How do you start with minimalism & sustainability and end with a cloth nappy, gender neutral baby boutique? Well...
It's hard for me to put in to words exactly where the ethos of Angus The Label stems from. I've always been a nature lover, I've always needed calm and peace in my home. I've always found clutter overwhelming and have never much related to any particular style with dressing or decorating. I suppose thats where I landed on no decorating and a wardrobe palette of black, white and grey. When decisions are hard, shun them all I suppose. But when I became a Mother all of the things I knew about myself and some new things too all jumbled together and came out refreshed as a new set of ways that I'd like to live and parent. I don't have them all clearly defined yet, as motherhood only allows so much time for self reflection, but I do know this. Minimalism is with me to stay. Minimalism in purity is a movement of decorating in sparsity. But if we're going to dig deeper it's about owning less, consuming less and for me it lends naturally to slow living. I found after having my first son Angus that I felt incredibly connected to nature. How could I not after experiencing nature's most primal offering of growing a baby? I also found myself incredibly grateful to leave the hustle of my 9-5 behind me and put all of my focus into Angus' care. Before I knew it I found myself grateful for the time I spent in the sun hanging his cloth nappies and the process of making reusable wet wipes was meditative. These day to day chores automatically mean less consumption. Less purchasing, less waste and less stuff in my home. I focused on quality over quantity and gender neutral pieces for our home that reduced visual noise. We valued experiences over things. Mindfully selecting toys from marketplace for rotation meant less stuff on the floor to tidy away at the end of the day. Neutral clothes were laundered and stored for the next baby, whenever that would be. Although now we know, hello Heath, that after Angus' clothes go to Heath, Heaths clothes can be laundered and passed on to a friend. We would take a stroll to look at the trees instead of buying another book to flip through. So if I were asked to describe how minimalism influences my parenting I'd explain that it influences everything. What we buy, the values I pass on, how we care for the things we possess and even how we spend our time. Yep. Minimalism is with us to stay.
Emma x
Emma is founder and CEO of Angus The Label, a Mum two two and Step Mum of two. A self described tree hugger Emma brings a certain bougie vibe to minimalism and sustainability through her company. A loves to build community within this space.