, Trinske Driscoll-Antonides is the brains behind Nordic Rose, the UK-based agent for Dutch interior brands HKliving and Storebro.
“Being the agent for HKliving and Storebror gives me the opportunity to combine a lot of the things I love doing: working with beautiful home products, building relationships with clients and standing with one foot in England as well as with one foot in my home country.” – Trinske Driscoll-Antonides
Bringing interior design sensibilities to an English market has made Trinske one of the most popular Mompreneurs in the UK. You can follow what Nordic Rose is bringing to UK here.
Katie Skilton loves her vintage craft design and so do her clients. The Plymouth-based mother of four, Katie has her own blog and company Katie Skilton Design.
“I am lucky enough to design for some of the world’s largest craft companies. I work with most of the UK craft monthly publications to design projects and write articles. I travel the world to teach and demonstrate at craft exhibitions and in store.” – Katie Skilton
Educator, web designer and entrepreneur. These are some of the words that sum up the Lancashire-based Perry Threlfall. She teaches at George Mason University while balancing a successful web design business on the side.
“I don’t think that design needs theory, but I think designers need theory.” — JOHANNA DRUCKER
Perry Threlfall tweets here, highlighting modern day sociological issues.
Designer mothers like these have the capability of transforming the corporate landscape of America and the wider world. Their insistence on a more flexible work timetable and a generally compassionate design sense can affect change on a vast level when it comes to workplace morale and a superior work ethic. Being a mom is a full-time job in itself. However, as it turns out, that just makes designer moms the real super-heroines of the modern age. Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there!
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