We are constantly so amazed by all the amazing mummas creating so many amazing products! We have recently added a beautiful range of children's shoes to our collection, Anchor & Fox. We had a chat to Emma, the owner and designer of these beautiful shoes to find out how she juggles motherhood, studies, a job and a business! A real-life superwoman!
Who is behind Anchor & Fox?
My name is Emma Landau, I’m a Melbourne mum of a cheeky 2 year old toddler. I started my degree in Business at Monash Uni in 2016 and I work in marketing as well!
How the heck do you juggle a 2-year old, studies, a marketing job and a business?
It's definitely got its days. I have actually popped my degree on hold this semester to focus on my business. I hope to pick it back up again or transfer the credits to something that better suits where I am. I am so grateful to be able to have an aupair which has been so wonderful and an amazingly supportive family who live right around the corner. My husband will often do studio runs or build boxes for me and my parents will babysit occasionally. But my baby (still my baby) is also a very good boy. He's happy playing next to me while I work and I'm lucky in how mobile my work is. I also really enjoy what I do so I find it's a bit of an outlet for me :). A special shoutout to my mum who is my biggest supporter! She loaned me the money to get off the ground and has been an amazing sounding board as well!
When did Anchor & Fox launch and how did it come about?
Anchor & Fox started when I couldn’t find the classic style shoes I wanted for my baby in Melbourne. Whilst very common in Europe, Australia seemed to have more of a modern style - particularly when it came to kids fashion. I started designing kids shoes to create what I wanted for my little boy and to expand the options in Melbourne as well! I launched in March of this year! I was designing and researching for 8 months before that but we officially launched March 21st 2017.
What is your inspiration behind Anchor & Fox?
My biggest inspiration would be my family. Coming from a European background, a lot of the shoes my grandmother wore were similar in style to the ones I create now! My grandparents came from Eastern Europe in the 1950's! We've been in Melbourne ever since!
What is the best part and toughest part of motherhood?
The best part is the constant joy! I’m always surprised to see the things he observes and copies and what interests him! Especially at this age, every day he grows so much! I would say that the hardest part is not feeling guilty. Especially when balancing a job and a business, it’s hard to come home at the end of the day full of energy to spend the evening with him.
What is the best part of having your own business?
The best part is the flexibility to be able to choose the direction I want to go in without being answerable to someone else. I love the relationships I get to create with stockists and customers and I love being able to work when it suits me!
What is the toughest part of having your own business?
The toughest part is ironically making all the decisions! Sometimes I just want someone to say “don’t worry, that colour will sell!” Or “People will love that style!”
Especially being quite unique, it’s difficult to look at the colours that worked for everyone else. For summer I’m introducing new colours and materials and it took months for me to finalise the colour and style choices!
Have you come across any challenges so far?
There are definitely challenges! Balancing everything, choosing direction and also handling the nasty side of business is definitely a challenge but its all worth it!
What is your one tip to mothers in business?
Take it slow and don't beat yourself up too much. Mothers guilt never quite fades and you'll always feel like you're not being good because you're too tired or too stressed to always be in the best headspace. I have decided that every Sunday we are going to do a family activity - whether it's going to the zoo, the museum or just drawing with chalk in the driveway! This offsets (in my mind) the fact that when he comes home from daycare I'm not full of energy. I also make sure to read to him before bed and spend as much time with him as I can! But definitely go easy! Know when you've taken on too much and don't be scared to ask for help!
What can we expect in the future of Anchor & Fox?
We have some exciting things in the works! Looking to expand our range of shoes and also working on a small clothing line! We don’t have a timeline yet for the clothes because we are working on finding the perfect manufacturer and fabrics! Will be super excited to launch that when it does happen!
See our collection of the beautiful Anchor & Fox shoes here. Amazing quality, beautiful materials in sizes 5-11.
