Featured Designing Moms

Featured Designing Mom: DeNai Jones of Petunia Pickle Bottom

by Cat on May 15, 2012

I remember one of the first items I coveted when I became pregnant were a set of Petunia Pickle Bottom onesies. There’s just no mistaking something from Petunia Pickle Bottom as their patterns take center stage from diaper bags to slings and totes. I am so excited today to be presenting you a QA with DeNai Jones, founder and designer of the flourishing brand. Want to know what inspires DeNai?

Our Story

I loved reading that you grew up making things out of paper, scissors and glue and that this helped parlay into Petunia Pickle Bottom today. Now that the company has grown from 3 to 20, how do you keep the creativity fresh and new?

I think when we are given a gift or a talent, as long as it is cultivated, things blossom and grow. I am drawn to anything design related, and I allow myself to indulge in these inspirations found anywhere and everywhere, be it in museums when we travel, snapshots of patterns in places like floor tiles, ceilings, or church windows, or even in the large stack of design and fashion magazines that pile up by my bedside every month. My ongoing appreciation for all types of design, from the simple to the ornate, constantly refreshes and rejuvenates, helping us all to grow.

About the boys in your life: what’s it like working with your husband? how do you find time for your sons?

Working together definitely has more pros than cons. We are fortunate in that we get to share in the joy of success, but also be understanding when one of us has a tough day. Work also requires a bit of travel, whether it be to our factories overseas or to various trade shows, so it’s a big perk to be married to my travel partner! We had the luxury of taking our sons Sutton (5yrs) and Miller (3yrs) to Asia with us for 4 weeks this year, it was a trip of memories we will never forget.

At home, we try to be careful about turning the day off. We really make an effort not to talk about work at the dinner table with our boys. There is a lot of ‘let’s talk about it later’ and I am also a big fan of stashing away the cell phones when we walk in the door. It truly is a constant effort to keep work at work.

As for time with my boys, I keep a very jam-packed Tuesday/Thursday work schedule so I can stay home and just be mom the rest of the week. It’s not easy, and of course things always come up where I need to swing into the office for meetings or design reviews, but I’m very diligent with my time. This is year 11 for PPB and I have a well-oiled machine in place at this point to afford me the perfect balance. Then, of course, there is always the “night shift” after the boys go to bed—that’s when I get some of my best work done.

What’s a typical day in your life like?

A typical day at work is a juggle between fabric design, fabric colorway edits, product development, sample approvals, and general meetings. I told my husband just last week, I truly have my dream job. Ten years ago, not so much, due to the fact that I was spending the majority of my time running the business and the creative process got marginalized. A typical day at home is spent with my boys, riding bikes, playing at the beach, baking, and volunteering in their classrooms- basically just being Mom.

When you think about a new collection, how do you go about assessing the needs for today’s mom in both practicality and style…do you rely on data, survey moms, get inspired by your friends?

Thankfully we have a lot to draw from—Everyone on staff uses our products, with six employees having had Petunia babies this year alone. They are all a great resource for offering up suggestions and feedback to better our product line, making us like our own think tank by default.

We also do a mix of surveys and get lots of input from our Facebook fan base—good or bad they let us know! Social media is such an animal all its own and it’s fun to see how people respond to the brand or new products. Really though, our fans are pretty passionate about the products, and give the most thoughtful product development ideas. We are lucky to have such loyal fans.

What’s your one true blue piece of advice for moms out there who might be thinking about launching something on their own?

Be in the moment.

I could say more but it speaks for itself in both parenthood and business…and it is a daily effort.

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Featured Designing Mom: Lisa Swerling of Glass Cathedrals

by Cat on March 26, 2012

If you have a “big crush” on miniatures like I do, then Lisa Swerling of Glass Cathedrals will make you swoon. Her work captures “moments of inspiration.” Almost all of her scenes can be customizable making them such special pieces of artwork to give to your most beloved friends and loved ones.

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Featured Designing Mom: Tze Ching Yeung

by Cat on February 20, 2012

These days, more and more moms are turning to the web for their entrepreneurial endeavors. Less production, more face time with the kids and the ability to work from home are more than appealing. Just what happens when you have three online sites and a family you want to maximize time with? Have a read of our Featured Designing Mom Tze Ching of Jake and Maya today…

Your websites are incredible. How do you manage three – all of which are beautifully constructed and detail oriented? Not to mention, you have twins!

For the moment, my priority is to spend as much time with the children as possible because by next year, they will be at school full-time and I won’t have that option anymore. But in order to focus on just being a mum when the children are with me during the day, I need to work extremely hard when they aren’t. I have in the past few years turned into a bit of a workaholic. I work every single free moment I may have during the day and I work until very late most evenings but since I really do love what I do, I don’t mind being just a little bit tired in the mornings or miss a bit of me time here and there.

You have several lines of design but most notably, your line from Jakeandmaya features unique fashion designs for children. How did you first get started in fashion design? How did you choose children as your subject for design?

I have always been passionate about design but it is interesting how I became involved in (children’s) fashion because I have never really been much into fashion as such but when I started Monsters and Munchkins, a whole new world opened itself up for me. I started discovering all these amazing children’s clothing brands that I never even knew existed. A new passion and appreciation for (children’s) fashion was born and having just focused on retailing for a while, I was itching to start designing.

I started sketching some ideas with a friend of mine and a few months later Jakeandmaya was born and we launched it at various children’s shows across London, NY and Tokyo.

Designing for children makes sense to me, as they are my inspiration for a lot of things in my life.

Interior design is another passion you have and your nursery decor is precious.. How do you combine your fashioning of children’s wear with your passion for interior design?

At the end of the day, design is design, it doesn’t really matter what it is you are designing. It all comes down to shape, colour, texture, an eye for details …and personal taste. My interior projects get influenced by my clothing line and vice versa.

What is your favorite time of day? Are you most creative early in the morning? Late at night?

My favorite time of day would have to be late morning, right after the kids have gone to nursery (they go 3 days a week) when I sit down and just enjoy a nice cup of coffee in peace, before the madness starts. I tend to tackle all my practical work during the day but it is in the evenings that I am the most creative.

Do you have any advice for aspiring bloggers, moms, fashion designers, or interior decorating enthusiasts?

Go for it. Give it a go. There is no point thinking about it too much, as you really won’t know what it’s like until you actually do it anyway.

However, it is very easy to get a bit too carried away with a new and exciting idea. So start slowly and make sure you plan ahead. Tread carefully, listen to people’s advice and use your common sense, in order to avoid potentially very expensive mistakes. And lastly, remember to have fun and enjoy what you do as ultimately that’s why you chose to do it in the first place, right ?

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Featuring Designing Mom: Carrie Lundell from This Mama Makes Stuff

by Cat on January 23, 2012

The “adorabe” meter just hit the roof… Today’s Featured Designing Mom is uber talented Carrie Lundell from “This Mama Makes Stuff.” Sam at the studio had a chance to ask her about her creative life and blog. I think you’ll be as enchanted by her beautiful family and sewing prowess as I am…

How do you come up with your DIY projects like your ‘Fab Travel Chair’? So sweet, and so useful!

Many of my DIY projects are inspired by projects, materials and styles of the past, as was the case for the Fab Travel Chair. A friend of mine brought a similar homemade “travel chair” (made in the 70′s based on the fabrics used) on a joint family vacation. I found it so useful, I had to make one of my own as soon as I got home.

How do you choose which materials to work with? Are you constantly at the craft store? Which supplies do you always have readily available?

You might think I am constantly at the craft or fabric store, but I find those stores void of inspiration. You can find me at thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales picking up linens, women’s dresses, men’s suits and all sorts of other things I can use to refashion or use as raw materials. My projects are very much based on the treasures I find. It’s almost like these secondhand items tell me what they want to be (just call me the “Clothing Whisperer” I guess). I can never quite keep up with the amount of projects that call out to me from the aisles of the thrift store, but I usually buy the dress/pants/sheet/tablecloth/pillowcase anyway. As a result, I always have a huge stash of “secondhand supplies” ready and waiting to take on their second life.

A lot of your projects seem to be centered around women’s fashion. You also worked in the fashion industry for a bit. Is this something you have always followed? Studied in college? Or simply another outlet for creativity?

I do love women’s fashion. My obsession started as a teenager when I started designing my own prom dresses. Lucky for me, I had a talented sewist for a mother who would help make them for me. After this small taste of what it might be like to be a fashion designer, I decided to get my BA in Fashion Design at Brigham Young University. After college, I was lucky enough to work as an assistant designer for a small boutique children’s clothing company in LA. It was there that I realized my real passion is children’s clothing design. From there, I took a design job at Old Navy in NYC designing their little girls clothing. While some might think designing for a large brand might be extremely limiting, I found I had access to so many resources, the design possibilities were endless (whether that creativity in design was ultimately reflected in the stores was not my job, however).

How do you manage your time? Do you ever sleep?

My type of creative personality doesn’t allow me to be too scheduled. If inspiration hits, sometimes I will drop everything to complete a project right then and there. On the other hand, I have 4 kids, 1 small business, a blog, church and school responsibilities and a love of running and biking that all fight for my finite amount of time. This is why I have a leaning stack of projects almost as tall as the leaning Tower of Pisa and a strong desire to have a Sewing Marathon (26.2 straight hours of sewing). It’s the only way I can think of to make a significant dent in that WIP pile and keep my creative brain from exploding from all the unfinished projects floating in my head.

Until I can make the Sewing Marathon happen, I try to carve out enough time to create something new at least once a week even if it means letting the dishes pile up in the sink or making the kids mac ‘n cheese for three nights in a row or staying up until 3 in the morning. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Do you gorgeous children ever get involved with your crafting?

I have tried to create an environment in our home that promotes creativity in all areas: writing, thinking, making, and playing. Like most children, they like to mimic what I do, so I make sure they always have access to fabric scraps, yarn, scissors, sequins, glue, and even their own sewing machine. I love seeing them create and learn to enjoy the creative process even more than the product.

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Featured Designing Mom: Pam Stroffolino of Simply Livly

by Cat on January 16, 2012

It’s amazing how much our mothers influence the way in which we express our own style. I credit my mother’s nonchalance about design and fashion (and my rebelliousness towards this) in making me hunger more for it. Today’s Designing Mom Pam Stroffolino of Simply Livly had a reverse scenario as she credits her sense of style from her exceptionally fashionable mother. On top of that, she remarks on how her creativity exploded after the birth of her daughters. Read on to find out more about her work, life as mom and leaving her corporate gig to pursue her creative spark…

How would you define simplylivly’s style?
My style is hugely influenced by my mom’s style. She always looked amazing. Her staples were maxi dresses, jumpsuits and tailored blazers (she had impeccably custom fit jackets in every. single. color). An absolute perfect mix of boho & classic, very put together but in an effortless, casual way. She always had jewelry on, some sort of cool piece from her travels around the globe.
Growing up in a military family (my father is a retired Army Colonel), we moved just about every three years. I am so fortunate to have experienced so much as a child, being exposed to so many cultures, food, styles and adapting to the gypsy mindset to pick up and go onto our next assignment.

What inspired you to start simplylivly?

Right after my girls were born, I swear I just exuded creativity. I felt like this amazing earth mama and I had all sorts of newfound confidence and feeling that I could move mountains. While on maternity leave with my younger daughter Carly I created a necklace that I’d wear out and about on our daily walks around town. I couldn’t believe how many people commented on that piece and wanted to know where I bought it. A boutique in town immediately ordered a few and after gifting a few to family and friends, my sister encouraged me to open an etsy shop. Eventually I plan to create my own website but until then, I am enjoying being a part of the extraordinary community of creative souls. Etsy’s layout is clean and simple and their daily features are brilliantly inspiring. I don’t wear earrings or rings, I’m a total necklace person so that’s what I gravitate to. It’s amazing how the perfect necklace can instantly complete your entire look and make you feel special all day long.

What is your background? How long have you been making jewelry?

This past October I officially resigned from the corporate world. I worked full-time managing several large accounts for a fortune 500 global marketing information services firm. In the spring my husband’s healthcare company relocated us from Dana Point to Dallas. Texas has been pretty good to us and I’m able to be at home with my two girls (Liv, 4 and Carly, 1) which is very important to me. These years are so priceless and fleeting that I don’t want to miss any more time with them.

I’ve been creating necklaces for only a couple of years and while living in California I found constant inspiration wherever I turned my head. It’s simply the most beautiful landscape with the ocean, mountains, palm trees, succulents, and there’s just something special about the salt water in the air.

I’m finding all sorts of brand new inspiration here in the quiet, wide open space here in Texas in my somewhat simple new life. On my dad’s most recent trip visiting us, I asked him if he remembers my mom’s favorite place from all of our moving around. He replied “yes, wherever we were at the time”. That resonated with me and I find myself hearing those words whenever I find myself missing California. Living in the present is so important. I am making a conscious awareness to do just that. A friend recently shared a quote with me “bloom where you are planted”. It has kind of become my new mantra.

What is a typical day for you?

I am a night owl and my girls are early risers so I do not get much sleep. Over the years I no longer require as much sleep as I used to but my biggest luxury is a day when I can sleep in. A typical day begins with breakfast together, next we race the clock to get my oldest daughter to preschool and after that, my 1 year old and I return to start my work day in my simplylivly studio. Most mornings are spent adding new items on my site, printing labels, portioning out the beads for each necklace into tiny wooden sake cups (the BEST bead bowls because I can line them up in an assembly line). During my daughter’s nap, I get to work on the necklaces; wire wrapping, stringing, knotting, cutting strips of fabric, and packaging the pieces while listening to music. On heavy rotation: Sia, Kings of Convenience, Bird & Bee, and the Beth Orton channel is my go-to Pandora station. On slower days, I spend my time designing new pieces and photographing them. I’m also working on another project that I’m hoping to launch soon so I spend some time on that little venture as well. Every now and then I splurge on professional photographs of my pieces when my budget allows. Photography fascinates me and I have it on my to-do list to one day take a photography class. Most afternoons after school the three of us spend some quality time outdoors in the fresh air before prepping for dinner. Once my husband walks through the door, the girls flock to him as I quietly disappear into my office/studio to wrap up whatever I couldn’t finish during the day and catch up on my favorite blogs.

How do you balance being a mom and simplylivly?

My older daughter loves to help so her “job” is often cutting the mailing labels and taping them to the boxes. She counts the beads for me and can stamp my logo on the little woven bags like nobody’s business! I love that she is interested in it. She is my best little model and loves to sport around her simplylivly necklaces. I live by my to-do lists. I use blank index cards (I know, so old school) and come up with the day’s list every morning over breakfast. Some days are easier than others. I try not to put too much pressure on myself. Just when I think I have managed to miraculously balance the two in harmony, something throws me for a loop. I’m getting into more of a groove and it does get easier every day with many lessons learned along the way. At the end of the day, being home with the girls is like a dream for me and to do something that’s so creative that people positively respond to is just like icing on the cake.

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