This month’s Mommy Chick, Allie Mood, is a administration and photography inspiration. At atomic she is to me. She’s addition who puts a smile on my face by aloof attractive at her IG photos and account her admirable words. 🙂 Words that anon appear to my apperception back cerebration of Allie are: active activity in color, vintage, 60s, admiring mother, admirable photography, bright, happy, and a huge heart. Who wouldn’t appetite addition like that in their life?! If you don’t chase her already on Instagram, you apparently should. We’re accustomed and captivated to accept Allie as our July Mommy Banty of the Month. Here’s our account with Allie. We anticipate you’ll leave activity aggressive too.
Nina: Hi, Allie! Acquaint us a little bit about how you got started as a stylist and influencer.
Allie: My assignment as a stylist and influencer absolutely acquired organically. I formed with companies and baby businesses for chargeless for a actual continued time. I did this because I absolutely admired children’s appearance and photography. Back I aboriginal started application Instagram about 5 years ago, I absolutely didn’t apperceive the belvedere captivated such ample possibilities. Actual aboriginal on, while aloof demography pictures of my earlier babe for fun, Babiekins Annual accomplished out to ask if I would like to alpha blogging for them, because they admired the way I styled my daughter. From there, it absolutely took off. I blogged for Babiekins for about a year, and again confused on to Ministyle blog, afore accomplishing my own thing. I would ability out to baby companies and accouterment makers, allurement if they would let me use their accouterment for photoshoots. During my time with Babiekins and Ministyle, I absolutely accomplished that it was work, absolutely adamantine work— the collaborating, the styling, the prop collection, the archetypal and area scouting. So with that, I boring congenital up the aplomb to ask for compensation. During this time instagram was absolutely growing, and PR companies and influencer companies were forming; these bodies boring started to ability out.
N: We adulation your best girls’ dresses over at Poppy and Hen. What aggressive you to alpha the brand? How did you apprentice to sew?
A: My mother is a phenomonal clothier and accomplished us to sew at a actual aboriginal age. She had her own children’s band as a new mother in the 80s, and additionally awash her designs to Neiman Marcus back she was anew affiliated to my dad. Growing up, the complete of a bed-making apparatus and serger were the barometer in our household. My mom fabricated our clothing, our average academy dresses for dances, our babe dresses and our bridesmaids’ dresses. She is absolutely the afflatus abaft annihilation artistic that I do.
Poppy and Hen came out of my adulation for blessed and ablaze fabrics, my adulation for simple times (a time afore all the technology), and my adulation for best design. All our patterns are based on designs from the 50s and 60s, a time of adolescence innocence. My mom and I assignment calm to accompany best appearance dresses to the market.
N: How would you call yourself in four words? What would they be and why?
A: Creative–I anticipate I accept consistently been a little artistic and out of the box. I never absolutely fit the cast or was mainstream, and growing up that was adamantine because I absolutely didn’t apperceive how to breeding that. Today I accept so abounding outlets for creativity–in my house, in my work, in my mothering. Growing up I was aloof accepted as the babe who didn’t absolutely absolutely fit. Today in my mothering, I absolutely achievement I bethink to breeding my children’s own alone needs, alike if it doesn’t fit with the mainstream.
Empathetic/Sensitive–I went to academy for amusing work. It absolutely is my accurate passion, and I apperceive there will be a division area I acknowledgment to it. I grew up acute and see that aforementioned acuteness in my children. In college, I abstruse how to about-face the accord to empathy.
Procrastinator–Always consistently procrastinating. Consistently alternate and consistently aftermost minute. This is my downfall. This can be adamantine for bodies that I assignment with, but it is me through and through.
N: We adulation afterward your adventure on Instagram. What inspires you to allotment your ancestors life?
A: My accouchement are absolutely what inspires me. The joy of demography their photos inspires me. I absolutely adulation childhood. The innocence, the simple pleasures of active in the backyard all day, the innocent and aerial mind. I don’t anytime appetite to balloon these moments. I absolutely see my instagram as my journal, or my blog. Bodies generally ask why I don’t blog or accept a blog. The procrastinator in me won’t acquiesce it. So instead I instagram.
N: What’s your admired way to reconnect with your husband?
A: I charge to reconnect with my husband. I accept admired account your blog to see how others reconnect. We go on banquet dates and coffee dates, and we accept aloof now absitively we charge to plan to go abroad sometime. Aloof the two of us. We assume to be drowning in parenthood sometimes, so sometimes it is aloof sitting on the aback balustrade afterwards the accouchement go to sleep.
N: What do you feel is the greatest obstacle you’ve overcome?
A: Oh gosh, the obstacles. There accept been a few. I am appealing accessible with bodies about my activity and my obstacles. I feel that administration our black is the alone way we can allotment light. I struggled through academy with boyfriends who were abusive, biologic addiction, undiagnosed ADD, and abundant more. Already I healed, I angry that black to ablaze and advised amusing work. I was advantageous abundant to accept parents that never gave up on me. I active a abundant accord of affliction when, in academy and for abounding years, I was drowned in shame. Today that black and abashment is abounding in light, and I am always beholden for grace, absolution and my faith.
N: What’s the greatest assignment (or lessons) that motherhood has accomplished you?
A: Motherhood has accomplished me so much. Circadian my accouchement advise me. They advise me about patience, forgiveness, love, individuality, hope, freedom, dreams. They are my better teachers. I accept consistently said, I never absolutely acquainted like myself until I became a mother.
N: What are your greatest hopes for our children’s’ future—the abutting generation?
A: I achievement our accouchement don’t alive in fear. I anticipate with contempo agitation over elections and politics, we don’t absolutely apperceive how agreeably we are affecting our children. Their aerial aren’t accessible for the politics. Their aerial aren’t accessible for the uproar. My 7-year-old came home arrant not continued ago because addition at academy told her that our admiral hates people. I don’t affliction who our admiral is, she is not accessible for this. I anticipate we flood our houses with opinions and uproar, generally not alive that little aerial are listening. I anticipate we charge to accessible our aback doors, about-face off the televisions, body bogie houses in the backyard, and disconnect. This is what I appetite for their futures. I appetite them to feel defended and so blessed in their present adolescence that they are able to be the best they can be in the future.
N: What are your greatest hopes for women and mothers everywhere?
A: My greatest achievement for women and mothers is that they adulation themselves, but additionally adulation anniversary other. That girls and women apperceive themselves and adulation themselves, abundant to angle up, allege up, and allege out, no amount what the situation. Whether it is in a blowing situation, a classroom situation, a assignment situation, an calumniating situation, or an bent situation. I appetite them to apperceive that their choir matter, and that they accept the adequacy to accomplish a difference. They amount and bodies are listening, no amount how far it goes adjoin the mainstream. If it is in your heart, and it is allusive to you, allege it. We all matter. So aloof as we allege it, we accept to accept too. Accept to the added women, the added girls. Apprehend their stories. We all accept stories; booty the time to listen. Alert in the end is alike added important than the speaking.
Thank you, Allie. We admired accepting to apperceive you a little bit added and acknowledge you administration your insights and your story. xoxo ?
