Sarah Humphrey.
Sarah Humphrey, (aka @sarah_phoenix) is a face you may have seen if you follow us on Instagram. She is seriously the raddest momma ever, always dressed in her vintage and Spell gear with her three wildlings in tow. She is the most present mum I’ve ever known and we salute her so hard! She is a mum that inspires us no end. And we cant help but marvel at her ability to look infinitely stylish, even with an Ergo hanging off her…
Tell us about your little one/s?
My little ones are Phoenix, Sky and Tala. All boys. 1,3 and 5-ish.
How did motherhood change your style?
My style pretty much stayed the same. I love anything unique, bohemian and old. I am very whimsical in how I dress and having kids really didn’t make me practical or bring me down to earth. I just dress in what ever my mood dictates daily.
How did your own mum influence your style of parenting?
My mum is my role model for unconditional love.
How do you dress for a day with the kids?
I have my kids every single day (seriously). I dress in whatever I feel like and makes me feel good on the given day. Never governed by practicality.
Number one ‘can’t live with out it’ mum accessory?
The Ergobaby carrier is my can’t live with out it mum thing. My babies were all marsupials. They lived on me in the Ergo for about a year after birth.
A message to mums out there for Mother’s Day:
My message to other mums is “enjoy the chaos. remember that you’re never alone- motherhood is such a beautiful universal part of humanity. remember that your kids love you so much and as long as you love them and make them feel your love, you’re doing great.
Kazzie Mahina.
Kazzie Mahina or Mahina Mermaid (yep, this lovely soul is a legit mermaid) is an inspiring local mum with some serious style to envy! She lives en-route to my local beach so I often see her in her garden playing with her tribe, which I love, because she’s also a super successful entrepreneur, so I know that time with the family must feel very precious. She started her own mermaid fin business and has brought about a zillion little girl’s dreams to life with Mahina Mermaid fins… She is always looking like a total mermaid adorned with accessories and her hair flowing. Her style extends to her gorgeous two year old son, Makoa Tide, who is über squiz and totally gorgeous. We had a chat to her about her take on Motherhood.
Tell us about your little one?
Makoa Tide, he is as his name suggests. Strong and peaceful, relaxed and easy going whilst also being full of spirit and adventure. He has just turned 2 and is going on 4! Make loves boards, surf and skate, balls, bikes, scooters and anything with wheels really! He loves busking (everywhere and anywhere) – singing loudly with his guitar or drumming a beat between his legs whilst on a stool like he’s sitting on a drum. He loves taking his dog Pebbles to the Bayleaf Cafe for a bubba chino whilst also hooking up for playdates with his 5 year old girlfriend Maya.
How did motherhood change your life?
Very significantly, as I am sure it does for most. My own Mother passed away when I was 13.. so for such a long time Mothers Day was a day of mourning for me. A reminder of my ongoing longing for her and of my deep sadness for her physical absence in my life. No matter where life took me (wonderful places, people, & adventures) nothing could ever fill that place in my heart for my Mum, there was always an ever evading longing for that kind of love, belonging & connection…
Becoming a Mum has been the greatest gift & healer of my lifetime.. I never knew that love this big was so possible, so unconditional, so healing…
After giving birth to my beautiful Makoa; this prayer to my Mum fell out of me with floods of loving & happy tears –
Mumma… the love between us is reborn and reignited in the love I have for our little Makoa… your beautiful grandson. I am so happy I get to experience this connection and love once more. It’s like coming home in my heart – finally.
I miss you so much, AND life keeps giving… I see you in his face looking back at me, and I sometimes feel your eyes looking lovingly through mine unto him. The beautiful circle of life…
What’s your mum mantra?
Calm blue ocean, deep blue sea. This works for both Makoa and me :-)
Number one ‘can’t live without it’ mum accessory?
My moisturising rescue balm for my eyes, and a hairband on my wrist for tying up my mane.
A message to Mums out there for Mother’s Day:
Sending Happy and relaxing Mother’s Day wishes to all! May today and all of your days be reciprocated and filled with the endless amount of kindness, love and care that you so selflessly and naturally give..
Marcia Leone.
Marcia Leone has the amazingly gorgeous blog, Not So Mumsy. We just died when we saw the images above (shot by Lea Johnston and styled by Trudie Donovan from Pretty Eclectic, one of our amazing stockists! ) we were in love! She just really knows how to rock it mama style!
Tell us about your little one?
I am the lucky mama to a gorgeous, funny, strong-willed, super-hero obsessed three year old boy. Archie Valentino is my little sidekick, we do everything together. He’s my best friend and a great traveller- we have so much fun on our daily adventures. I love our hilarious conversations and looking at the world through his eyes.
How did motherhood change your style?
My style hasn’t changed too much, I just get to wear my weekend style everyday now as I work from home. I wear a lot of well cut basics that are easy to mix and match and I change it up with accessories. I breastfed for over 2 years so had to ensure my clothes were boob friendly- lots of loose tanks and kimonos. :)
How did your own mum influence your style of parenting?
My mum is the eternal mother, she has raised 12 children. 6 biological and 6 foster/adopted. Yep, total “mumspiration” and big shoes to fill! She is the best role model. Her own parenting style has changed over the 35 years of mothering and I guess she taught me to do whatever works for me- every baby and situation is different and there is no right way. She also taught me to value my own sense of self and style. She is always super stylish. I remember her being the envy of all my friends (and the other mothers) when she would pick me up from primary school rocking her leather mini, ankle boots and red lippy.
3 mums who inspire you?
Angelina Jolie for changing the stigma of adopting and blended families, all of the single mothers, including my sister, That is a tough gig, My husband is away 3/4 months of the year, and when he is away I find it so difficult to juggle everything. That 6pm handover is a life saver ;). The most inspiring of all is my Mum! Raising 12 children has taught us that be can love our foster and adopted siblings as much as our own.
A message to Mums out there for Mother’s Day:
You rock! We are superheroes without the cape! How amazing to be the most important person in someone’s life. What an honour it is to shape our children to become a positive influence on the world. “While we try to teach our children about life, our children teach us what life is about.” Enjoy the small every day moments… and the breakfast in bed! Happy Mother’s Day! xo
Isabella Pennefather.
Spelly inspires me every day. She somehow manages the balancing act a little better than I do. She’s the most amazing mum, and is always off on little family adventures with her boys, and even on mornings where she’s rushing off to work she still finds time to squeeze in a little swim with her family. Photo by me, on one of our little Pass adventures.
Tell us about your little one/s?
I have a 4 1/2 year old boy Texas Jesse Pennefather and a 18month old boy Jagger Mac Pennefather.
They are great little brothers to each other, and are just really beautiful, funny, kind little souls. (although Jagger can scream like a dinosaur if you try and take his car off him!)
How did motherhood change your style?
Before I had children, Dougall and I lived a life full of partying, travel, romance, fun, laughter, adventures, deep sea diving, swimming in the seas of Byron, eating everything and working hard. After kids, not much changed except the amount of sleep we got! So we have spent the last 5 years being a little more tired, but have still managed to keep the fun and travel in our lives.
Since becoming a mother, I have also developed some beautiful friendships with my mamma friends. We have all had so many fun play dates over the years, something I will never forget.
I never stopped working through it all though. The Spell label was growing fast during the birth of my two boys, so there was not much time to breathe, the show must go on! So it has definitely been a lot of juggling over the years, Luckily I have a very supportive husband who believed in me from the beginning and helps out a lot with bringing up our beautiful boys.
Also having children, I found, brought me closer to my family, sisters, mother and father. Children definitely bring families together.
How do you dress for a day with the kids?
Mostly I’m sporty/comfy mum and wear my runners, leggings, a tee, flannel around the waist, sunnies and a trucker cap! armed with a pram, toy cars, water, snacks, nappies and wipes. and you’re set for a day walking around town, visiting parks, and keeping the kids happy. But if I’m heading to a cafe for a play with my mamma friends, I might try a bit harder and throw on some leather shorts, a vintage biker tee, jewellery and some Spell leather boots!
How did your own mum influence your parenting style?
To be soft and nurturing, and be aware of your child’s feelings. and let them be themselves.
A message to Mums out there for Mother’s Day:
Ring your mother and thank her for bringing you up into the world where you were able to meet your partner and have children too! And to spend the day with your family and enjoy every moment!
Kim Ferguson.
Kim Ferguson has always been a mother that has inspired us. Stylish, brave and mother to the gorgeous Elle Ferguson (Founder of Elle Effect) and Lucie Ferguson (creator of jewellery brand, Baby Anything). Kim and her daughters were almost honorary locals here in Byron, always visiting, and holing up at their 2nd home, The Atlantic, so we kind of felt like we knew her. Devastatingly, Kim passed away recently, and we wanted to honour what an incredible relationship the three women had with each other. Elle and Lucie answered some questions about their beautiful mum in honour of her this Mother’s Day.
We are so inspired by the bond between the three of you – tell us about it.
Elle: My sister, mum and I live by the mantra ‘three hearts beat as one’ and in all honesty this is the truth. We support each other unconditionally, if one of us is in we all are in. Even the craziest of ideas, dreams or wishes we are there for each other. I think this is what has created such a unique bond between all of us. The three of us walk down the street holding hands because there is so much love between us. No matter where we are or what we are doing we know that we have each other no matter what.
Your Mum loved fashion, how did that influence you both growing up?
Elle: Believe it or not our entire life has been influenced by fashion. From the story of my mum giving birth to me in over the knew green suede Charles Jourdan boots to Lucie and I doing every single school project out of a Vogue magazine! Fashion has got us through some really tough times in our lives but it also has bought us so so so much joy. fashion is art and it is a way of expression. And for the Ferguson’s that played a huge part of who we are today. “we don’t give up… we dress up!’
Lucie: We grew up with the most incredible inspiration, our very own supermodel. Although mum’s wardrobe rivalled that of Kate Moss and Keith Richard’s nothing was off limits. She gave us access to everything and encouraged our creativity. If Elle wanted to wear a lace bodysuit with pearls and a Charles Jourdan handbag to the fruit shop at age 3 mum let her. If I wanted to wear the gown mum won Miss Australia in, a heavenly ruffled 70’s pale pink silk taffeta creation, to run around the back yard in, mum encouraged me. She encouraged us to mix and match and never save anything for a special occasion. I remember she had an incredible pair of suede heels with noughts and crosses on them from Paris that she had been saving to wear, one day she just decided to wear them to take the dog for a walk around our sleepy little beach town, the whole town still remembers how beautiful she looked.
The outfit that made you look at your mum and go ‘wow!’?
Elle: No word of a lie every outfit my mum put together I went ‘WOW’… My mum had an art of making everything look amazing… whether it be a vintage shirt she had taken apart and put back together or and expensive outfit she just had a way… and I tell you what she accessorised EVERYTHING perfectly.
Lucie: When I look back at the photos of her in her twenty’s she is the ultimate 70’s beach goddess. With original Carla Zampatti midriff wrap tops and flowing maxi skirts with stacked platforms and the perfect middle part of sun bleached blond hair, she is my never ending inspiration.
We have seen you are going to continue your Mother’s dream of having her label, KLF designs. Tell us about the product and where you plan to take it?
Elle: The product is AMAZING if I do say so myself… the pieces are all items that my mum designed and my little sis is bringing to life. They are those items that are MUST HAVES the perfect suede bag… the perfect dancing sandal… the perfect boot the list goes on. We are also very excited that we have secured some amazing overseas and local stockist which are spreading my mums love for fashion globally. theres something about the designs, I think because they are completely my mum they make them different you feel like you have a little bit of her amazingness with you
Lucie: Mum and I dreamt of starting KLF 8 years ago and I am so happy that is has come to fruition. All of our initials are represented in the label Kim Louise Ferguson, Elleshia Louise Ferguson and Lucie Kim Ferguson and it will be a true reflection of our style. To keep her creativity flowing whilst we went through some isolating medical treatment mum would draw shoe and bag designs she had always wanted to make. I encouraged mum to check leather swatches and bag samples I was having made no matter how sick she was as I wanted to make these pieces that were the essence of her. Mum’s mantra through all of our struggles was “don’t give up, dress up” and this label will be making the pieces she wanted to wear most.
KLF design will hopefully be around for sometime so that both Elle and I’s future families will have a way to connect to our mum and hopefully work for the family business.
How can our readers shop KLF?
www.klfdesign.com.au or www.freepeople.com (they carry our ceremonial tassels).
A message to all of the daughters out there for Mother’s Day:
Elle: ‘give your mum THE biggest hug you have ever given her in your life…’
Lucie: Make memories with your mum. The most precious thing on this beautiful earth is time spent with your family. Elle and I would trade the universe for just 1 minute more with our mum. Ask your mum the stories behind her jewellery, her clothes or her old photos, you will cherish these stories for your lifetime and pass these stories onto your own kids.