What It Takes to Be a Working Mom in Fashion

Below, they share their personal experiences of practicing the art of being a working mom.

Sandeep Salter

We started a family when I was 24, which was pretty early in my professional life. In fact, I opened my first shop the day I went into labor, and I opened Picture Room, my gallery, 10 years ago, when my daughter turned one. My kids know my work. They’ve been there at work with me, whether in my arms, on my hip, or running around. They see me problem-solve and build relationships, and they see me struggle and get excited about things.

I don’t see parenting as a thing to do. In my view, it is the time in your life in which you have kids. Once they’re born, you’re parenting. The values and style of all my actions, including professional ones, are reflective of my parenting. The person I am, day to day, is the parent I am.

This intertwining of parenting with work affects the ways in which I approach my work, so obviously, it’s hard to disconnect one from the other. My husband and I started Salter House together as our family business so we could work together.

We began by just selling the objects that we had been living with in our home. We’d find an object, integrate it into our home life, use it with the kids, meet the maker, and then sell it in our shop. I structured my work schedule and the content of the work—working with artists, having a shop and gallery with open hours—to deliberately fold in social and professional time into my new parenting life. We sell kids’ housewares and toys. I designed a line of childrenswear. That Salter House is a regular neighborhood destination for many babies and their first outings is a point of great pride.

Since my husband and I run Salter House together, most of our professional decisions are, arguably, also family decisions. It’s old school having a family business. It brings all of the aspects of my life into one space: family, love, inspiration, social expectations, and financial pressures.

The major downside to this is the feeling (and reality) that I could be doing better work—better researched, slower, more methodical work. At present, the effectiveness and reach of my work are similar to the geographic impression of my life as a parent. It’s local. Our shops, home, and kids’ school all exist within eight blocks. Our other shop in Manhattan offered proximity to our friends and artists on the Lower East Side.

Feelings of inadequacy are natural for a working parent because the stakes are high—for me personally and for my family. As they grow, I want my practice to deepen. It took me until both my children were past five years old and in full-time school for me to instigate a design practice, and it was with cautious, practical steps.

As my kids grow, and their experiential realm expands, so too will my work and our businesses. I will take more risks, find extended time, and cover more ground.

Sherri McMullen and her son Frederick

Sherri McMullen

Becoming a mother has taught me so much about patience and prioritization, and it’s made me a better business leader. My work has become more meaningful, because I’m building a legacy for my son. Through my work, he will understand the values of ownership and the profound responsibilities it brings. My passion for my work brings me joy, and my son sees this and has been immersed in my business his entire life. He occasionally helps me in the store, which provides him with a glimpse of entrepreneurship from an early age.

I block out one hour of exercise every morning on my calendar, and the remaining appointments follow. I find that I am at my best when I prioritize myself. Taking care of myself helps me be more productive and present in work and family life.

Although my career is demanding, I always prioritize being there for special milestone moments, including my son’s birthday. His birthday happens at the start of Paris Fashion Week, but I’ll never choose Paris—unless he joins me!

Emily Adams Bode Aujla pictured as a baby with her mom Janet

Emily Adams Bode Aujla

Designer and founder, Bode, New York City

As strange as it might sound, I’ve always worked to build Bode and my archive for my children, even before I even became a mother. My love for multigenerational stories and archived family histories—both tangible and oral—came from my parents. I never grew tired of hearing the same stories over and over, and was always inspired to rummage through my grandparents’ albums and closets and drawers filled with the stuff of yesteryear.

I am so proud that the generations before thought to hold on to collections, photographs, films, and stories from their own lives, or the lives before them, for me and my future children. I want to do the same—to make my children proud—and that’s only been heightened since becoming a mother.

With Bode, I can build something that champions the act of preservation, of craft, of narrative, of material, of many different things. And not just for my own daughter, but for all of our children and for the generations to come.

Shana Honeyman and her son Lenny

Shana Honeyman

Founder of the Honeyman Agency Fashion PR, Los Angeles

Adopting our son Lenny through foster care was the most life-changing journey I’ve ever been on. The foster-care system is extremely broken, and what we experienced firsthand was at times heartbreaking, infuriating, utterly beautiful, and humbling all at once. During our first eight months as foster parents, we cared for three different babies, all of whom ended up going into the care of a family member, as blood relatives always have priority in taking custody, even if they have never met the child. Even though we logically knew this could happen, it is torture handing over a little human you have cared for 24 hours a day and fallen madly in love with to a social worker who can’t assure you the situation the child is going into is safe. I am truly humbled that I was able to care for these children in their time of need; each one will be in my heart forever.

I was transparent with my clients and colleagues about the road we were on and felt an insurmountable amount of support and love when our Lenny was finally adopted, after two years in our care. Becoming a mother showed me I can be proud of what I have built professionally and do great work for our clients, but that nothing is more important than being 100 percent present for my son. After having no control over our journey to permanency, it showed me how to let go of control professionally, as well, which was very freeing.

Lenny is now six, loves fashion, and is proud to have a mom who runs a business. Adoption is complex and rooted in loss, but unconditional love knows no bloodline, and being a mom is the most important job I will ever have.

Maintaining normalcy in my day-to-day work life in the early stages of becoming a foster parent was nearly impossible. There was no way to take maternity leave or literally plan for anything when a newborn would be placed with us only to leave weeks later to be placed with a blood relative. When I look back, I realize that having had the distraction of running a business and the chaotic pace of our industry saved me. I have always immersed myself in work, but in this case, it helped me heal.

Adopting our son has shifted my perspective from just my work in fashion and opened me up to want to explore more avenues, such as writing and speaking in the community about the journey of adoption through foster care. I struggled to find firsthand accounts of real experiences when we began our journey, and would love to become a more vocal advocate for urging people to explore adoption through foster care, as there are over 300,000 children currently in the system in the United States.

Erin Magee (left) with her wife Nicole Albino and their children Goldie and Violet

Erin Magee

Founder and head designer, MadeMe, New York City

I carried my eldest daughter, who is now six. My wife carried our youngest daughter, who is now two. During both of their first years, I released a lot of control over my creative practice, simply because it was important for me to let go of one thing, to bring these new lives into the world.

In my experience, like most things, creativity takes time. Because inspiration takes time, and then execution of the idea, of course, takes time. My children take up a lot of space in my life, which leaves less time for me to explore creative ideas. For me, it becomes a juggle. My daughters are still very young, so when I am with the girls, I can say it’s the only time in my day that I completely shut off—no email, no texts, no calls, full-blown selflessness, which is a new experience for me. And I love it. My wife and I call it “the kid bubble.” Even when my physical self isn’t around the girls, my mind is occupied with them: Are they doing okay at school? Have I enrolled them in the right programs? Do they like their lunch? So it becomes more difficult to transition from the kid bubble to a creative space. But much like most things mothers do, we make it work, because we simply have to make it work.

Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Brooke Bobb is the fashion news director at Harper’s Bazaar, working across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was a senior content editor at Amazon Fashion, and worked at Vogue Runway as senior fashion news writer.