In Celebration Of Mothers

Lauren Trend is the Founder of Self Practice, an online research platform and community, exploring the intersect of well-being, art and design. She is also a new mother, along with her partner Lucy, to their six-month old daughter, Mila. 

U: Your work centres heavily around notions of the self, and the dialogue between self and creativity. Has motherhood facilitated new ways of understanding or connecting to yourself, and in turn, influenced your own practice or creativity?

LT: “Absolutely it has! I think the biggest surprise for me personally has been the overwhelming access to new ideas and feeling thrust into a creative flow without much effort at all, and of course now having a fraction of the time to do anything with it. As a working parent, I really do try my hardest to be as present as possible wherever I am at any given moment. Whether that’s at my desk, working – or on a playmat, watching over Mila. I often remind myself that these days, of her being so small, and needing me as much as she does, are numbered – and work will always be there. With that being said, as she grows up, I hope that she witnesses both of her mothers tending to themselves, their careers and their family in equal measure.”

U: How did you navigate both motherhood and your career simultaneously?

JDV: One thing that appealed to me about the modelling profession was the fact that, in the days when I started, a girl only worked for a couple years before retiring. I thought that would suit me so I could stop and have children. I had started modelling quite late, at 22, but worked till age 31, after I’d had my first child. It might have been tempting to work on through the years which many models now do. I had no choice, working till 31 was quite a long run in those days. Still, I was able to be at home when my girls Daisy and Poppy were growing up. I was there if they needed me for anything and I loved being part of their lives during those early formative years. I was able to take them school and to all their activities, being a big part of their life. 

The fashion world changed and girls can now work as long as they want. I was asked to start modelling again in 1988, age 44, so I thought my girls were old enough (13 and 9)for me to work. It wasn’t a 9-5 job, just certain days, when booked, so worked out pretty well.

Then, when I was 50, I acted in a play, Design for Living, for nearly a year in London’s West End. By then Daisy was at Parsons School of Design in New York and Poppy was 15, so able to cope with my rather bizarre theatre schedule.

Dawn Doughlin is a finance manager and part-time model from Barbados, who has been in Sydney for 30 years. She is mum to her two sons, Tex and Remy.

 U: Did motherhood positively shift or alter your approach to the way you work, or think about work?

DD: When Tex arrived it changed my life. I could not imagine a moment without him. My attitude to work shifted. I consciously decided that my baby was my work. He was my responsibility to nurture – not the bottom line of a P/L report.

I became a stay-at-home mum. This was a challenge as I had no extensive social network. Often just Tex was my company. I did miss my career too. But I hadn’t worked in Australia and that feeling was acute.I continued this with my second son, Remy. So much joy, so busy, such a sponge. Work again was on the back burner.

I’d do it again though. Work is very important for self-identification and connection. My babies were too. Work could wait.

Rebel Sorensen is a Fashion and Lifestyle Recruiter, and is part of the the team at UMENCO. She is also a mum to two little girls, Seven who is three-years-old, and Friday who is one.

U: What are the most significant learning moments you have had during motherhood?

RS: “For me the most significant learn I have had since becoming a mother is that there are no second chances. We often get so caught up in the minutiae of everyday life and how we think something should be, look or feel, we miss the real thing. This is so true about motherhood. It is an epic cliche but they grow so quickly and you don’t get those moments back. When I had my eldest daughter Seven, I struggled with what I thought motherhood should be like and the reality of the situation. This struggle impacted our first year together and it was a lesson I reflected on when I had my second baby Friday. I am so lucky that I have two beautiful and healthy girls to spend my days with. I work hard to ensure that I am present and being the best person and mother to them. 

Some days it’s great, other days it’s hard but that’s life in general. The two greatest loves of my life singing LET IT GO at me at 6am is what it’s all about.”

Amanda Bransgrove is a model who has studied fine arts, and has worked in film and television for many years as a makeup artist. She is a mother to her three kids and her husband’s daughters.

U: On reflection, did motherhood positively shift your approach to your career, or the way you think about work?

AB: Becoming a mother was shocking, I had to learn how to be one, I’m still learning. Being organised was key and it took me a lot to be that way…it was during this period I developed low self-esteem and lost the sense of ‘I can do this.’ Life was so fractured, we were all living in hardship when I realised it was up to me to change the path we were heading down. I was extremely lucky to have a loving supportive sister also with a young and secure family who often had my kids when I had early starts or events on. Plus I had some solid friends who I still love and laugh with today, family and community, that got me through.