Mama Monday- Meet Kim, the lovely lady responsible for me spending too much!
Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do:
Hmmm, I do many things so let me just blurt them out in some kind of sensible order. I did a trade in Signwriting which is the base for most of what I have done in my life. After sign writing i launched into a career in graphic design. After 6 years of that I go pregnant and had Willow. With all that down time I had to find a creative outlet and as part of my trade I learnt how to print clothing so I printed a few things, did some markets and the personalised clothing side grew from there. I always had an itching to design clothes from scratch. So over the years i chipped away at that dream and I seem to have a talent for sourcing information and people to help make my dreams happen. The Tinker Tailor label came from this talent and it has just launched with so much more to come.
Age when you had your first baby:
I was 29 and i’m stoked I waited until I was a little older, had a solid career under my belt and was in a good financial position to give Willow every opportunity I could.
What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?
Happiness as we were trying and Id lost a pregnancy 5 months prior. So I guess happiness and some fear too.
What has been your biggest challenge with running a business and being a mama at the same time?
Time. Never enough of it. I never had mum guilt like a lot of people talk about when it came to feeling like I didn’t spend enough time with Willow. She went to daycare for a couple of days a week and it gave me sanity and much needed time away from her. i’m very independent and self sufficient and I found having someone constantly needing me really hard to handle. And she loved daycare and never wanted to leave. How do you balance Home and work life? (any tips/tricks to share?)
I have excellent time management. Something my employers always said. Im also very efficient and will knuckle down and get things done in the time I have allocated. Got a spare 10 mins before school pick up? Do a job you planned to do later. Kids entertained for a while? Tick something off the list. Thats how I work. Lists and crossing things off either before i planned or on schedule.
Best piece of advice you were given about parenting:
I didn’t listen to any advice. Well I did. But I took it with a grain of salt. You can’t stop people talking at you about parenting. But I banked their little tidbits in the back of my brain and syphoned through the noise to find what might help when I needed help. Everyone thinks their way is the right way, and good for them, but I did it my way and never told anyone else they were doing things wrong. My mum told me just to do what I wanted to do. That was probably the best advice. What would you do if you weren’t doing your current job/running your business?
Id be in a mental ward. Creators gonna create.
Have you met any challenges being a mama in your 20s?
No. I feel leaving it to my late 20s was the best decision for me.
What has been your biggest challenge in your 20s (non-parenting related)?
Finishing my apprenticeship and then deciding to follow a new career path. If you could give one piece of advice to twenty-something’s pre kids what would it be?
LIVE! Go get wasted and wake up in a field somewhere. Go have a great time and experience life. Have a career and learn things to teach your kids. How can you teach another human about life when you haven’t experienced it yourself?