Love a mother

Meet Sydney mum and sleepwear/bedding brand Awakind’s founder Vanessa Rowed. Awakind is a social enterprise that donates 100% of all profits of their children’s sleepwear to fund life changing projects helping less fortunate children. Providing more than a roof over their heads, these projects give kids a place to play, grow, sleep and dream.

Tell us a bit about the purpose of Awakind and how it came about?

Awakind was built out of a deep belief that we should all do our bit to build a better world. Even before I became a mum, exposure to homeless kids has always made my heart cry. Then as a mother I had a heightened awareness of the fragility of childhood and I had a burning desire to help more kids who aren’t afforded the same safety and comfort as my own.

As a marketer I had paid close attention to the rise of social enterprises like Thankyou and was always a supporter of these brands. When I was challenged to find sleepwear that I felt matched my family ethos, I started to think about how I could put my design skills and marketing skills to work to solve for an issue that was so close to my heart.

Awakind is not your day job. Where would we find you 9-5 and how you juggle the two?

I head up the marketing team of one of Australia’s biggest retailers, BWS, so you will find me doing this 9-5 and all other hours. I love marketing, so I love what I do and spending time after hours, weekends, mornings and nights doing marketing for BWS or for Awakind is always fun and enjoyable. Juggling both can be a challenge, but I’m lucky to have a great team at the office and a small but supportive team for Awakind.

You’re obviously a mum, tell us a bit about your family life.

I have a wonderfully supportive husband and two beautiful kids, Isaac who is nine and Piper who is five. Both my kids are interested and engaged in the business and it’s been a great thing to focus on as a family. They give me feedback on the designs, the podcast and they are interested in learning more about the children we support. They are a little sick of being my models, but nothing a good chocolate can’t sort out!

What’s a standard day in the life of Vanessa look like

I’m not a morning person so I tend to drag myself out of bed just in time for a quick shower, cup of tea, say goodbye to my son as he heads off for school and join a morning conference call. My morning conference calls (now that we are all working from home) are often interrupted by my daughter wanting to show me the shapes of her cereal, or her latest outfit for the day! She then goes off to pre-school and I continue with work meetings throughout the day. I’ll try to get out at some stage for a quick walk with the dog and make a few calls, but often I’m glued to my chair. At around 4pm the kids return home and I retreat into my study to try and get the last few conference calls done for the day. This is never an easy task with the kids constant interruptions! We do dinner, homework and bath time for the kids and once they go to bed I log back on and work on Awakind. I’m a night owl, so I am sometimes still working till very late, but because I’m usually in the zone I don’t even notice the time!

The first two charities were easy. A friend of mine has been fundraising for them for many years and I’ve been wanting to support them more and more, so this gave me an opportunity to do so. I’ve also been to these two orphanages so I know and trust the people running them. As I scale up the business I’m now working with a number of Australian organisations to establish a local partnership as well. Ensuring that the money raised goes directly to supporting the children is my number one criteria when selecting charity partners.

What made you choose sleepwear?

I really struggled to find kids sleepwear that was good quality, affordable and stylish. I was frustrated that all the options seemed to be so full of gender stereotypes, especially the colours and patterns. I was perplexed that kids fashion had evolved so much yet kids sleepwear was all the same. When doing my research I found that active wear and sleepwear were the two highest growing categories in apparel which cemented the opportunity for me.

We’re talking all things fashion and beauty this issue. What Sydney (or Aussie) brands are you loving for both you and the kids right now?

I just can’t get enough of Millk and LullabyClub.

And what beauty must haves are in your handbag right now?

Ok, so this is a random one, and only one that the mums would understand. My absolute must have is Lansinoh… yes that’s right nipple cream! It’s 100% lanolin and I discovered it when I had my kids. I use it as lip balm because I’ve got very sensitive skin and get allergies to a lot of the cosmetic products. It’s all natural and it’s the thickest, most moisturising lip balm. The only watch out is you don’t want to leave it lying around the office!!!

What are your favourite spots to hang out with the family?

We just love to go to Bathers Pavilion at Balmoral for breakfast at their bistro, followed by a walk along the beach. It reminds me why I love living in Sydney!

And finally, where can we find your fabulous Awakind products.