3. ‘The self love club’ is an integral part of your brand, tell us more about how ‘the self love club’ flourished. Did you always have the idea to integrate the blog into MARY YOUNG?
The Self Love Club came about very organically after the first few years of business. I was having one off conversations with customers about how lingerie can be used as empowering and an action of love towards yourself rather than how society has often portrayed it as something for a viewer. Once these conversations became more and more frequent I realized we as a community weren’t having them in a safe space and exploring what self love looks like in different stages and areas of life. That’s really how the journal began, as a digital space to open the conversation around self love and acceptance and from there it’s expanded into in person events, social media conversations and much more.
4. Dialogue around self-love is becoming more and more common (which we love); do you find inspiration for the self love club in your own personal conversations/relationships or where do you get inspired?
Yes most definitely! I love how self love and self care conversations are more common and openly talked about which allows me to continually explore these areas with those in my life. As seasons change so do our self care and self love practices. Like with me moving to LA, I’m in a new city with only a handful of people I know, starting my life with only a few boxes and suitcases and it’s a huge change. How I show up for myself with love and care during this change looks completely different than my self love practices a year ago. These life changes and chapters are always an inspiration to me that I believe the self love club community can relate to. Our team at MARY YOUNG also explores new topics and ways to challenge ourselves to further understand self care and self love. For example we had an optometrist as a Monday Must who shared on eye care and health - something I honestly had never thought of before but we got amazing feedback from our community on how eye opening (pun intended) this topic was and encouraging to take care of ourselves in a way they never considered before.
5. Running a business doesn’t come without its challenges, how do you continue to prioritize your personal wellbeing while simultaneously growing your business?
This is a question I ask myself often! Truthfully I don’t think I do very well in this area of balance on a consistent basis. I definitely go through waves of being great at having balance and then other times I’m way too focused on work and often forget to check in with myself. Some things I come back to time and time again when trying to ‘reset’ my balance is having a physical and mental check in with myself - how do I physically feel, is my body tired or just my mind, are my emotions all over the place, etc. Once I can determine where I am mentally and physically I’m able to address what my body needs - maybe it’s a massage, lots of stretching and no intense workouts or a day just drawing and doodling to get my creative juices flowing again. I’m still working on accepting that both areas of my life, personal and professional, may not thrive at once but both can continue to grow as I need them to and as I invest into them.
