Our second mum in our Mother’s Day tribute is Nana Stuurman, who’s not only mum to a 3.5 year old daughter and expecting her second kid (she just completed her first trimester!), but also the founder of MTBT Events (which organizes Chillax Market) and online home accessories store, Gezel Home Accessories.
Hi Nana, tell us more about what you do.
Chillax market is a series of exclusive lifestyle markets, which is still a really fresh concept in Singapore. Eventually the aim of MTBT Events is to focus on events with more creative and personal touches. We aim to conduct more product launches, festivals and corporate events in the future.
Gezel Home Accessories has been my dream for a long time. It’s a home accessories shop that provides affordable country-style products.
Why did you decide to start Chillax Market and Gezel?
After taking a break from having my daughter, I didn’t want to waste my time while waiting for a job line-up. So I started designing and luckily enough found production houses in Vietnam to produce my designs. With the support of my husband and family in Vietnam, I was able to kickstart the business in November 2012.
Chillax Market came up about the same time I launched Gezel Home Accessories. I teamed up with a good friend of mine to found MTBT Events Pte. Ltd., and got straight to organizing Chillax Market.
How do you manage your work-life balance?
It’s always tough to balance work and family, it took me a while before I found what works best for me. My work day is generally really long with 2 major breaks in between. The first is at 2pm when my daughter wakes up from her nap. I play with her before she goes out for a playdate or some swimming. The second break is from 6-9pm, where I spend time with my husband and daughter cooking dinner. I then come back to work from 9pm till midnight.
What’s the hardest part about being a working mum?
I work from home so I tend to get distracted a lot. I’m constantly switching between 2 or 3 tasks, especially since I’m working on 2 businesses.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from being a working mum?
A painful lesson I personally experienced was when my daughter was calling the nanny for something she wanted during the day or at night. That taught me I was working too hard and had upset the work-life balance.
Any advice for mums out there?
If you have a dream, make the time to do it. Don’t wait! You’ll never regain time past so use it wisely.
Thanks Nana! Missed our first installation of the series? Read more about Angie Lai-Tay, founder of Curated Editions, here.