Mothers and Daughters and Sisters too!

As Hot Brands,Cool Places is a Mother and Daughter business we thought it might be fun to find out about other Mother and Daughter businesses as part of our celebration of Mothering Sunday. What we discovered was as well as Mother and Daughters in business there are also Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Sisters-in-law too! Here are their stories.

MAMAS & PAPAS

What made you decide to work together?

Luisa:
In the past few years I have had the pleasure of working with my daughter Amanda on a luxury range called Famiglia that was inspired by our collective reminiscences about childhood and which was a real delight. Amanda was the reason for starting Mamas & Papas and now 29 years later we have created something truly wonderful together. Family is one of life’s greatest miracles and to be able to work together on a collection is very special to me. My youngest daughter Olivia joined the business a few years ago and now she is Head of Creative and responsible for the look and feel of the brand. Her husband is our brand photographer and together they create our beautiful catalogues. Amanda is now Head of New Product Design and responsible for the look and performance of our pushchair and baby equipment ranges. The new ‘Mylo’ pushchair is her ‘little baby’ and has taken 3 years to come to fruition. Mylo arrived in store at the same time as Amanda’s first baby arrived so she felt she had two birthing experiences. I now have two beautiful granddaughters, Olivia has baby Marni and Amanda has baby Milla. The female dynasty seems set to continue! (In the picture from left to right: Amanda, Olivia & Marni, David and Luisa)

Amanda:
I have been part of the business since birth and that includes being the baby that tested all the products. I was the baby in the photographs in our catalogues and as a young girl my parents gave me summer jobs in the office to earn my pocket money. Since leaving school I trained in business studies and languages so that I could become an asset to the family business and I worked my way up from serving stores right through to becoming Head of Design. Working for Mamas & Papas is something I have always wanted to do and all my training and roles within the business has given me a broad view of the brand and aids my decision-making. I am a living, breathing embodiment of the brand and as I become a mother for the first time I am now on the most important journey of all and my new role as a parent will give me greater insight into the needs and aspirations of our customers.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?

Luisa:
Being able to see my daughters for such prolonged periods every day is an absolute joy. Their influence on the brand is my personal pleasure as they have an intuitive approach to everything they do and they know exactly what the modern parent wants and looks for.

Amanda:
Working with my mother is like learning from a guru. She made pregnancy and parenthood fashionable and celebrated family life. Her teachings have helped guide me and hone my talents. I could not achieve the success I have today without her.

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?

Luisa:
My husband, David and I founded the brand together and we very rarely argue. We talk a lot! David focuses on the commercial side of the business and I focus on the design and the customer experience. This is the same with Amanda and Olivia as they are now both specialists in their area of expertise and we all respect each other’s talents. Mamas & Papas, by its very brand name, symbolises the coming together of people through love and this is how we approach every aspect of our working together. I can’t imagine the future of Mamas & Papas without my daughter’s every-day influence. In the past few years they have been a significant influence on the collective journey to become the world’s favourite nursery brand.

How do you separate work and family life?

Luisa:
We do discuss business at home but that is unavoidable as now there are now 7 family members working at Mamas & Papas!! We always take family holidays together and we have a home in Italy where all the generations come together. There is no separation between work and family life as all of us love the brand and live the brand. My granddaughters use the products that their mother’s and I design.

Amanda:
I doubt there is any other brand in the world that works and lives as we do and I think that is why our customers, especially new and expectant mothers, love and believe in what we do.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?

Luisa:
Before I founded Mamas & Papas I worked in my family’s Italian catering business and being instructed to experience many roles within that business allowed me to develop the understanding and the confidence to take on the task of starting out on my own.

Both my daughters and now my son-in-law move from role to role within Mamas & Papas so that they understand how the business works, they build longstanding and trusted relationships and they find their personal expertise.

Having a family member in the business allows you to galvanise a collective direction as you understand what inspires and motivates one another. My daughters have very different personalities and they have been allowed to explore their talents and reach the role that naturally amplifies those talents. The key to a successful family business is allowing a person to shine and for them to own that role through ability rather than circumstance.

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?

Luisa:
Being multi-lingual has been one of their single biggest assets to our business. Both my daughters speak English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese and, as they now work in commercial product management and creative design, this has been incredibly helpful to them achieve their personal and professional goals. Their personal success is very important to me and for them to lead our brand internationally I know they have the skills and the vision to achieve that.

Amanda:
Creating the Famiglia collection made me very proud because nearly 4 years later it is still one of the most successful ranges we have created and customers and celebrities absolutely love it.

What makes working together truly exceptional is that my baby daughter is now using and wearing the designs my mother has inspired and I have worked alongside her to create them. It’s a beautiful circle.

About Mamas & Papas :

Mamas & Papas is a 100% family owned business founded by Luisa Scacchetti in 1981 in West Yorkshire. The brand now operates 50 stores across the UK and 16 international stores as well as concessions within Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdales. The company is renowned for its celebrity following from Hollywood to Hong Kong as well as being the most awarded nursery brand in the UK for its products and store services. The company was given Superbrand status in 2005.

www.mamasandpapas.com

NICKI MACFARLANE

What made you decide to work together?

Charlotte: I have always been quite involved with my mother’s business; helping out at shows and generally being a sounding board for her plans and ideas, so when in November I had recently come to the end of a consultancy job and she suggested that I join her on a more formal basis to help her launch a new ready to wear collection I jumped at the chance to be involved with taking the business to the next level. My background is in fashion and accessories so wholesale is an area that I am very familiar with and experienced in.

Nicki: When Charlotte reached the point in her career when she decided that she wanted to work for herself, rather than other people, it was perfect timing for me. I would not have the time to launch or run the new collection by myself, and Charlotte has the perfect skill set to take the company forward, so it did not need a great deal of thought before asking her.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?

C: I love the fact that even though we are incredibly busy it doesn’t really feel like work! I think if we physically worked together in the same office it might become a bit much but I’m in Kent and she is in Wiltshire so we speak a LOT on the phone and see each other once over two or three weeks either in London or at one end or the other. When we do get together our most productive meetings tend to happen in a nice restaurant over a glass of wine!
N: We are both passionate about the business, and it is very important to me that it stays fun for both of us. There is no point in doing it otherwise. From my point of view, I trust Charlotte’s design ideas and business decisions so completely that, although I like to be kept in the loop, I don’t give a second thought to giving her a free rein.

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?

C: I can honestly say that we it hasn’t happened yet! We have always been a bit telepathic anyway and tend to be completely on the same wavelength when it comes to design so I think it is unlikely that we have a major disagreement … but it is early days!!
N: As Charlotte says, we haven’t had one yet. But the agreement from the outset has been ‘family first, work second’.

How do you separate work and family life?

C: We don’t really. We tend to talk about work and family all the time (as indeed we did before I started working with her officially): we are as likely to be on the phone discussing the new website at 8.30 on a Sunday morning as we are to be talking about my daughter’s day at nursery in the middle of a working day!
N: Thankfully the two seem to merge quite well, although I do have to remind myself sometimes that she has a family life at weekends!

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?

C: Make sure that you are friends first and foremost.
N: I agree – and to be able to respect each other, not just as in a mother and daughter relationship
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What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?

C: I think to date it was probably the first time we exhibited at the Designer Wedding Show. To be there among the leading designers in the bridal industry really felt like a big turning point.
N: There have been a lot of proud moments, but I pop with pride when I think about where we have got to with the business as a family. Sophie, my other daughter, works with us at the shows, so it really has been a joint effort. It is something that our clients really seem to enjoy as well.

About Nicki Macfarlane :

Nicki Macfarlane has been a leading designer of bespoke dresses and outfits for bridesmaids, flower girls and pageboys for many years. Her award winning designs feature regularly in leading UK bridal publications and her clients have included many celebrity and society brides.

Further to this success, 2010 sees the launch of Nicki’s first ready to wear collection for children from birth to twelve as well as the introduction of beautiful Communion dresses and christening robes. This stunning new collection not only evokes the unique style of Nicki’s bespoke work – it brings the classic elegance and exquisite styling synonymous with a Nicki Macfarlane design to a new audience.

By playing with countless combinations of beautiful colours brides are encouraged to inject a bit of their own style into the look of their attendants. The finest silks, organzas, taffetas and organdies, as well as exquisite hand embroidery and sumptuous petticoats, are brought together to create a truly lovely as well as adaptable collection. We are excited to be showcasing the new collection at White Gallery in May 2010.

www.nickimacfarlane.com

LADIES WHO LUNCH JEWELLERY

What made you decide to work together?
Ladies Who Lunch Jewellery is a perfect fit for Lesley’s creative abilities and my sales skills. Lesley initially set up the business with our friend Gillian as demand quickly grew for the imaginative unique jewellery they were designing and hand-making. They both have amazing creative talent and a fantastic eye for colour and combining colours but realized they needed help in building and developing the “brand” – and that’s where I came in!” We soon realized that there was a gap in the market for really individual well-made jewellery at affordable prices

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?

Well firstly we get to see each other a lot! We have a very equal and straightforward relationship We have complete trust in each other and knowing each other so well means we can play to each other strengths and weaknesses!

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it? To be honest our disagreements are few and far between and we have not fallen out on any major issues. We are quite good at taking time out to discuss and listen to each other’s points of view which invariably leads to an agreement, or at least a compromise!

How do you separate work and family life? We have found this very difficult. We have always been close and spent a lot of time together. The temptation now is always to discuss work and nothing else! Occasionally at social events we make a pact not to discuss jewellery!

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be? Is this someone you would go into business with if they weren’t a relative? Falling out with a business partner is bad enough but when they are related to you too….

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life? Lesley is based in Oxford and I am in Amersham, so I love it when we get a chance to work together at a Sale or Event. It reminds me what a good team we make! In life – it’s that we have always been there for each other’s children and developed a fantastic relationship with them.

About Ladies who Lunch Jewellery : The Ladies who Lunch Jewellery Collection is a treasure trove of gorgeous couture jewellery, from delicate to chunky, classic to funky, vintage to modern – glamorous individual jewellery in a rainbow of colours to compliment your style.
Our handmade pieces are carefully crafted from semi-precious stones, funky pewter charms, handmade glass, vintage beads and sparkly crystals and our collection also includes pieces from other top quality designers so you will certainly find a “gem” or two!

RHODES TO HEAVEN

What made you decide to work together?
Penny’s husband died after battling cancer. We had all learnt first hand what happens to the skin, when your immune system crashes once affected by illness and strong medication, and how sensitive and allergic one can become to the usual high street brands of soaps, shampoos,creams and lotions. Penny felt redundant as a wife and a mother since her children were all grown up and had flown the nest, she needed a ‘Raison d'être’ and a diversion … Annabel was working in sales for another skincare company, and suggested Penny joined her,… when that company closed they agonized over what to do as they had already booked stands and space at many events up and down the country; Penny said “Come on, lets go and make our own”…and they decided that they would create a range that would have the aggressive chemicals taken out, be uncomplicated… so not having loads of different lotions and potions all doing different jobs, but just create the perfect creams and cleansers, having one pot instead of 3 or 4 , and incorporating the very best in organic botanics, and natural active extracts……so…… Rhodes to Heaven was born.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?
We enjoy the formulating most, and understanding of exactly what the skin needs, deciding on Fragrances and textures…packaging is fun as well. The advantages are that we are very similar and 99% of the time choose the same fragrance, and favour the same look and/or colour schemes

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?
Grit your teeth!...and compromise!

How do you separate work and family life?
Children are all grown up now, so one has become a workaholic!

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?
Keep your sense of humour, and remember family and love are more important.

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?
Appearing in the BBC TV program “Too young to retire” ….and getting testimonials from our customers saying how wonderful our products are.

About Rhodes to Heaven
At Rhodes to Heaven we are very passionate about our products, our skincare products are designed to meet the needs of your skin with gentle cleansing, nourishment and moisturisation using only the best natural ingredients. So luxuriate, cleanse and pamper yourself with our high quality no-nonsense products, delicious and luxurious gifts for ALL occasions.

www.rhodestoheaven.com

MOLLIEMOO

What made you decide to work together?
Anna was made redundant 2 years ago from the role she had held at an events-management company for six years. “It was a very traumatic time as when I was told I was at risk of redundancy I was seven months pregnant at the time and when I left the company I had only 4 weeks until my due date. However, the redundancy package they offered me was very good, so I decided to take the money."

The payoff enabled Anna to give herself nine months "maternity leave", and during this time Cathy and I discussed going into business together. "I'd gone to the job centre but there were very few jobs that offered flexible working hours so I could enjoy my daughter, Elena, as well as work. This is when they seriously discussed setting up their own business and started looking for a gap in the market which is when Molliemoo was born.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?
The advantages for working together are:

• That we are working towards the same goal, making our business a success which we are both really enjoying to see all our efforts coming together
• We have enjoyed learning how to set up and run our own business. It has been a very steep learning curve but it has been a brilliant experience to do with each other
• We have enjoyed being our own bosses and we are both very proud of what we have achieved by working together

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?
We always listen to what each have to say on the point we disagree with. We have even written out pros and cons to the disagreement to try and resolve it if we cannot agree on a way forward. We have found that writing it down has worked for us as it stops you going round and round in circles sometimes not resolving the disagreement.

How do you separate work and family life?
Cathy and I try to work alternate morning and afternoons to ensure we have a good work life balance and at the moment it seems to be working. We do make an effort not to talk “work” at family gatherings etc

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?
Make sure that you keep business and family life separate otherwise we have found all we talk about is Molliemoo every minute of the day!

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?
We are very proud of launching Molliemoo and running a successful business and also being featured in The Sunday Times Magazine in July 2009.
Our proudest moment together in life was running the London Marathon for Children with Leukemia charity which neither of us thought we would ever do! We remember crying up Pall Mall nearing the finish not just in pain but in absolute amazement that we were about to complete the greatest marathon in the world!

About Molliemoo

Molliemoo is an online business that offers unique range of organic and eco-friendly new baby gift boxes and new baby gifts. All Molliemoo baby gift boxes are ideal presents for the arrival of a newborn baby and include Free UK mainland delivery, handwrapped gifts, signature Molliemoo keepsake box, gift card, and a complimentary gift from Molliemoo. Website: www.molliemoo.co.uk

THE STRIPY COMPANY

What made you decide to work together?
After having kids, we both we realized we had the same work and family balance goal of working around our kids rather than visa versa and Anouk had already had the idea of Stripy apparels which then evolved. We got on really well as friends before sisters and therefore felt it could be a good partnership.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?
Most enjoyable part is that we find it easy to work together and understand that family comes first. The particular advantage to working together is that we both have different skill sets, Anouk being the creative element and is good with PR and Christa has the organisational skills and is the grounding force for Anouk’s creative streak leaving us with realistic plans and goals.

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?
We talk it through over a glass of wine.

How do you separate work and family life?
We don’t, we share our childcare when needed, ideas with our husbands and the kids are our models for all photo shoots. This seems to work for us.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?
We strongly believe the reason we work so well is that our skill sets compliment each other. Our advice is to make sure your strengths are compatible and you have ways planned out to work around your weaknesses.

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?
Our proudest moment as part of The Stripy Company was our first visit to the mill in Portugal and seeing our designs for blankets being made and sitting alongside other well known brands, and the realization that our product had now made it from a concept 2 years ago into reality.

About The Stripy Company
100% Cotton and Lambswool children and babies blankets in fun striped and polka dot designs. All machine washable and make fantastic newborn baby gifts. Order online at www.thestripycompany.co.uk or available in children’s boutiques across the UK, please see our website for your nearest stockist.

Anouk Skurek and Christa Morris started The Stripy Company in May 2009 and live in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. We couldn’t have started this company without the ongoing support of our families and mother, Lorraine Shepherd.

EDE ENGLAND

What made you decide to work together?
We decided to work together because we share the same vision – this includes both the design of the label and the ethos behind it. We understand how each other work as people and we are very close. It made sense to us to start up a business together.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?
We see things in the same way. We love the same colours, fabrics and inherently share the same ideas on style and design. As you can imagine this is very pleasing and satisfying. We can totally rely on each other to work hard and put 110% into the business.

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?
We talk things through and try to be as honest as possible with each other without taking things too personally.

How do you separate work and family life?
We don’t have a problem separating work and family life as I live in London and my mum lives in Herefordshire. Having this distance allows the relationship to be more balanced.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?
It is essential to have a clear, honest and open line of communication.

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?
Because of the intensity of the mother daughter relationship, each time a problem arises and we work through it I feel immensely proud of us.

About EDE ENGLAND
EDE ENGLAND makes luxury handmade homewares, hand knitted accessories and baby clothes. Each piece has been lovingly made in England. Stockist: Luna and Curious, on Brick Lane in London
0207 033 4411

KOOL KAFTANS

What made you decide to work together?
We didn’t, it just happened and seemed natural and right to be doing a project together. My mother is an inspiration and so easy to work with.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?
Great to share ideas and more often seem to have the same ideas and aspirations which makes it incredibly easy.

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?
Communication and talking things through is key. Advantages are that we are working to the same goal and don’t have any competition, resentment or jealousy of any kind… we just want to succeed and even better if its together!

How do you separate work and family life?
Tiffany: Time is of the essence so essential to constantly plan ahead and manage time. I’m single so no demands on family life but never have time for myself or interests – which make it stressful sometimes!

Pamela: I have managed to juggle family and business all my life so I apply this with ease, although now I have a business/grand children and mentor my daughter with her Kool Kaftan business, so demands on my time is very stretched, but I agree with Tiffany, planning your time is key!

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?
Do it – It does work!... and you won’t regret it!

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?

Tiffany: Being able to juggle a demanding job in the City of London and managing a successful on-line business is one of the proudest things amongst a few.

Pamela: Still running and outstanding fashion business for 55 years - Renes of Lancaster, which coincidentally is named after my mother…and mentoring my daughter helping her to run a fabulous on-line boutique with such high standards and professionalism makes me extremely proud. This is not the easiest task!

About KoolKaftans

www.koolkaftans.co.uk has a range of gorgeous beachwear and holiday items including the most stunning hand picked Kaftans. The fantastic range of products have been purely and simply inspired by a visit to the enthralling, Imperial city of Marrakech in Morocco in 2007.

Seeing is believing and not being able to forget the bright colours and variety of the fabulous kaftans and djellabas which adorn the small, winding alleyways in the souks and medina - this really was going to be a memory to stay...

And so to this end...this memory helped inspire and create what Kool Kaftans is today.

Marrakech is a city where escapism meets opportunity, fairy-tale endings aren't out of the question – if you look further at what we offer at Kool Kaftans you will also find that you too can escape in the vast array of colours, arrangements and textures that await!

This could just be your fairy tale ending for finding the perfect beach partner in clothing!

I hope you love and enjoy wearing everything here as much as I have enjoyed hand picking all ranges and products with you in mind!

Kaftans and kaftan inspired clothing really are here to stay!

Stay “Kool”!

BLOOM AND BLOSSOM

What made you decide to work together?

We have  been best friends for 10 years and  sister-in-laws for 3 years  (as well as being next door neighbors, each other’s bridesmaids,  husbands being best friends – seriously its like something out of Friends!) so have a very close relationship.

We have similar personalities - both entrepreneurial, driven and ambitious and have always bounced different ideas off each other. Identifying the niche for a high end maternity beauty range was the idea that stuck as it was so real and identifiable to us both. The idea came simply from identifying a gap in the market for a maternity skincare brand that was completely natural and safe to use but also delivered exceptional results, that was stylish and aspirational but also competitively priced – and made in the UK – and thus Bloom and Blossom was born!

Its funny, we thought setting up a new business together, especially in the worst recession on record would come as a bit of a shock to our friends and family, but the general feedback was “we always knew you’d do something together”.

What do you most enjoy about working together? Are there particular advantages?

We are a great team and really bring out the best in each other. For example I am a bit of a chancer and Julia is more risk averse, I have more of a financial, strategic brain and Julia is more creative – traits that have the potential to clash tremendously, but for us somehow really works. And because we are so close, it means we can be brutally honest - there is no pussy footing around which is so refreshing and saves a lot of time!

Having a business partnership with someone close to you means that you are always accountable to that person – I’ve found this to be a great motivator.

If you disagree about something how do you resolve it?

Luckily we hardly ever disagree. But when there have been disagreements we just sit down and talk through each side of the argument and the implications of both sides in the long and short term. That’s why I love working with women – we are good communicators. A good glass of red always seems to help too!

How do you separate work and family life?

It is difficult as we are so close. If it is just Juila and her husband and me and my husband socialising, we usually send the boys out to the pub whilst we crack on with Bloom and Blossom, then turn off business mode in time for dinner. When it’s the wider family we try to keep Bloom and Blossom talk to a minimum but it always comes up as our family is so excited about the business as well.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about working with a member of their family what would it be?

•    Be honest and communicate well.
•    Going 50:50 on everything has also worked well for us – from finance to work load to ownership of the business, everything – so we are always on an equal footing.
•    Recognize each other’s strengths and let that person take the lead in that area.

What has been your proudest moment together in work, or life ?

Getting into Harrods after only 2 months of trading was a very proud moment for us – as was getting our first order through the website. Outside of work, we’ve had some really proud moments – the latest of which being the birth of Julia’s first baby.

Info about Bloom and Blossom

Bloom and Blossom is a new premium skincare range for mothers, mothers-to-be and babies, using the minimum number of ingredients to achieve the maximum results

MINIMUM INGREDIENTS = MAXIMUM RESULTS is the simple philosophy behind Bloom and Blossom.

The collection uses only the absolute essential number of high quality ingredients required to deliver exceptional results.  Every ingredient has earned its right to be there - simply ingredients that work.  To ensure  the customer knows exactly what they are putting onto their and their precious baby’s skin, each product features a unique numerals design that communicates how many ingredients are in the product, with further descriptions of what each ingredient is, why it has been selected and what it delivers.

OUR PRODUCTS, OUR INGREDIENTS, OUR PROMISE

•    At Bloom and Blossom every ingredient has earned it’s right to be included
•    Our ingredients are of the highest quality and include maximum levels of active ingredients (the ingredients that actually do the work and give the results)
•    Our active ingredient inclusion level is between 5-10%, making our products some of the  most effective on the market
•    Our products contain NO parabens, SLS, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances or colourants
•    Our products are made with the care and knowledge to restore and to nurture
•    Our products conform to the highest standards of laboratory testing and analysis and are, of course, never tested on animals
•    Our products are easy to use and safe for you and your baby
•    Our packaging is fully recyclable and our cardboard is from FSC certified, carbon neutral and controlled sources
•    Our products are made in the United Kingdom

www.bloomandblossom.com

Fabulous, inspiring stories to take us into this week of celebrating Mothers, thank you to everyone who took part!