We often hear about the morning routines of CEOs and business people but what about the successful creative women – working in food, floristry, education and art? Here are the morning routines of five creative female entrepreneurs…
Working in food, we have Annie Morris – founder of Spoon Cereals. In food and fashion – founder of Polkapants chef trousers, Maxine Thomson. Floristry – Ellie Jauncey of The Flower Appreciation Society, textile design – Holland-based Laura Amiss and education – Laura Alvarado, founder of holistic education company Tomato Tutors. Here are their morning routines…
Successful creative women and their morning routines…
1. Maxine Thomson – founder of PolkaPants
Maxine Thomson, owner of the brilliant PolkaPants – making trendy trousers for chefs – is up around 7am. This is a lie-in compared to the 5am starts she had while working as a chef. She loves mornings “especially if you are up VERY early, it’s almost as though you and the city have a secret” and goes for a run or a swim first thing, three times a week.
Read more about Maxine Thomson and PolkaPants.
2. Ellie Jauncey – co-founder of The Flower Appreciation Society
Ellie Jauncey, co-founder of The Flower Appreciation Society, rises at 5.30am on a market day. She’s roused from slumber by “Radio 4 – very loudly, in a horrible way. It’s my alarm clock. I should set it to Classic FM or something else,” she says.
We asked her how she feels when the alarm goes off. “It really depends; in summer when it’s light I find it so much easier, often I’ve woken up before my alarm – I’m weirdly neurotic about oversleeping. But it’s difficult in winter when it’s dark outside. Once I’m awake, I’m ok but after my alarm goes off, I give myself eight minutes to get out the door so I’m still half asleep when I get in the van.”
Ellie Jauncey tells us about her early hour.
3. Annie Morris – founder of Spoon Cereals
The founder of artisan granola startup Spoon Cereals, Annie Morris, knows about the importance of a good breakfast – after all, this is what her business is based on. Emma Barlow asked her what she likes to do first thing.
“Running a start-up business, no morning is ever the same. I like to vary my routine from week to week, some days I’ll be up at the crack of dawn to squeeze in a morning run or yoga class. I believe in listening to your body and mine is not the kind to sustain this early rise each morning, so on other days I’ll enjoy the lie in! After showering and dressing, breakfast is my main priority, which I’ll often enjoy whilst listening to a podcast or the BBC news. Mornings at my boyfriend’s house will be spent enjoying breakfast together.”
More on Annie Morris, cereal and mornings here.
4. Laura Amiss – textile artist, based in Holland
“During the week my alarm goes off at 5:45, I like to be downstairs by 6am. I generally feel good, I sleep very well, I don’t spring out of bed but I am happy to get up and enjoy the morning. However hard it is to crawl out of bed, I know I will feel so much better after having some time to myself and preparing for the day.
I have always been a morning person, I remember as a teenage being super frustrated that none of my friends or brother were up on a Saturday morning ready to hang out! Now as an adult my morning time is crucial for setting up my day, it’s the only time in the day where I can carve out a quiet moment. It’s as if it’s my secret time.
I go downstairs to make a cup of tea and assemble my older two children’s packed lunches whilst listening to The Archers online (I am a life-long fan). Before I need to wake the rest of the house I like to fit in a yoga session, I do classes online. I also check my email and look at what I have to do for work during that day.”
Read more about Laura Amiss, mornings and her business.
5. Laura Alvarado – founder of Tomato Tutors
On first waking, Laura has a glass of water then puts the radio on Magic Soul or MiSoul. Next she gets her four-year-old ready for nursery, feeds their seven-month-old puppy and mentally sets an agenda for the day. “I drop Jesse off, do a little click of my heels and head off to meet my business partner, Beth, for our weekly Monday morning walk in the woods with Winston the pup.”
She either feels – “calm or stressed. I am getting better at working in a less rush-filled manner when I try to channel some of the grace that older women have. Although, sometimes I feel a mixture of angst and worry. Monday is our only full day when Beth and I get to work on the business and I always hope to use the day as efficiently and productively as I can. The time feels so precious in a sea of motherly duties.”
More on Laura Alvarado, Tomato Tutors and her mantra.
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Annie Ridout, The Early Hour’s editor, will be speaking at Stylist Live on Friday 10 November – on the Morning Routines of Successful Women, alongside wellness and nutrition expert Jasmine Hemsley and Propercorn entrepreneur Cassandra Stavrou.