Celebrating ambition and motherhood
This mother’s day, we thought we will celebrate some extra-ordinary mothers who have proven that being a mother is not at odds with being a professional success. Women are told over and over again that they can’t simply have it all or have enough of each sphere of work and home life be happy. In a world where women need to explain their choices, validate professional desires and justify priorities, these women from different fields of design have risen against adversity and followed their dreams.
Kelly Wearstler, mother of two sons, founder and principal of Kelly Wearstler, is an American designer creating multi-faceted, experiential residential, hospitality, commercial and retail environments as well as expansive collections of lifestyle product designs that are internationally recognised with distinctive design awards such as Elle Decor’s ‘A list’, Times magazine ‘The Design 100’ among others. Her first book, Modern Glamour, was named a best seller by LA times in 2006. Among her most notable projects are Four Seasons Anguilla, Viceroy hotels and many celebrity homes including Gwen Stefani, Cameron Diaz and so on.
Susan Kare, mother of three sons, is an American artist and graphic designer best known for her interface elements and typeface contributions to the first Apple Macintosh from 1983 to 1986. She was employee #10 and Creative Director at NeXT, the company formed by Steve Jobs after he left Apple in 1985. She was a design consultant for Microsoft, IBM, Sony Pictures, and Facebook, and she is now an employee of Pinterest. As an early pioneer of pixel art and of the graphical computer interface, she has been celebrated as one of the most significant technologists of the modern world.
Stella Nina McCartney, mother of two sons and two daughters, is an award-winning English fashion designer. Like her parents, McCartney is a firm supporter of animal rights and is particularly known for her use of vegetarian and animal-free alternatives in her work. In 2001, McCartney launched her own fashion house under her name in a joint venture with Gucci Group. In 2007, she launched her own skin care brand that is 100% organic. She now operates 51 freestanding stores in locations including Manhattan's Soho, London's Mayfair, LA's West Hollywood, Paris' Palais Royal, Barcelona's Passeig de Gracia and Milan, and recently opened doors in Rome, Miami and Houston.
Hella Jongerius, mother of two children, is a Dutch industrial designer who found her studio in 1993. Her clients include Maharam (New York), KLM (Netherlands), Vitra (Switzerland), IKEA (Sweden), Camper (Spain), Nymphenburg (Germany) and Royal Tichelaar Makkum (Netherlands). Her designs have been exhibited at galleries and museums such as the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum (New York), MoMA (New York), Stedelijk Museum (Netherlands), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), the Design Museum (London), Galerie kreo (Paris) and Moss gallery (New York). In 2007, she designed the business class cabin in KLM’s Boeing 747. In 2013, she redesigned the North Delegates’ Lounge is UN headquarters.