The Green Familia » Business Mum Week

Business Mum Week: Kate from Kate Hamilton-Hunter Studio

Brenda — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:00:38 +0000

Here is the last Business Mum of the week. I hope you have all enjoyed learning a bit more about these wonderful ladies.

Who are you?

I´m Kate Hamilton-Hunter and live with my four boys (aged from 5 to 18 years old) in beautiful North Wales.

Name of company?

The Kate Hamilton-Hunter Studio, www.katehh.co.uk

How did you get involved in an eco business?

Using lovely old biscuit, sweet and toffee tins came about quite accidentally. Having finished a HNC course in Textiles and given birth to a baby boy on the night of the final show, a year later I was lacking creative direction and found myself on a course with an artist called Lucy Casson who makes wonderful Clanger-like creatures from olive oil cans and the like. I made an angel out of a Golden Syrup tin and I was away. I now seek out tobacco tins, toffee tins, cake tins and tea caddies to design and make our unique jewellery.

There is another side to the story though. Because I have lived in and near the countryside since the age of 10, I have much love and respect for the natural world. The more I have read about climate change, the more I have realised how precious and fragile our amazing planet is and how it is our responsibility to put the brakes on. So, the two things came together and I hope our jewellery flies the flag for beautiful products that don’t literally, cost the earth.

What is the best part of being a working mum?

I am a working Mum, with my own company because I want to achieve my full potential in life. I hope I am a good role model for my four boys, especially as I’m also a single parent. I think the best thing for me is that the children have had to help with the cleaning, cooking, dog-walking etc because I literally can’t do everything. I hope it will enable them to step out into the world as capable adults who don’t expect other people to clean up after them or put their dinner on the table every night.

What is the worst part of being a working mum?

The worst part has to be the times when you have to be at a meeting or a trade show, because the business needs you to be there, but your children also need you at home. It’s all about balance, so I make sure I have time off in the school holidays and at weekends. I also try to go away a couple of times a year so that I really switch off and focus solely on doing family things together.

Your top tip to other mums thinking about starting an eco business?

You have to find a niche, something different and clever, as there are now lots of companies out there with fantastic eco products and ideas. Don’t think you’ll just start a website to sell eco stuff and it’ll just take off. Decide if you want to sell or trade or to the public, do your homework and do the maths!

Business Mum Week: Tabitha from Mimimyne

Brenda — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:00:43 +0000

Who are you?

My name is Tabitha Potts, my background is in the media, I’ve worked as a researcher in TV and radio for the BBC and other companies and also co-authored a book on childcare. Nowadays, I run my own company and work part-time as a web content editor. I’m married with two sons aged 7 and 5 who keep me very busy!

Name of company?

My company is called Mimimyne, it’s an eco store selling organic baby clothes, funky kids clothes, organic baby products, eco friendly toys and sustainably produced kids furniture.

How did you get involved in an eco business?

I’d had the idea of setting up my own business for a while: as I had taken time out to have children and had a lot of gaps in my CV, I knew I might face difficulties getting a job in TV again, and I also didn’t feel comfortable about having my children in full-time childcare. When I started looking around for eco friendly products for my two boys, and realised that there was a niche for companies promoting sustainably produced, gorgeous designs for kids, the idea for Mimimyne came to me. While researching my business plan I read a book called “Your Ethical Business” by Paul Allen which helped a lot in terms of planning how to make Mimimyne as green as possible. I’ve always been interested in environmental issues as it’s something I was brought up to think about and so having a green business was a natural progression.

What is the best part of being a working mum?

I never feel bored by or resentful of my work, I set it up and am responsible for it running smoothly so I am if anything too obsessed with it! I love the freedom of being my own boss and organising my own time. I also love being able to pick up my kids from school myself and spend time with them.

What is the worst part of being a working mum?

I sometimes feel torn trying to juggle business commitments with childcare commitments: lots of networking events are in the early evening, for example, and are hard for me to get to. I have had to become very organised with my time, and prioritise carefully, in order to get enough work done during school hours and not to have to spend every night in front of the computer!

Your top tip to other mums thinking about starting an eco business?

I think eventually running an ‘eco’ business will become the norm, as companies work harder to minimise their impact on the environment. Small businesses selling small designer-makers’ products, like mine, will be competing with large corporations who will be able to keep costs lower than we can. In order to stand out from the pack, we will have to feature innovative and exciting products that are desirable to buyers. So once you’ve established how to make your business as green as possible, try and work out what else you can offer to make it unique!

Image is used with the courtesy of Ian Billinghurst.

Business Mum Week: Alison from Arabella Miller

Brenda — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:04 +0000

Who are you?

I’m Alison Rothwell, I’m married to Ron and we have two daughters and a working cocker spaniel. We live in Lancashire, where I lived until I was 18, after spells in London and Glasgow.

Name of company?

Arabella Miller, I manufacture organic cotton clothing for babies and children.

How did you get involved in an eco business?

I launched Arabella Miller because my youngest daughter developed eczema and organic cotton eased her skin irritation. When she outgrew her babywear, I looked for some funky t-shirts, couldn’t find any I liked and so I decided to set up my own business to fulfill the gap in the market I had identified.

Manufacturing organic cotton clothes opened my eyes to the reasons why it’s important to choose organic cotton clothing. By combining organic certification (giving transparency and peace of mind), with high quality and funky designs (to appeal to customers who prioritise style over ethics), I think I have managed to produce something which has the best of both worlds. This ethos is at the heart of my approach. I want to do my bit to make ethical fashion fun and appeal to the mainstream of consumers.

What is the best part of being a working mum?

I love the freedom that self-employment gives you, being in charge of your own business is very exciting. I would mention flexibility too – being able to work as and when you can so you can fit your work more easily into your life – but at the moment I seem to be working 24/7 !

What is the worst part of being a working mum?

I think that it’s still the eternal juggling act of managing work and homelife. I’d much rather be juggling my own business rather than someone elses though!

Your top tip to other mums thinking about starting an eco business?

Make sure you do your market research and have a clear plan of action. Seek out business mentors and network with like minded entrepreneurs.

Business Mum Week: Arabella from Natural Nursery

Brenda — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:00:58 +0000

Who are you?

I am Arabella, married to Paul with one daughter, Ellie, aged 6. We recently moved back to Devon so that we could be closer to the sea and have a bigger garden. Although we live in Exeter, we are lucky to have part of next door’s garden, meaning we have a good sized veggie patch which has proved to be great fun, though I am struggling to cope with the huge number of pumpkins we seem to have at the moment. Also in the family is Sooty, our dog and our 6 chickens.

Name of company?

www.naturalnursery.co.uk, selling organic and fair trade goodies for families with young children, www.reusablebagco.co.uk, selling eco-bags and soon to be launched, www.breastfeedingnaturally.co.uk

How did you get involved in an eco business?

Before having Ellie, I had become disillusioned with my career as a solicitor – the pay may have been good but I was finding it hard to reconcile this way of earning a living with my increasing awarness of environmental and ethical issues.

During my maternity leave, I realised that I really had come to the end of my “corporate life” and although I wanted to be at home with my daughter, I did need something to keep me busy.

I had really struggled to find the type of products that I wanted to use with Ellie – 6 years ago it was almost impossible to find cloth nappies and slings on the high street and most shops hadn’t heard of the concept of fair trade toys, so the orginal idea for the shop was born.

What is the best part of being a working mum?

Being able to fit it all in around a young child. I conducted hours of internet based research while Ellie was breastfeeding – I am a very fast one handed typer now. I also love the fact that I have a side to me that doesn’t revolve around washing and homework, yet doesn’t tie me down to office life.

What is the worst part of being a working mum?

The same as being a mother – never being able to switch off. Just as you are constantly thinking, have I got enough peanut butter for after school snack, or did I remember to put the washing machine on, you are always thinking, did I reply to that email from the customer, I wonder if we should buy that new range of slings. It takes a lot of discipline to ensure that when I am working, I am working and then to shut down for the rest of the day, very hard when my main office is at home.

Your top tip to other mums thinking about starting an eco business?

Think very clearly about what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it. If you are genuinely passionate about what you are doing, this will be much easier but if you are offering greenwashing to make your product look good, customers will soon notice and look elsewhere. You must also remember that an eco business is just like any other – it takes lots of hard work and determination to make a success of it but never let that stop you from enjoying what you do.