“There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall.”
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This was the assertion of literary critic and writer Cyril Connolly back in the 1930s. We do love to subvert a stereotype, and thankfully times have changed for creative working women. Last month’s blog looked at boundaries and how instrumental they can be to creativity…but what if that boundary is your new baby?
This month we are looking at women whose businesses have adapted to having families or whose businesses exist because they became a mother. Theirs is a story of drive and determination, constrained by time and location; often they are the work from home warriors carving out careers driven by an ethic that fits with their family.
Antonia Chitty, author of “129 Brilliant Business Ideas for Mums” and “The Mumpreneur Guide” writes,
“Self-employment gives mums the control they need over their working hours, while enabling them to generate income. And many of them come up with business ideas after finding solutions to challenges they face as a parent.”
Contrary to assumptions that having a child can mark the end of your career, this particular challenge can re-define what is important, questioning what mothers are willing to spend their time on. For creatives this can be a particular challenge, but it can be executed with remarkable results.
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In her article “The Special Challenges of Highly Intelligent and Talented Women Who Are Moms,” Belinda Seiger, PhD, LCSW, writes that in her private psychotherapy practice and her personal life, she has “known many gifted women who seem to possess what I refer to as the ‘rage to achieve’.”
“They are constantly driven to learn, to create and to be intellectually productive even while raising young children. Many of these women face periods of frustration when the demands of family and their need for intellectual immersion collides.”
Ward Williams Creative client Naomi Callan is an example of this determination. She clocked up over 10 years’ experience as an Interior Designer before starting a family. After the arrival of her son she recognised a need to alter the way she worked to fit around her new circumstances.
“I was looking to do something more based at home, and as I researched products to decorate my baby’s bedroom I realised that the high street didn’t have all that much to offer, it was all mass produced and commercial. Especially difficult was finding cool stuff for boys. As an Interior designer I used to go to trade shows and often picked up fabulous products like wallpaper and fabrics, which I squirrelled away with the intention of using them on a project someday.”
Naomi dug these out and put together a mood board for her vision of the nursery. It occurred to her that what came quite naturally to her, for other parents would be incredibly time consuming.
“For example, I bought my cot from Ikea but I wanted an organic mattress to go on it, so that was another hunt, and then some organic bedding, same thing….at which point it dawned on me that it would be fantastic if I could create a place where parents could source everything under one roof…and Castles for Rascals was born, well at least the name and the idea were!”
Naomi spent the next two years researching a collection of ethical and environmentally sound products and contacted endless suppliers “mostly during nap times or when one of my super supportive relatives would take Henry for a few hours”. The mood boards were particularly important to Naomi, this element of Interior design allowed parents to have a tool where they could design their own child’s bedroom, paste images of the products they liked onto a board and play with different ideas. Naomi launched “Castle’s for Rascals” in Aug 2014 when her son was 2 1/2 and her daughter 3 months, an incredible achievement.
“It has been a HUGE learning curve and a fair struggle with 2 small children but I am very happy, it is my life and my passion (after the kids).”
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You can check out Naomi’s range of beautiful and ethically sourced products on her websitewww.castlesforrascals.co.uk. If you have an idea for a business and need advice on starting out, or more information about becoming self-employed, get in touch with one of ouradvisers .
