Miracle balm, Burberry trenches and launching a business with a baby
MUMISH Meets Claire Haddon-Lowson
I first came across Late Afternoon a year or so after my son was born. It was peak pandemic-induced tablescaping furore and I'd fallen in love with the idea of a set of speckled glass tumblers in white and amber to drink juice out of in the morning and serve Perrier out of when guests came round for dinner. Not that I ever invited anyone round for dinner because I had a baby.
I've been a keen follower of the homeware brand ever since, adding more speckly glasses to my collection (and smashing a few, too). The painted plates remind me of market shopping in Spain with my closest friends when I was in my early twenties. Delightfully nostalgic and spot on; the origins of Late Afternoon were born between London and Madrid.
I was recently invited to the launch of the ceramic Juicy Baskets (has pottery ever looked so bite-able?) which was held in the incredible St Paul’s Studios on Talgarth Road, built in the late 1800s for bachelor artists and currently home to the studios of Christabel Blackburn and Isabella Watling.
There I met Late Afternoon’s co-founder Claire and knew immediately I wanted her to be my next MUMISH Meets. Not only because she was lovely and I’m a fan, I was so intrigued about her move from being an account exec to maker of gorgeous homeware (the career pivot of dreams!) AND she was wearing a jacket in the most glorious daffodil yellow, with a pair of vintagey mid-blue jeans and loafers.
I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to Claire and have no doubt you’ll love reading it just as much. So here we go… MUMISH Meets Claire Haddon-Lowson
FG:How many kids do you have any how old are they?
CH-L: I have two children, a girl and a boy, aged four and two.
FG: How has your approach to clothes and getting dressed changed since you became a mum? Anything you’ve stopped wearing/started wearing that you didn't pre kids?
CH-L: Becoming a mum also coincided with covid and finishing a corporate office-based job, so it’s hard to say what had the biggest impact on my wardrobe! I still always decide what I’m going to wear the night before, which I find even more important now that I have two additional people to get ready in the morning. Whilst I still love clothes and relish any opportunity to get dressed up, my day-to-day is pretty much always jeans, a T-shirt and a warm jumper (our studio is very cold!) which is quick and easy to chuck on whilst doing a million other things every morning. I also cycle everywhere, so it must be a bicycle friendly outfit - which is surprisingly restrictive.
FG: Your design aesthetic is so joyous - it's such a celebration of colour and print. When I saw you last, you were wearing an amazing yellow jacket - so I wondered if that bold/bright sensibility tips over into your wardrobe, too?
CH-L: Most of my wardrobe is quite neutral so that everything can be mixed and matched, and I like to buy clothes that I’ll still like in a year or two, so I’m not hugely drawn to pattern as I find I go off it more quickly. However, I do like to add something colourful into most outfits, whether it’s that yellow jacket you saw, a favourite red cashmere jumper or even a slick of red lipstick if I’m feeling brave! For a special event I love to wear full colour and have a favourite Three Graces London dress that I bought for my wedding in the most beautiful pale cornflower blue, that still gets wheeled out for pretty much every wedding I go to.
FG: You launched Late Afternoon the year after your first baby was born. Can you tell me a bit about the challenges of running a business while having young children? What was that first year like? Most valuable lessons learnt?
CH-L: That first year feels like a blur now. I was still working full time for my previous company, whilst trying to grow Late Afternoon and bring up my daughter. I think I was in pure survival mode. My most valuable lesson was going away on a sourcing trip for 10 days and leaving my husband to it. Mothers take on a lot of the emotional, as well as physical aspects of parenting, partly I feel because we’ve done it since day one and continue to do so on maternity leave, so the dads have simply never needed to. He learnt as much about parenting in that time as in her first 15 months of life and it gave us a much more balanced approach from then on.
FG: You've since added another baby into the mix and I'd love to ask you about how/if you have found a sense of balance between running a business and having kids? What helps you make it work?
CH-L: Working for myself, so that I run my own schedule, and my studio being only 10 mins from home is the key to making our lives all work. You never know when you’re going to get ‘the call’ from nursery (which currently seems to be almost daily for me), and being able to nip home and work from there if needed makes all the difference. That and having a well-oiled logistics machine for home life. ‘Who is doing pick up?’ is probably the most used phrase in our house! You’re never truly ‘off’ when you run your own business, but Rose [co-founder of Late Afternoon] and I have definitely got better at knowing when to switch off and try not to spend our entire time messaging each other.
FG: Life is so busy with small kids - there's so much to organise and be involved with. You're always on. I often find it hard to find the headspace to be creative. I wondered how your creativity has been affected by becoming a mum?
CH-L: This is definitely one of the things I have struggled with and continue to struggle with the most since becoming a parent. I’ve always been a creative person, whether it be making my own café curtains, painting on holiday or hunting down the perfect piece at my beloved car boot sales. Now I barely have time to open a magazine. Rose and I always laugh at ourselves that every holiday we both take our entire art kits with us, heads full of creative endeavours, only for them to remain in the bottom of our suitcases, until the next holiday… Almost five years in I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that having young children is not conducive to creativity and to look forward to welcoming that time again when they are a little older!
FG: Who/what/where inspires you?
CH-L: I’m always inspired by my mother, whose creativity knows no bounds. She’s always making something, whether it be sewing 13 quilts to make my daughter a Princess and the Pea bed for Christmas, making patchwork cashmere baby blankets out of holey jumpers or illustrating holiday diaries from everywhere she goes. She never wastes a minute!
FG: I love Late Afternoon and I'm actually a customer - I have some gorgeous speckled glass tumblers. But since having kids I find I'm always weighing up the risk-factor of having nice things. What's your secret to enjoying beautiful homeware and having a young family?
CH-L: I’m the first to admit I do not have a particularly child-friendly house. We don’t have a playroom (they have one small corner of the kitchen and their bedrooms) and practicality never tops aesthetics for me. But I’m also not particularly precious and whilst I am an avid collector of ‘objet’ (or crap as my husband would say), I don’t buy expensive things so don’t worry too much about the odd mark or stain. I installed a favourite wallpaper in my daughter’s bedroom, but luckily, she has inherited my love of beautiful things and aside from the odd unicorn sticker, would never touch it!
FG: Aside from LA, what other homeware labels/ stores do you love?
CH-L: Most of the homeware I own and buy is vintage. I grew up very close to Kempton Antiques market, so I’ve been going forever, and I can’t walk past a charity shop without a quick peek inside. I have also been known to bring back multiple lamps, pots and paintings from holidays, and even a window that I strapped to my suitcase from India. I buy my husband a painting for his birthday every year (I love Tarn London, Etsy, Art Folks) which is great as it’s like a gift for both of us. I adore everything Rose Uniacke does but appreciate that I own too much stuff to recreate her pared back aesthetic.
FG: Back to clothes - where do you shop/ what are your go-to brands?
CH-L: COS is probably my most worn brand. I love the classic simple pieces and find that the clothes last really well. The sale is always worth a browse. I wear a lot of jeans so I’m happy to invest in a pair that will last – Agolde or MiH are my go-to, although I have recently bought a few pairs from M&S which I think are a great fit. I also like to buy good quality shoes – my Grenson boots have seen me through almost five years of stomping round muddy parks and keeping my toes warm in our freezing studio and are still in great nick. You also can’t go wrong with a great vintage piece; the aforementioned yellow jacket was an old DKNY number I bought from Portobello market when I was a teenager and my favourite piece of clothing that I own is an 80’s Burberry trench.
FG: What was the last thing you bought?
CH-L: A pair of black sandals from Massimo Dutti to replace my beloved pair of COS sandals that have done their time after six years. And a pair of striped linen trousers from M&S.
FG: What is your current day-to-day uniform?
CH-L: As I’m in the studio every day my priority is warmth and comfort. So usually, it’s a pair of jeans or trousers from Toast, a COS long-sleeved t-shirt and some item of knitwear (with or without double Uniqlo thermals) and boots. My mum is a cashmere magpie, so luckily I get a lot of beautiful jumpers from her – often men’s, which are lovely and slouchy.
FG: What piece/outfit makes you feel like you?
CH-L: I always feel more put together (both physically and mentally) when I put on my Burberry trench coat. It’s the best shape; very long with oversized shoulders and has the most enormous pockets, so it doubles up as great storage for nappies, snacks and water bottles!
FG: Talk us through your five-minute morning beauty routine.
CH-L: Daily make up is a thing of the past, and I’ve always been a wash and go girl with my hair, but moisturiser and SPF are used every morning without fail. When I have a few spare minutes now I do like to slap on some Erborian CC cream and my new favourite discovery – Jones Road Miracle Balm, finished with a little Rose Inc cream blush. Having a little colour on my skin instantly makes me feel more put together.
FG: What is your mum bag and what's in it?
CH-L: Whatever bag I have to hand, which usually means I forget something key like a spare nappy, or extra clothes. My son is a snack fiend so usually a variety of Pom Bears/oat bars/raisins (although I then find raisins in every crevice for weeks). In my head I’m one of those parents who makes their own snacks from scratch in tiny Tupperware and homemade yoghurt smoothies, but in reality, I’m definitely a panic bought Tesco croissant and Frubes mum!
FG: What item could you not parent without?
CH-L: My YOYO buggy and a Tonie Box.
The Edit
One more thing…
Clary & Peg has teamed up with Poppy Delevingne on a capsule of pieces that work for pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. How cute are these buttercup dungarees?! Great with a 70’s boho blouse as per below, or an easy linen button-down and Converse. OR a big T-shirt and flip-flops in the summer.
That's all for now. You're doing great, Frankie x