Morning mamas! You’re in for a treat today because not only have we got a QA with Maya of Maya Brenner Designs for the latest in our Inspiring Mom series, but lots of photos by Nicki Sebastian of both her gorgeous DTLA studio space and her home tour too. M started her jewelry business in 1999 out of her Manhattan studio apartment while working full-time as a social worker (so impressive!) so we’re extra excited to get a bit of perspective from a mom who has raised her two kiddos while establishing a brand over the long haul. Here’s what we learned…

Maya has this studio in LA’s jewelry district…

But she splits her time between it + her home office (which you’ll see after a few more studio shots!).

What was the inspiration or impetus to start your business?
I was looking for a 50^th birthday present for my mom and spent a lot of money on a necklace I found in a catalog. When it arrived in the mail, I thought, “I could make that!” so I returned it and made my own design. My mom (and everyone else) loved it so I started making necklaces at night when I would get home from work. I wore them around New York and a store owner took notice… and the rest is “herstory”.

How does your business inspire your family, or your family inspire your business?
My kids see me working every day at a company that I built. I want them to see that hard work and passion about things in life can pay off. My daughter wears my jewelry now and my son likes to see celebrities and people he and his friends think are cool wearing my designs. Recently Keke Palmer was wearing my K necklace and both my kids thought that was very awesome.

Such a beautiful, chic space. Her Silverlake home has a bit more of a relaxed California vibe:

How has the business changed or evolved as your children have grown?
When they were smaller, my work was just something that took me away from them. I traveled more because I was focused on building the wholesale side of my business. After my second child was born I changed the model of my business to focus more on my own e-commerce site so that I could stay home more. I thought my business would suffer but interestingly after I stopped focusing on wholesale, we got contacted from Steven Alan, Neiman Marcus, J. Crew and Mark & Graham—which are now our biggest wholesale accounts.

Do you find it challenging or refreshing to work for yourself? Are there particular places or people that you rely on for support as a creative business owner and a mom?
I love working for myself. It gives me so much flexibility and let’s face it—who doesn’t want to be a girl boss? But there are lots of different pressures when you own a business and the responsibilities of keeping it up and running for almost 20 years are endless. And there is no such thing as a true vacation or real maternity leave since there are always problems that need to be handled.

I rely heavily on the people who work for me. I have some amazing women who make sure that all the jewelry gets made and delivered each and every day, they have been incredibly supportive over the past year since my boyfriend and I are undergoing fertility treatments to have another baby. Anyone who has gone through that knows that it’s a full-time job in and of itself! But the fact that I can choose to be there when my kids get home from school and attend all their games and performances and provide for my family at the same time makes me feel very fulfilled.

How do you balance time with your children and time to work?
I don’t know how moms get everything done each day without a lot of help from others. I always say that it takes a village and that my nanny is “another me”.  Running a household with a dog, chickens, and two children with lots of activities makes my head spin most days.

I take the kids to school everyday but I usually have my nanny pick them up since it buys me a little more time to get things done before they get home. She helps with homework, dinner and will stay late if I have a dinner or an event. I also rely heavily on my boyfriend—he owns his own business as well, so we’re both very understanding of what it takes and supportive of each other, while finding the work/life blend that works for everyone. At the end of the day I try to not be too hard on myself and I know that it’s not a perfect balance but I’m just doing the best I can…

Love this lounge!

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Big thanks to Maya of Maya Brenner Designs for this peek into her life as biz owner + mama!

Photography: Nicki Sebastian

The post Inspiring Mom: Maya Brenner appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

Hi friends! We’re reviving our beloved series Inspiring Moms with this little QA with textile designer Heather Taylor of Heather Taylor Home. Not only are her goods available on her website, you can find them in retailers like Net-A-Porter, Jenni Kayne, and more. So impressive! She’s offering up a peek into her life as mom and business owner alongside these shots by Emily Ulmer of her girl Scarlett. After reading, don’t forget to enter the blanket giveaway at the bottom of this post!

What was the inspiration or impetus to start your business?
I’ve been knitting and weaving for years and have long appreciated handmade textiles. I also love entertaining and setting a beautiful table but I couldn’t find linens I loved without traveling to some far-flung locale. This was my original motivation for launching HTH. The first inkling of inspiration for the line came while eating breakfast in Greece in 2006. The table was covered in a white crocheted lace tablecloth, which felt like the perfect mix of elegance and ease. I’ve been trying to recreate the feeling of that breakfast ever since.

Baby blanket on the crib: Plum Baby Blanket

How does your business inspire your family, or your family inspire your business?
Even during my pregnancy, I felt motivated to be a role model for Scarlett. I want her to understand the value of both hard work and enjoying your life. I love the idea of creating a family business, something that she might want to be apart of when she grows up (no pressure, Scar!).

How has it changed or evolved as she has grown?
Balancing a growing family and a growing business can be crazy-making but it has also helped me focus.  Having a baby has made me 100x more productive with my time because it feels like I have so much less of it. I am always looking for ways to trim the fat in my business. I only say yes to opportunities that clearly help me achieve my goal. Every new product I launch or aspect of my business I develop has to make clear sense within the big picture.

Do you find it challenging or refreshing to work for yourself, as a mom?
Both. I feel lucky to make my own schedule but the struggle for me is having the discipline to turn it off. I do 90% of my work from my phone so it’s literally always with me—which is a good and a bad thing. My personal challenge is committing to Scarlett when I’m with her and committing to work when I’m working. It’s very confusing to try to do both things at one time, which is the situation I find myself in more than I would like. It’s about creating personal boundaries.

I’m so lucky to have a husband who is extremely involved and also works from home. And I have a nanny who works with us two and a half days a week. She watches Scarlett and helps around the house and cooks while Scarlett naps. I couldn’t do any of this without her.

How do you figure out the balance of time with your child and time to work?
The honest answer is that I constantly struggle with how much time I spend with Scarlett. I’m running a full time business with only 2 and a half days a week of childcare. This requires me to work most nights after she goes to bed and I use every single second of her nap to work—I send dozens of emails, have a call or two and maybe even a meeting during her daily 3-hour nap. Thank the lord for naps!

I do know that there are benefits to owning my own business and one is that I can be in control of my schedule. I mostly follow my gut and try to carve out specific times for work and specific times when I am 100% with Scarlett.

Tablecloth: Soho Tablecloth here.

Just a few of our faves from Heather’s collection of tea towels, tablecloths, pillows, baby blankets, and more! You can shop her whole line of textiles for the home here.

Enter for a chance to win one blanket from her collab with Nico Nico using the widget above! Thanks so much to Heather Taylor for this insight into life as mom and biz owner!

All photos by Emily Ulmer.

The post Inspiring Mom: Heather Taylor of Heather Taylor Home + a giveaway appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

Today we hope you join us in quietly honoring this beautiful person and the influence she has had on those who knew her personally and those who were touched by her presence as a creative, generous person in this industry and beyond. Her work and her family have appeared so many times on Cakelet over the last three years. Her unique spirit and style have been and will always be an integral part of our small community, and an inspiration to so many mamas out there. There aren’t words to adequately express the loss that her family and friends and colleagues feel. Her gorgeous babies, her amazing husband Austin, her sister and parents. For all of them, we encourage you to learn how you can support Tori’s life and memory.

And to everyone, take a moment this weekend to appreciate this life, to hold those you love close, and to honor the spirit of this exceptional woman and the inspired life that she lived. For Tori.

The post In loving memory of Tori Hendrix appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

A little about the mission statement from the thoughtful women behind the retreat, our good friends Paige and Kelly of BP Events, along with the ladies behind Hey Mama and Modern Nomad:

“Being a Great Jane is an all encompassing idea for the modern mother. It’s a big movement internally and externally. It fosters intentional parenting, satisfying careers, self-care concerns, and connection with other women facing the bold questions of life balance. As entrepreneurs who are also moms, we wrestle with these important ambitions on a daily basis. We created The Great Jane retreat as a place for all mothers seeking mentorship and space to rejuvenate and prepare for their next act in holistic identity. We have built a thoughtful team of advisors to guide us through a weekend of energizing thought, movement, and relaxation.”

It’s going to be an amazing weekend full of really interesting and inspiring workshops, discussions, good food, lots of wine, great company, and a beautiful location. You can see all of the talented women who are coming together to host workshops and discussions here.

If you’d like to come, it would be so amazing to see you there!

To purchase tickets and receive 20% OFF, use the code TGJ_Speaker when you check out. Click here to reserve your spot.

Have a lovely weekend!

The post The Great Jane: A modern mother’s retreat in Ojai appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

Pictured above: Crescent moon diamond necklace / Baguette studs / Black diamond open cross bar ring / Pave initial disc necklace / Diamond bezel ring / ID bracelet / Diamond shaped studs / Boy silhouette pendant / Turquoise tear and diamond ring / Gold letter studs / Ombre pave vertical bar necklace / Mixed pave peaked ring / Tiny heart pave ring / Triangle white diamond necklace / Bezel and baguette diamond band / Mixed thin bangles / Pave open diamond ring / Wide pave V necklace / Pave open bar cuff / Bead ring / Mix matched triangle studs / Mixed pave overlap bar necklace

We’ll take one of everything! See all Zoë’s complete collection of studs and earrings here.

Mother’s Day gifts for all of us, right?!

The post Our favorite picks from Zoë Chicco appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.