For me motherhood really puts things in perspective. It makes you stop and think about the person that you want to be for your children and the kind of life you want for them. More and more these days it also reminds me to live in the moment, to be mindful when I am with my girls and to take the time to stop and really listen to them,” says Natalie Knoll, mother to Allegra, 8, and Isabella, 11. While she might be the co-founder of travel and lifestyle accessories brand Bird & Knoll – renowned for their signature luxurious oversized cashmere-blend scarves – the busy mother started her career as an investment banker. “I never felt totally fulfilled by the corporate life and after meeting my husband in New York and moving to Sydney in 2000, I decided to follow my passion and became a photographer,” she recalls. At the time, she was a young mum and had a husband whose work took the family to London and back again. For Knoll, working as a photographer was the perfect profession, offering her flexibility and creativity. “Over time, I missed the real genesis of growing an idea and in 2013 approached my now business partner Macayla with the concept of Bird and Knoll. With my photographic and business background and her experience working with some of New Zealand’s top fashion brands, we have created a brand that we are loving watch grow in the right direction,” she says. These days, Knoll travels the world photographing iconic destinations, which are then printed onto their scarves. Knoll’s recently renovated Sydney home is an oasis of calm. Light and airy, it feels like you’re on holidays, which is exactly the brief she gave to her architect. “The brief to our architect was to create a space that was ‘like being on holiday’ – the openness of it, the light, the outlook, the finishes – they all make me feel like I have checked into a beautiful designer haven,” says Knoll. We caught up with the travel-obsessed mother to chat more about everything from motherhood to interiors…
My mother worked in the beauty and fashion industry in South Africa…
From an early age instilled in me the discipline of a three-step facial cleansing routine every morning and night (although as I get older there seem to be more steps) – I am not particularly faithful to one brand. I like to mix things up and experiment with things that I pickup in those cool little pharmacies you find in France and Italy (I have just discovered Caudalie) and new products that my beautician recommends like Neo Genesis serum
I have never been very sporty…
I was always more of a dancer, so I am loving Xtend Barre. I recently tried a stick Pilates class at Xtend Barre in Mosman and LOVED it. Anything that helps with my core strength is exactly what I need. I did Pilates through both of my pregnancies and afterwards (although I don’t think I will ever have the stomach muscles I used to) and I have no doubt they helped with labour and recovery afterwards.
I did not have the best pregnancies…
Lots of morning sickness, back pain, heartburn and then looooong labours (36 hours and 26 hours). I did love watching my body morph around this little person inside me. It’s quite fascinating seeing your body being changed by another ‘being’. There was a great sense of anticipation and excitement as we waited to welcome them into the world. I was also obsessed with grilled cheese sandwiches… everyday!
To new mothers…
Trust your instinct and not all of the ‘noise’ around you. Everyone will have their way of doing things and while it is important to have cornerstones of advice, every child is different, every situation variable. You need to do what feels right in your world. Motherhood definitely turns everything upside down for a while, but you just shift your axis a bit and your world keeps on turning.
This has been an amazing year for Bird & Knoll…
We launched our Bird and Knoll x Qantas with Jessica Hart limited edition scarf last month and look forward to more projects with the Qantas team. We are also working on another fantastic brand partnership to be launched next year and we look forward to introducing our new silk-blend scarves next season – an elegant nod to the classic Hermes silk squares. Macayla (Bird) and I are constantly looking to offer versatile travel and lifestyle accessories that our customers have an emotional connection with.
There is a certain serenity about girls…
I am sure this is a generalisation that will probably come back to bite me when they are complicated moody teenagers! They are great observers and communicators and I love seeing them apply that in their imaginative play and interactions with others. Daniel and I have a strong focus on encouraging them to participate in social and active communities that build their confidence and their exposure to a wider world. We try not to be over-protective in an increasingly paranoid society and to teach them that not winning is ok – it is more about the lessons that you learn along the way from those mistakes.
We start working on the collection about six months before it hits the stores…
Our destinations are iconic and exotic – places that inspire travel, so we start with this in mind. We then create our mood board – this is our inspiration and can be anything from a visual image of a colour to a feeling you get from looking at a beautiful sunset or the way a model is moving. Once the ‘picture/vision’ starts to appear, we take into consideration the season, trending colours … and then go shopping in our expansive archive of photographs. We select the image rather than the destination. We look for strong images that really speak to us about the place, whether it is an esoteric vignette of a city or a more traditional image of an iconic destination, they are images that tell a story of places that really inspire wanderlust. Of course, they also always hold special memories for us – a personal narrative of our travels.
Both Macayla and I have struggled with time management at times and still have moments of having to reassess how we can do things better…
Because we run the business between Auckland and Sydney (Macayla is based in Auckland) there are times during the work day when she is on and I am off and vice versa. Between Skype, Dropbox and meeting up in the same country every couple of months, we make it work and really support each other and play to each others strengths and personal commitments – definitely a bonus of working with a business partner. I recently had a great time management tip from a friend who runs a business supporting entrepreneurs. I always work off a to-do list, but now with her advice, I actually diarise those tasks in my outlook calendar every night for the following day as if they were appointments in my day. With that time allocation, I know that I am going to cover them off. The key with any time management though is to be realistic about what you can get done during your work day otherwise you will constantly feel like you are spinning in the same spot. We also try to not schedule too many things in late afternoon so that we can be hands-on with our kids and be “present” with them rather than trying to do both. This is when the Australia/NZ time difference works and we can really cover each other.
There are so many analogies that you can use to describe running your own business…
Rollercoaster ride, whirlwind, like having another baby. It is an incredibly steep learning curve and you don’t always know all of the answers. We will put up our hands for help and advice from other industry players and mentors we know. I guess the hardest part, particularly when your business is very young, is wearing a lot of different hats that don’t always ‘fit’. We have made some mistakes but usually that is when we have not followed our gut instinct…
“ Trust your instinct and not all of the ‘noise’ around you. Everyone will have their way of doing things and while it is important to have cornerstones of advice, every child is different, every situation variable ”
I am very casual and Iive in jeans or black pants and a classic T-shirt or singlet…
I live in my camilla and marc black pants and my Isabel Marant trainers or sandals. I am very much about accessorising or as I like to say ‘the final edits’ – the shoes, the scarf, the blazer, the handbag
I think every stage of motherhood has a hard part…
My girls are 11 and 8 now – those tweenager years that need a lot of guidance – it’s a fine balance between giving them the answers to their questions and giving them the tools to figure out the answers for themselves. I don’t quite have that figured out perfectly yet but we are working on it together. As challenging as being a mum can be, my children ground me. They are my touchstone of reality and sanity.
My interest in interior design is very closely linked to my passion for travel…
It is a way to bring design ideas that you pick up from travel into your home and your everyday life. Little details that you see in Paris or Thailand or Amalfi can so easily be replicated in your home but with your own twist. Our home has a ‘holiday’ feel to it. Very relaxed and eclectic – a ‘canvas’ of neutral shades showcase the pieces that we collect on our travels. I love that I am constantly reminded of places that we have been to from the objects in our house.
Natalie’s little list of loves:
My half hour to myself in the morning with my tea and the news. It’s my wake-up time. Waking my girls up. Those sleepy morning cuddles are the thing I most look forward to and the best part of my day! My mid-morning coffee. I only allow myself one a day and I’m usually desperate for it by then. The Isabel Marant Étoile Gilly cotton-canvas trainers – they are so versatile I wear them with everything! Black pants, dresses, jeans – I am all for functional yet stylish shoes when possible! Hello Fresh – I love that I no longer have to agonise over what I am going to make for dinner. Beautiful fresh ingredients and recipes delivered to my door. How good is that! Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede – It is my signature scent and I wear it every day ! I always get comments on how lovely it smells. Daylight saving – the longer days definitely mean summer is on it’s way! Aperol spritzers – a bit obsessed with these after spending two months travelling in Europe this year. I am reading an incredible book at the moment called Unlikely Leaders: Lessons in Leadership from The Village Classroom written by Cathy Burke from The Hunger Project. It teaches us how leadership skills can be learnt from the most humble sources and not just from CEOs and world leaders. Travel – always on my favourite things to do list. My next trip is to Bangkok for a weekend. I have never actually spent time there other than in the airport, so I am really looking forward to exploring this amazing city and capturing some great images for Bird & Knoll.