My goodness, when are you going to do all this?
When do you find time to be creative and do manual work alongside your job, children and household?
These are probably the most common questions we've been asked over the last few months.
We, that is Sarah Anderl and myself Petra Kamenar. We are mothers, girlfriends, wives, housewives, business ladies... just the usual (or: just women of today's generation)
We are jacks of all trades, restless creative minds and dreamers.
We are passionate about what we do. And we are not alone in that!
Because if we look around, we are no longer isolated cases who fill their day with 5 different things. Without realizing it, almost every woman of this period is incredibly diverse. Being a working mom seems to have become more natural today than ever. And it almost seems to me that society also expects it from women today, because it's not enough "just" to be a mom. Of all the activities that Sarah and I do, being a mother is definitely the biggest challenge! Because we're raising the next generation. Through our upbringing, we help determine which people will form our society in the future. And we personally want to use our example to show our children how diverse one can be.
Sarah and I are extremely lucky: we love our Birdy & Bee Jewelery project and don't see it as traditional work. And we both have husbands who not only support our crazy passion, but who, according to their own statements, would prefer to wear the earrings if it were common in our culture :-) . These two aspects make it possible for us to achieve the almost impossible. Only teamwork makes the dream work!
This motto fully applies to us. Because we complement each other really well, share the same vision and pull together.
Our everyday jobs and experiences from other projects also help us a lot to make this Birdy & Bee jewelery project possible. Because Sarah has been one of the best hairstylists and make-up artists in the country for 10 years and has created the perfect look for countless fashion productions. She knows what's hot, what's trending at the moment and she can incorporate it all into the photo shoots for Birdy & Bee.
I too have been in the fashion industry for over 20 years. I've spent the last 10 years behind the camera as a fashion photographer for magazines and fashion companies and of course I also photograph the photo shoots for our earrings!
Our experience in this area is therefore quite numerous and, above all, helpful!
Because making earrings yourself is not all that is necessary! Such a project requires an incredible amount more than "just" the production. After the theoretical design process comes the production of the prototypes, the testing of materials, the production, the fine tuning and the packaging and then another, indispensable and underestimated process begins! Marketing, advertising and sales of course. Nowadays nothing works without social media. In addition, there are more and more channels where you have to be present, preferably 24 hours a day. It's actually not that easy with a total of 3 children.
And here to the question of how we do it..in detail.
We two working moms divide everything up very carefully. That's probably the most important thing! And you have to set priorities.
There are days that belong only to family! Sunday is a strict family day for us. Monday is our Birdy & Bee jour fix - that's when we meet to produce the next collection, or to design, to divide up tasks, and to brainstorm. We create mood boards, choose colors, mix them, drink lots of coffee :-) - the day that is a lot of fun because we exchange ideas and just let the creativity flow. But organization is actually half the battle. Social media is also divided exactly who is responsible on which days. Each has their areas that they oversee. Newsletter, online shop, press, product photos...
The most difficult thing is actually not getting everything down, but finding a work-life balance.
In the afternoons, the focus is entirely on our children!
And eventually they are in bed ...
We do certain steps, such as polishing the earrings, exactly in the evening when the children are asleep. We do a lot of things late at night. When everything is quiet in the house and no one needs juice anymore, is looking for their dinosaur, is hungry or afraid of the woodmen and the laundry is hung up.
And then there are the days when our jobs take precedence.
And then there are the days when you're just tired and you just have to put everything you've planned aside and just lie down on the couch. That must also be the case. Because there is also the quality time that you want to spend for yourself and also for your partner. And of course the household. How do we do it all again?
Oh yes... organization ;-)
Your working mums Sarah & Petra