Getting crafty with Wynona Leach of Red Carousel
Family is of utmost priority to Wynona Leach. Her praise-worthy achievements include organising elegant birthday parties for her two daughters, baking gorgeous fondant birthday cakes for kids, selling on-trend partyware on her online store Red Carousel, and providing specialised craft and party styling services (sometimes all at once!).
It’s clear she’s one heck of a go-getter, so we took the opportunity to chat with this dynamic mummy to find out what keeps her going every day (and were mighty pleased to get some DIY inspirato at the same time).
Hello, Wynona! We know that your family is your biggest source of inspiration. What type of mum are you? Give us a clue!
I try to be a fun mum and give them the necessary freedom to be kids (within limits of course). I can be a bit of a worrier sometimes, but what mother isn’t? I do encourage my girls to always try things out and use their imaginations to create something. In no way am I a tiger mum!
Red Carousel stocks the prettiest party goodies. What motivated you to set this up?
When I graduated from university and obtained a regular office job, my creativity wasn’t being fulfilled so I had lots of crafty hobbies on the side. When my family moved to Singapore, I saw it as a clean slate to pursue starting my own business here. While organising my eldest daughter’s birthday party, I felt that there was a gap in the market that Red Carousel could fulfil.
Tell us your top 3 tips to throwing a fantastic kiddie birthday bash!
- Good food and drink for all your guests – this is a must – it needs to look good and taste better.
- Be organised and know your audience, decide on a relevant and interesting theme to tie the day together.
- Make sure everyone is entertained in some way!
You must have organised about a billion parties by now. What’s the most memorable one you’ve done?
My daughter Ivy’s 6th birthday had a Red Riding Hood theme. I handmade cloaks for the girls and the boys had wolf masks. My friend Rebecca was kind enough to lend us her big garden for the day. We had a mix of traditional treasure hunt games, pass the parcel, and a sack race. The funniest game was probably my husband dressing up as the Big Bad Wolf –the children all got to throw water balloons at him! My daughter still talks about it.
What’s the most difficult parenting challenge you have had, and how did you overcome it?
We had to change schools a few times for different reasons. This required quite a bit of adjustment for both our elder daughter and us. We worked through this period with patience and understanding, and encouraged our daughter to always speak to us so we could understand if she was happy or not.
You certainly are one busy lady (we’re sure your weekly planner agrees). How do you unwind?
Every now and then, I’ll relax with a newspaper, magazine or catch up on blogs on my smartphone. I don’t have a chance to unwind at night as I use the time that the girls are in bed to work on my projects. So I find time during the day to meet up with friends for a coffee or go shopping with my daughters.
When you’re out on a girly shopping date with your littles, where do you head to in Singapore?
VivoCity is a good place to shop for kids and with kids. There are lots of flagship stores for kids, plenty of family-friendly dining choices, an open-air playground and indoor play centres. The Forum is also good for classy kids’ gear.
What’s the hardest thing about running an online business as a mum?
There are only 24 hours in a day, and those hours need to be divided to accommodate many working hours as well as being there for the kids, husband…oh, and fitting in a little bit of sleep!
What advice can you give to mums who are keen to start up their own business?
Research the industry you’re heading into and ensure that you always keep learning as things are always fluid. Brush up on all your skills and don’t be afraid to learn new skills. Make sure your branding looks consistent and professional. Don’t underestimate the power of social media, which is definitely an important tool in your marketing.
Ensure that you have supportive people around you, people who bring you up and not down. Your partner and family must be able to support you, as it won’t be easy. Lastly, be prepared for a hard slog and appreciate your wins, no matter how small they may be!
Thanks for letting us stop by, Wynona! We adore pretty much everything on Red Carousel – can we get stuff for our own birthday party (wink)?
Images kindly provided by The Studio Loft.