Conscious Mothering with Marloe Morgan of Marloe Marloe

Where is home for you?

Our little family are blessed to call Gold Coast, Australia home.

What drives you to live a sustainable life?

Connecting to conscious choices for my family and creating a space for growth & education drives our sustainable lifestyle. Knowing we have made better choices today than we did yesterday is a huge driver in our home. It’s important we leave our environment better than how we found it.

What are the environmental issues that concern you the most and how do you personally go about tackling them?

There are a few issues we like to focus on as a family. One of which is global waste affecting our waterways. Aside from working within Marloe Marloe my husband James also works in stormwater management with a focus on design & management of environmental assets around the world. I am so proud of the work he does and his passion for preserving, maintaining and bettering the environment. He pushes me to be responsible and step up.

Personally, I am passionate about sustainable consumption and supporting ethical production and manufacturing within Marloe Marloe. I am dedicated to slow batch production and hold myself accountable for the production houses we work with and the communities they support. I am very proud of the partnerships I have fostered and relationships cultivated with our makers. One of which we have been working with for 6 years now and have witnessed not only the growth of their business but also the prosperity of the families involved and that has been an enriching journey.

We cannot wait for international travel to reopen so that we can share these friendships with our son Valla. 

You recently became a mother to a baby boy – has that changed your perspective on how you navigate the world?

Yes, I am now a Mum to the incredible being that is our little man, Valla. He is an absolute delight and I feel an incredible depth of gratitude and connection that I have never experienced before. My perspective has definitely shifted and I feel a much stronger responsibility to make positive choices that he will be proud of as he grows. It can be an overwhelming responsibility some days so I am taking it one day at a time.

Any tips out there for new mummies trying to consciously raise a new baby?

I am only 11 months in so I am not sure I’m an expert yet, however I think it is important to feel into the journey and create space for our children to express themselves and explore their environment.  James and I have created a great weekly schedule that allows both of us to spend whole days with our little man, chunks of time to work on our businesses and create a safe and positive environment for Valla to explore. We are trying to manage his environment without too much restriction so that Valla has the freedom to learn and grow.

Do you have any health or wellness tips you recommend post partum?

My postpartum journey was really positive and I feel so blessed as I know it can be very challenging for some parents. I found the encouragement of my sisters, mother and female community incredibly supportive in the months after Valla was born. I think it is important to embrace your walk with motherhood and not to compare your journey with others and their experiences. 

Talking and sharing my struggles with my support system was imperative to my mental health and my advice would be to share how you are feeling and cry freely. It is an incredibly overhealing time and it is okay not to be okay.

How do you incorporate a sustainable routine with your young son?

We like to spend as much time as possible in nature and watching the world. Valla is a very social little boy with a mechanical mind. He loves to experience and explore how things work and fit together and it is important that we continue to develop and foster his mind. For me, this is sustainable and an important pillar in his routine.

He has experienced a little eczema on his face, so we have been dedicated to learning about any of his food intolerances and removing any reactive or triggering stresses from his environment. This has been a great opportunity to assess our home and take stock of the chemicals, fragrances and cleaning products we are all exposed to daily.

Do you have any personal life hacks for getting through the day in the most conscious way possible as a family?

Having a great routine that allows me to nourish my body, mind and family unit is top of mind at this time in our family. Cooking nourishing food for Valla and planning meals helps me to eat less on the go and make more sustainable choices. We choose to shop for our fresh produce from our local farmer’s markets and make a conscious choice to support local businesses as much as possible in all areas of our lives.

I also invested in reusable food pouches which have been amazing for our on the go lifestyle. Valla loves to eat from them and I am able to use them for his food, coconut yogurt and green smoothies which he is obsessed with at the moment. 

How do you balance work doing your beautiful ceramics line and motherhood?

Balancing motherhood with a growing business has been challenging and it still is. Like so many areas of our lives, we are taking it day by day. James and I chose to experiment with different schedules very early on until we found a routine that works for Valla, James and myself. We check in with each other a lot to ensure we are both happy and feeling supported with the time allocated to be both productive and work on our passions James is an incredibly supportive husband, father and business partner. I could not achieve what I have without his dedication to my happiness.

What are life’s small pleasures for you right now?

Definitely watching Valla experience the world around him. His laugh and smile are incredibly expansive for me and having the space and time to love him has been the biggest gift. 

How are you winding down at the end of the day?

We like to end the working day with a walk as a family to the beach by our house or over to the park.  This is a great way for me to separate the end of a working day and step into our evening routine. The evenings are focused on Valla and winding him down with a bath and quiet time before he goes off to sleep. 

James and I then have a few hours together as husband and wife where we connect while cooking dinner and sharing a meal.  James does the cooking most evenings which is such a treat. I like to tidy the house at the end of the day so that we can flow right into the next day feeling with a clean space.  This also helps me to feel calm, relaxed and ready for bed.

What is making you feel optimistic at this time?

Despite these uncertain times, I am feeling excited about the global shifts as a result of this pandemic and the opportunity for growth we are being presented with. I am feeling liberated by the choices I am making for my business and the opportunities I am being offered, like this conversation with REV, and being a part of this beautiful conscious community. Life is good. 

Finally, what does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability to me is taking responsibility for the choices I am making and doing the best to create a promising future for the generations to come. It is educating myself so that I am empowered to make change and have the means to engage in more long lasting ways of living on this planet.