Mother's Day Interview with Elizabeth and her mum, Carol

Read all about how Elizabeth and her mum, Carol celebrate Mother's Day and what this special day means to both of them. 

What does Mother's Day mean to you?

 C: In terms of my own Mother I have always thought that “Mothers Day” is a day that I can show appreciation of the role she has and continues to play in my life and a celebration of Mother’s generally everywhere.

 E: A special day of the year to treat my mum and show her how much we all love and appreciate her.

 What is your idea of the perfect Mother's Day?

 C: The perfect Mother’s Day for me is to spend the day relaxing with my children and my own Mum,  having fun together and taking the time to have a nice meal together. One of my greatest joys in life is watching my children interact with each other and witnessing their special bond, it makes it all worthwhile.

 E: Spending the day with mum and my hilarious siblings, sharing lots of love and laughter together.

 Carol, what is your most memorable mothers day gift to date?

 I always keep the cards that my children write to me, they are my most precious gifts. I also have letters and craftwork that they were asked to do at primary school to give me as a Mother’s Day gift.  It’s so lovely to look back on them and it’s really interesting to see what was most important to them about their relationship with me at each age,  although not much changes as they get older!

 Lizzie, have you inherited anything from your mum that you treasure?

 Her tenacity, passion and unwillingness to back down from doing what I think is right.

 Carol, do you have anything special you plan to pass down to Lizzie?

 I have to be careful here as I have more than one daughter ! My most treasured possession is our home in the South of France. It was my parents home before we acquired it and it is our happy place and where we come together as a family to spend quality time. My desire is to one day pass this home onto Elizabeth and her siblings for them to continue to make happy memories together for generations to come.

 Lizzie, what is the most valuable lesson that you have received from you mum?

 She is the greatest teacher I've had. She's taught me countless lessons from how to cook to empathy, etiquette, but most valuably, to follow my heart.

 Carol, how do your children inspire you?

 My children inspire me every day. They are all quite different but the one thing they all have in common are extremely brave and kind hearts.

 They are all fiercely focused on their goals in life but they go about it in a kind and sensitive way.  Holding it all together and still being great people, that is what I find very inspiring and I try to follow their example.

 Lizzie, how does your mum inspire you?

Carol, how does it feel to see your daughter building her own business? 

It makes me feel incredibly happy and satisfied to watch Elizabeth turn her dreams into reality. She has and continues to work so hard and her passion and professionalism shine through. She is extremely personable and in my eyes the epitome of all her brand represents. Having her own business has also given Elizabeth a great opportunity to explore the globe. Travelling, Sourcing products and finding inspiration for new designs and all the knowledge that comes along with that is the dream and as good as it gets professionally.

 Lizzie, whats it like having a mother who is also a businesswoman like yourself? 

I remember being little and seeing mum work so hard. She'd always worked from 9-5 since the age of 16 and would also travel around the world at various trade shows and visit international customers, despite a busy schedule she always made time to be a great mum and spend quality time with me and my brother. 20 years later, she now has 6 of us to manage and she still keeps a smile on her face!

 Whenever I'm having a hard time, I always think of how tough she is and this comforts me, knowing that I can do it all too, like she did. Since I was a little girl, she's been behind every passion project of mine and Elizabeth Scarlett is no different - she's joined me on exhibition stands selling my products, hosted sample sales at her home for her friends and is the first person to redecorate a bedroom based on my new range - her home is like an Elizabeth Scarlett catalogue! She is also the first person I call when I'm having a tough day and need some words of wisdom to push through, she just gets it.

 You are both businesswomen, do you have any tips for aspiring entrepreneurs?

 C: Make sure you absolutely live, love and breath what you do as new business ventures are very time consuming. There are no short cuts to success even if it may appear to look easy from the outside. There is also no escape as start ups are incredibly demanding so you have to be extremely passionate about your product or service and be ready to dedicate everything and make the sacrifices needed to make it work. Also try to be kind, people will always want to be around kind people and you can’t do it all on your own!

 E: Make sure you start something you love as you have to give it your all, everyday. The hardest part is getting started, and building the confidence and resilience to keep going - so be positive, keep your determination and stay passionate.