This month’s interview for the Working Mum Series is with Anna Mewes. Anna runs her own business as a personal stylist and image consultant. But it is her ‘Style Lounge’ online membership hub that really makes her services in the styling world stand out. There are lots of different services offered through the hub, and so many great topics are covered with regular guest speakers. You can find out more about this on Anna’s Instagram page (her story highlight explains everything), or via her website – all details below.
I hope you enjoy Anna’s interview as much as I did. I really resonated with Anna’s answer to question 9 about how motherhood has changed her. It definitely does teach us to stress less about the smaller things because not everything is within our control when we have children. And thats ok. Maybe sometimes we just need to see things from their perspectives…
Enjoy!
Lisa
xoxo
Cityrunmum talks to Anna Mewes:
- Please introduce yourself – what is your job, how many children you have, where you are from etc
Hi! I’m Anna, a Personal Stylist and Image Consultant with two children (who are six and two), one husband and two fluffy cats. We live in beautiful West Yorkshire.
- How many days/hours a week do you work?
My daughter is only two and therefore not at school yet so I’m trying to keep to part time hours until she goes. At the moment I work three days per week and have two days with her whilst my eldest is a school.
- Describe a typical working day in your household (i.e. morning routines with nursery/school drop offs to evening)
My eldest is an early riser so we’re usually up around 6am. Most mornings I’ll try to take advantage of this and use the time to do a 30min workout whilst the children have their breakfast and my husband gets ready for work. The nursery/school run kicks off around 8am with me whizzing around dropping everyone off before I head to the studio for 9am. I see my first clients from around 9.30am.
- How do you balance working life with motherhood? And what/who do you rely on to make it work?
It’s certainly a juggling act and I couldn’t do it alone. My husband is an absolute rock star and even though he works long hours all week he’s usually around to help get the children ready for bed in the evening. My parents live nearby and will often help out with the school run if I need to work late too which is a great help.
- What is the best thing about being a working mum?
The best thing about being a working mum for me is the very fact I get the best of both worlds. I have quality time with my children, am there to do the school run each day and I get to work with some amazing women in my style studio, helping them rediscover their sense of style, restore their confidence and boost their self esteem. It’s incredibly rewarding.
- And the hardest?
Life is just non-stop! There is always somewhere I need to be or something I need to do and there are times when spinning all these plates feels very overwhelming. So I’d say the hardest thing is definitely juggling it all – some days I manage to do it reasonably well, others not so much.
- How do you unwind? Balancing motherhood with work can be relentless so what do you do to relax when you’re not at work/with the kid(s)?
I love to workout and see that as precious ‘me time’ where I not only get the chance to exercise my body, but also give my mind a rest. I also love to read and a long bath ALWAYS help me unwind (with perhaps a G&T to accompany me!)
- What is your proudest mum moment?
For me it’s the little things that make me proud – my children being polite or showing kindness to others, overcoming their fears (even if that’s just conquering the big slide at the park) and just generally being happy, healthy little humans.
- Do you feel that motherhood has changed you, and if so, how?
Definitely! I’m a very neat, ordered person and when my eldest was born I definitely struggled to adapt to this new whirlwind way of life. At first the lack of control and order really stressed me out but as time has gone on I’ve relaxed into it and I don’t stress over insignificant things in the same way I used to do. Having children has given me a whole new perspective on life.
- What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing working mums at the moment?
For me the biggest challenge has been finding a way to work AND be there for my children and from talking to other Mums who work, or want to go back to work after children, I’m not alone. There’s such a lack of creative, challenging part-time roles that many women I know have either had to go back to work full-time when they haven’t wanted to, or haven’t gone back at all. There are very few options out there for part time working Mums I think. I desperately wanted to work part time after I’d had both of my children and be able to do the school run, be there for sports day etc. but I also wanted a career that was creative, challenging and rewarding. For me the answer was to re-train as a personal stylist and go self-employed. It certainly hasn’t been the easy option but I do feel I have a good balance and I absolutely love what I do.
- What is your proudest work achievement?
Setting up my online membership hub ‘The Style Lounge’ at the beginning of this year was a huge achievement. It took months of hard work to get it all ready to launch and I’m so proud of it. I came to realise that the reasons women were coming to see me for my personal styling advice ran much deeper than simply wanting to look good. Many of them were coming because they wanted to reclaim a bit of themselves which may have been lost for a variety of reasons; the demands of a young family, the pressures of an intense career, the trauma of illness and many other experiences and I wanted to help them beyond a handful of 1-2-1 styling sessions. This is where the idea for The Style Lounge was born – a lightbulb moment whilst I was chatting to a client who expressed the wish that they could have my advice and expertise on tap 24/7 to ask questions and give them the confidence boost they needed.
I wanted to create a space where women can build each other up alongside asking me for advice, but also share challenges and wins amongst themselves, to build confidence, solidarity and support, somewhere members can go when they were feeling unsure or lacking in self-confidence.
I’m keen to illustrate the power of understanding our bodies and minds, and sharing my personal experiences to inspire clients, encouraging them to connect with me so I really am there whenever the need me. There really is nothing else like this in the UK and with The Style Lounge I want it to be a safe place for people to ask questions, to share experiences and to build each other’s confidence up, as well as a place to have some fun.
Membership costs £10 per month with access to weekly emails with guest expert tutorials/masterclasses, personalised colour and style profile, exclusive Facebook group, weekly Facebook Live Q&As with me and my guest experts. Also coming soon is a library of downloadable content for members based around specific areas of interest (i.e. dressing in pregnancy, post-natal style, plus-size dressing, bridal party style guides and more).
- What does ‘flexible working’ mean to you’?
It means the freedom to choose when I work, how I work and who I work with.
- What are your go to stores/websites/blogs for your working wardrobe, and what are your staple pieces as a working mum?
I love Pinterest and Instagram and adore accounts like The Mum Life Styled, The Fashionable Pan and Fashion Bug Blog whose styles are all chic, current and functional as busy Mamas with young children.
My key pieces for work are my Whistles leather skirt, which goes with everything, my cobalt blue cacoon coat from Samsoe & Samsoe and then I have an array of shoes/trainers that I mix and match with everything. I’m often on my feet for hours shopping with clients or helping them organise their wardrobes so practical but stylish pieces are essential.
- Finally, what advice would you give to new working mums? I.e. those who are just going back to work from maternity leave, setting up their own businesses, or going for a new job?
Know your limits! As women we try to do so much and it leads to burnout, trust me, I have been there. It isn’t possible to ‘have it all’ but it is possible to work and have a happy balance between that and being there for your family, whether that’s working full or part time. Do what makes you happy, schedule in regular ‘me time’ and be present, whether you’re at work or at home.
