I’m a bit of a minimalist...
With babies, people often try to complicate things and tell you get everything. My belief is that you don’t need everything immediately. Start off with a few toys and see how you go. Don’t get everything before the baby comes.
My girls don’t always sleep as long as each other, but they always go to sleep together...
I don’t know if that’s just because they’ve been in a routine since the beginning, but they’re used to settling each other. Essie was in hospital last week and she slept so well through the night, even in a room full of screaming babies that were getting woken up by one other. She is used to having a noisy sister sleeping next to her.
I am in the office three days a week...
On the other two days, I work at home when they are sleeping. At least, I try. As soon as you get them to sleep, there are always a zillion other things you need to do.
Simple things make me happy...
Going to yoga; going for a run; going out to a restaurant with my husband; hanging out with the girls; going for a picnic in Centennial Park with the dog and the girls.
Our parents are forming a close relationship with the girls from a young age...
It’s really beautiful to watch that relationship grow. Every Monday, my husband’s mum looks after the girls. My mum minds them on Thursdays and I have a nanny on Wednesdays. It works well. I also like having a nanny one day a week. It’s good for Essie and Billie to have an extra face around that’s not within the family.
When they were younger, I dressed them in Petit Bateau a lot...
Petit Bateau does really good neutrals, and nothing’s too over the top or girly. I love a stripe and colours such as cream, navy and red. Now that they’re getting bigger, I dress them a bit more toddler-ish. I love the brand Mini Rodini. I buy a lot of Seed, Country Road and Printebebe. Next Clothing in the UK is also good. You have to pick it apart, but there are some good pieces. They have also been given a lot of Pearl’s hand-me-downs!
After our trip to Canada, we’ve decided that we’re not going to go anywhere long distance for a while...
With the girls, anything over eight hours is too long. My mum has a house in Byron Bay, so we’re going to stay up there for the whole month of January.
I love the mornings. The girls are pretty cute when they first wake up...
I can hear them as they’re in the room next to us. They talk to each other for about half an hour. It’s the cutest thing, they just jibber-jabber away. They’re interacting more and more everyday. They’re extremely happy babies when they wake up and after a while we go and get them. They sit on our bed and chat to us until we get up.
It’s not until you have a child that you really understand what you go through...
My business partner Anna had her daughter Pearl six months before my girls were born. I think I kind of understood what Anna was going through, but I didn’t fully understand until I was in that position myself. It’s amazing working with someone who is in the same situation.
I find working quite therapeutic...
I was having this conversation with Anna yesterday, because she’s in the same position with her 18-month-old daughter Pearl – we are both working and we’re both mothers. We agreed that even though it’s a juggle, it’s a happy juggle.
Our life has settled down from when they were newborns...
I am definitely in a good rhythm, but because the girls are always changing and they’re at different developmental stages, there are stages where everything is quite easy and you go with the flow and then there are stages when you’re back on your toes again wondering how you are going to manage. I love working and I love looking after them, so at the moment it feels like the perfect mix.
I’m actually less efficient now...
I have less time, so I get things done a lot faster. When I’m working at home, I’m completely inefficient as I’m trying to fit things into their nap times. I just accept that it’s the way things are for now. I used to think I was really busy before I became a mother. Now I’m like, ‘what was I thinking? I used to have so much time on my hands’.
Motherhood has taught me selflessness...
You no longer sweat the small stuff, because basically you don’t have time to. You become time poor so you’re not really wasting your time on things that don’t really matter; you see the bigger picture.
I can’t believe our brand Anna & Boy is eight-years-old...
We now produce four collections a year. We wouldn’t have been able to have the flexibility without having the brand at a point where it could be like that. When you’re building the brand, when it’s really young, you need to be married to the brand, you’re literally living and breathing it, and having a kid thrown in at those early stages would have been really tough. Not impossible, but tough.
Although often challenging, motherhood has been the most rewarding and beautiful experience of my life...
It has calmed my soul and given me a greater purpose. I have always been a very optimistic and happy person but motherhood has made me wake up bright and early each morning with a smile on my face.
Photography: Julie Adams Hair: Amanda Kowalevsky from Oscar Oscar Salons Paddington Makeup: Sarina Zoe Words: Georgie Abay
Even before becoming a mother, Lill Jenner had mastered the art of looking effortlessly understated. It’s no surprise, then, that even though Jenner is now the mother to 10-month-old twin girl’s, Essie and Billie her style hasn’t changed a bit. Today, the Bondi-based fashion designer whose personal aesthetic perfectly echoes that of the swimwear label Anna & Boy, which she co-designs with Anna Hewitt, is in a pair of leopard print cigarette pants, an A.P.C white T-shirt and bare feet. “Anna & Boy is pretty mum friendly. Most days, I’ll wear a printed cigarette pant, a T-shirt, Converse and a trench coat. In summer, I wear lots of shorts and dresses.
On motherhood, Jenner says: “Although often challenging, motherhood has been the most rewarding and beautiful experience of my life. It has calmed my soul and given me a greater purpose. I have always been a very optimistic and happy person but motherhood has made me wake up bright and early each morning with a smile on my face.”
Given both Jenner and Hewitt are now mothers, you can’t help but wonder if childrenswear is on the cards? We will definitely launch childrenswear one day. It won’t be too far away because we need pretty clothes to dress our girls in!”.
Lills little list of loves:
Looking at my babies sleeping.
Going for a run or yoga.
A big cook up with my husband we both love to cook.
Earl Grey tea.
Designing Anna & Boy a good balance to all the mum things I do!
Life drawing classes.
Watching my husband play with the girls he gets them into hysterics and it’s so great to watch.
Hendrick’s gin & tonic (Mummas milk! Is that wrong?).
Hanging out with both my sisters. We are very close and they are amazing aunties.
Reading a book or a good magazine. A luxury but when it happens it’s great.
Going to Byron Bay.
May 2013
Gorgeous profile. Beautiful girls. Jx
Thanks for finally writing about > The tale of Lill, Essie & Billie Jenner | The Grace Tales < Loved it!