Say hi to Kyra & Shannon, looking after hard-working mums with Oh Mumma
This week we had a chat with the two lovely ladies behind Oh Mumma, a subscription box service ‘for the modern mum’. As they explain, becoming a mum changes a lot in your life, and managing to juggle children and work can be challenging. This can heavily impact mental health and wellbeing, neglecting a mum’s own needs. Shannon & Kyra want to enable mums to get their me-time back on track, as they very much deserve it.
Shannon & Kyra, it’s lovely to chat with you. Could you introduce yourselves and tell us a little more about Oh Mumma?
KW — Hey, we are Kyra and Shannon, two friends and mums who set up Oh Mumma in November 2019. We met through work — we have both worked in beauty FOREVER and then happened to be pregnant at the same time — Shannon with her second and me with my first. We were chatting about what a life-changing time it is when you become a mum — Shannon from experience, and me from what I’d seen friends and family experience and generally grilling her on everything baby but also just chatting very honestly about still wanting to be ‘us’ and have an identity other than ‘mum’. From there the idea of a gift for mum was born. We were both overwhelmed with the gifts our babies got when they arrived and realised that when we visited friends with new babies, we always took something for mum — Shannon, usually beauty related and me probably alcohol-related! We knew we wanted a gift for the modern mum that stood out amongst the fluffy bunnies and grey blankets so we created a gift box full of beauty and lifestyle products that were not only a great treat but that were actually practical and useful. Products tried, tested and approved by mums. There’s the Just for Mum box which is exactly that, bursting with products for mum and the Mum & Baby box where we add something for the little one too. You can subscribe or buy a one-off box or even build your own for an even more personalised touch. Many of the products in the box are created by mums in business who we love to support, and we also donate a percentage of all profits to the PANDAS Foundation who support families experiencing pre and postnatal mental health issues.
Did you face any challenges in creating your brand? And any particular happy moments? Also, have you always worked from home since you started your company or is this still quite new for you?
KW — There was so much to think about before we launched our brand and one of the main challenges was, what if there’s something we haven’t thought of. Both of us have pretty much always worked for large brands where there are department’s full of specialist people to look after all of the functions you need to run a business, so we were really aware of how underqualified we were in some areas such as finance and operations and knew we’d have to learn quick — thank you Google, webinars and online courses and/or ask for help.
SB — There were and are still so many happy moments along the way — the first time we got a sale, the first piece of press, the first time the brand was on TV, the first card we got from a customer — they’re all different in so many ways but one of the best happy moments is being at home and being able to not miss out on putting the kids to bed, hearing how their day has been and just generally being there more rather than dashing all over the place on trains and tubes. We worked from home as soon as we set up the business and quickly and cheaply created home offices so that we both have separate work and home spaces. That doesn’t always work and there are lots of evenings spent balancing laptops on the sofa or in bed finishing up but it still beats the office commute for sure.
How do you feel about the term “mompreneur”? We know it’s a complex one, it can have some positive but also slightly negative connotations… Do you associate to it at all?
KW — Personally, it’s not one that bothers me either way. It does what it says on the tin and hats off to everyone setting up their own brand, mum or not as it’s a rollercoaster.
SB — Honestly it’s never even crossed my mind as being negative. I think you can read into anything and get hung up on it and life is a bit too short for that!
In straight couples, it often happens that the mother takes on the planning and organising tasks in the family. This is called the “mental load” and it is almost like a full-time job for some. How do you feel this affects certain mums’ mental health?
KW — We are both really lucky to have very supportive husbands, but both would also admit that the planning and organising tasks in the family still fall on us as mums. My dad was always hands-on when we were growing up so I’ve had great role models and Dan and I do split everything pretty evenly — we take bedtimes in turns and step up when the other one has different/extra pressures on.
SH — Matt’s also pretty good with the day-to-day things but it took time and a lot of communication when our first arrived because I definitely felt the weight of it all. A lot of the times he just didn’t understand how best to help and I needed to be really clear about how and what I needed. As women, I think we put extraordinary pressure on ourselves and sometimes self-care is learning to let some of that go.
Being a parent brings a lot of happiness of course, but also sometimes some stress & anxiety. There has been talk of “burnt-out parents” recently due to Covid-19 regulations (although this term already existed since the 1980s), with many having to juggle working from home as well as the role of teacher (& entertainers) for their children. How have you been coping with the recent school closures and children being at home longer than usual? Any advice for parents who are finding this particularly challenging?
KW — Thank goodness my little one isn’t at school yet as I think the pressures of homeschooling are getting on top of everyone. He’s in an early years setting which are still open apart from a couple of incidents where they’ve been closed and we’ve had to isolate which has just meant adapting to what can and can’t be done work-wise when he’s at home. Friends who are homeschooling as well as trying to work from home are finding it really tough no matter what the ages of their kids. I have friends with 6-year-olds who don’t understand the way simple maths is taught now, to friends with teens who just want to be out with their mates and are at critical times with exams and goal posts every changing. The general consensus seems to be that those with supportive employers are surviving but those who aren’t really are on the edge. I think the first lockdown when the weather was better and days were longer definitely felt ‘easier’. I’m pregnant this time round too and have definitely felt ‘locked up’ and sick of the same four walls but I started walking most mornings and that has helped massively. All we can do is keep talking and be there to rant, laugh, cry together when needed and remind ourselves that this is the worse of it, it will get better.
SH — Both our boys are in nursery as well but just 3 days a week. They usually spend a day with their grandparents but that hasn’t been happening for obvious reasons right now. I definitely struggle with the mum guilt when I’m working around them because I feel like I should be doing more to entertain them. I just try to balance it out with getting outside (even in the rain) and playing when I’m not working. In the beginning of everything I tried to write a schedule to keep more of a routine but that came off the wall on day 2. I’ve become more ok with just going with the flow of what they want to do and also my acceptance of screen time has lightened up a bit that’s for sure! You just have to do what gets you through the day really and remember that you’re only human and this is all going to end.
Your brand is all about mummas as we’ve seen, and you’ve supported this by using mainly mum-founded brands. Why was that important for you?
SH — The brand IS all about mummas and we try to ensure that we do support mums in any way, or as many ways as possible from being open and honest on our social channels about our own journeys to working with mummy freelancers and businesses. There are so many creative businesses and brands set up by mums who, like us, were looking for a solution to a problem when they started their brands, and we know mums like buying form other mums just as we do. If everyone supports each other and can give each other a bit of awareness, then it all helps brands grow. There are a lot of mum founded brands that we really admire like Bloom and Blossom, Scamp & Dude and Bramley to mention a few who have not only built their brand whilst juggling a young family but have also supported many other new businesses and brands on the way.
What are your favourite ways to wind down after a day of work?
KW — Right now at 6 months pregnant I have zero energy after work so my routine is literally bra off, pj’s on, a cup of tea in front of the TV and then off to bed. At the weekends we’ve got back into some zoom calls, quizzes and silly escape room challenges online just to catch up with friends which is definitely a bit of much needed mental release after a full-on week. Shannon and I will often be messaging each other at night though with ideas, new brands to follow, updates from the day and any other random thoughts…
What are your hopes for the coming year? Do you have any projects to look forward to that you can tell us about?
SB — We’ve now been around for over a year — and a year when a global pandemic hit too, so have had a chance to look at what’s working and what we could do next. There are some really exciting collaborations coming up and new limited edition boxes on the way which we are looking great.
KW — I can’t wait until we can do some sort of live ‘event’ again and get out there and talk to mums, meet real people and hear what they think of Oh Mumma and what they would love to see us do next.
Follow Oh Mumma on social media:
👉 Instagram @oh.mumma
👉 Website ohmumma.com
👉 LinkedIn
On the Livitay App, you can find lots of useful advice for a more productive and mindful workday. Check out our website to find out more about our app and how our programmes can help your employees 👉 www.livitay.com
