Celia Muñoz, mother-of-five, founder of La Coqueta and Cecile Reinaud, mother-of-two, founder of Seraphine are two of the most inspirational powerhouses of a working mother one could have the pleasure to have a cup of tea with. I was lucky enough to get that opportunity when they met for the first time at the Seraphine headquarters in London to chat business, life, motherhood and their babies (brands) potentially working together…
The two, it turns out, have much in common. Besides being pretty much neighbours in leafy Hampstead, they started their businesses from scratch with little knowledge or experience of the industry, and both made the UK their home (Celia from Spain and Cecile from France). They arrived dressed more or less identically and are refreshingly honest about life, starting a business and struggles.
By Charlotte Kewley
How did you each get into fashion?
Cecile: I was 30 and working in advertising but desperately wanted my own business; I had lots of ideas. Then I started to notice pregnant women in my office complaining that they didn’t know how to get dressed. They knew I did some customised clothes and were like ‘you’re French, your stylish?’ I realised this was a niche that was underserviced. I went to the US, looked at the market and saw it was much more developed there. So being 30 and super enthusiastic I wrote a business plan, started talking about it and had lots of enthusiasm from people who put money in. And off I went! That was 13 years ago.
Celia: That’s incredible. Obviously we’re a much younger business, only three years old. I’m a psychologist by training and started in Edgware Community Hospital. But after a year I wanted to do something else and fell into headhunting, which has actually been an extremely helpful skill in building a business. It’s how I found my suppliers… and also being able to sell over the phone, talk to people and convince them why they should work with you. I worked for eight years then had my first child, Flavia, aged 30. I always had a love for children’s fashion – it’s part of a Spanish persons DNA, we grew up being very well dressed, going to playgrounds where children look very good. They get very messy as children do but it’s part of growing up. I stopped working when I had Flavia and I used to dress her in beautiful Spanish clothes, people would stop me and ask where they were from and to bring them clothes back from Spain. I remember one week I bought back a suitcase worth £5000 of clothes for people. At some point I thought actually there could be a business opportunity here. I did three years of research to build my business plan and find suppliers as I had no retail experience, no production experience…
Cecile: Same as me!
Celia: I cold –called, randomly met people in the middle of Spain, it took a really long time! But when I had my 5th child I decided that was the time. I really wanted to start my own childrenswear business. So I opened my shop and it all started.
Celia, how did you do that with five children? How do you manage it now? A lot of women struggle with one or two. How do you all get up and out in the morning and then manage to run a business?
Celia: That’s the easy bit! The most difficult bit is managing homework! I guess I’ve always been a very active person; I went from a job where I travelled and worked long hours to being at home with a baby. I loved spending time with my baby but I’ve always been a long term planner and I couldn’t see myself there 10 years down the line when my baby wasn’t going to be a baby anymore. In a way I experienced what it is to be by yourself alone at home, without really knowing what you’re going to do. It built that energy to be able to do something else. I think the secret is being extremely organised. I’m very routine focused. So we do everything the same every single day, we plan ahead. My husband and I cook for a month and freeze everything, all the things that you can plan ahead we do. We try to live a life that is fairly spontaneous within a very organised framework and it works. I’m not going to lie, I do have help at home. How do you make it work Cecile?
Cecile: The same. Being organised, having the right help and I always say there is no such thing as the perfect mum! Accepting that I’m not; I don’t worry that I didn’t bake a cake or attend a show, because you know what, it doesn’t matter. I guess there’s a bit of being chilled about a mum’s typical responsibilities. Who cares if a mum at the school gates judges me?
*Cecile Image Credit: Thirst
How important is social media to you and your brand? Do you feel that there’s a big ‘motherhood’ trend at the moment. It’s almost gone from being a negative thing to something ‘cool’. Has that had an impact?
Cecile: Yeah, definitely. I think that trend of pregnant women being fashionable has been there for a couple of years but now with Instagram you can express yourself and it’s actually quite a nice activity… it’s a socialising tool for a lot of mum bloggers too.
Celia: I would agree with that because motherhood has a very lonely aspect to it. Particularly if you stay at home. I wish I’d had Instagram when I had my first child because it was the toughest time. I wore a lot of dark tracksuit trousers from Seraphine. But social media, particularly Instagram is a great way to connect with mothers across the world and share tips. Women in general, I think, are not always good at sharing things. I think Instagram magnifies the power of motherhood. I’m a big Instagram person.
Tell us about your design process. Where do you get ideas and inspiration? Social media, pinterest etc, do they help?
Cecile: Of course, now it’s so important. It’s fairly new still in terms of really using it as a tool but in the last three years it’s definitely very strong. But for me it’s just getting a good sense of what is on trend, appropriate and what works with the brand signature… We also work with a lot of prints so a lot of designs start with the print. It must be the same with you?
Celia: Yes, I start with the prints. In a way I think the lack of design experience does help me quite a lot as I have probably a refreshing way of looking at design. I always have my children in mind, they try everything. They’re my prime customer. But I’m fairly traditional in that I have my sketch book and if I see something I take a picture… and I try not to look around to much at competitors in order for La Coqueta to have a strong identity.
So what was your biggest challenge in starting a business?
Celia: Building a good team.
Cecile: And figuring out priorities. Who do we need first? What’s most important for the business?
Cecile: You also go through moments of great motivation and then moments of thinking ‘can I continue with this?’ As an entrepreneur you never get a break. I didn’t have any maternity leave, so things like that. It’s hard to keep your motivation constantly.
Celia: It’s isolating too!
Cecile: For me joining an entrepreneur club was really good. All of a sudden you can share experiences with other people. It’s like group therapy!
So would that be your advice to any new mothers or women starting their own business or just going back to work?
Cecile: Yeah I think to find yourself a network – whether it’s business people, mentors or support. Like anything in life, when you share problems you feel normal. When you’re lonely it’s hard!
Image Credit: Emma Connelley (@Takeapicturelady). Networking with Instagram mums Skye McAlpine & Courney Adamo
So can we talk about the two of you working together?
Cecile: I think there could be some great opportunities…
Celia: Absolutely. We were discussing the brands we love at La Coqueta, we’re launching a new website and we want to be able to work and hold hands with brands that we have a great affinity with. And brands that I have been a user of. I know Seraphine very well! I think it’s good and refreshing for our customers to know about each other. Then from there I think we just keep discussing…
Cecile: Yeah I think it’s always good to know more women in business too. We can share tips on how to do everything… Help each other grow.
What’s the most important message for your business? Why do your customers come to you?
Cecile: For us it’s simple. To make you feel amazing during your pregnancy and look beautiful! If we tick that box we’re happy.
Celia: For us the customer comes for anything that is handcrafted, all of our smocks are handmade and everything is beautifully finished.
And finally what are your must-buys from your own SS16 collections?
Cecile: The luxe dresses – we have a luxe collection of maternity evening wear, the gowns are amazing.
Celia: Our cotton sets for new-borns, they’re very practical staples. And of course a handmade smock dress!
BRANDS WE LOVE
Here at La Coqueta we love to share with our customers some of the brands that we know and love…
Seraphine is a fabulous clothing brand providing stylish, high quality maternity fashion and is the go-to brand for trendy mums, royalty and many high profile fans (and was worn by Celia, throughout her five pregnancies!)
La Coqueta has teamed up with Seraphine to offer our customers 15% off their first purchase with offer code lacoqueta (valid until Sunday 19th June)
Take a look at the Seraphine website here and discover their beautiful Spring Collection.
Thanks to Cecile, I so enjoyed meeting you! Also thanks to journalist Charlotte Kewley for putting together this Q&A.
Celia x
Discover Seraphine on Instagram here
Follow Charlotte Kewley here
T’s&C’s: The discount is not available on Bumpkits, Babywear and already discounted or sale items. The offer will run from 9th – 16th June. It is a 15% Discount code and you can only use one code per order. View the full t&c’s here
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