Mother’s Day Collection interview with Justine Ma
Photo by Andrea Hanki Photography
Getting to know Justine
Stationery & Home Goods Designer
FW: Give us a glimpse into your career and how it looked in the years leading up to the pandemic?
Justine: I’ve been lucky enough to have been working on my own, in my home office for over nine years now. Working for myself has brought much flexibility to my life and schedule.
FW: Can you summarize what your journey into motherhood looked like?
Justine: I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant. I was having lunch with my girlfriend, whom was already a mother, and I asked her something silly, like, “Ok, how do I get pregnant?” So we opened my period tracker app and I WAS LATE! My very regular cycle showed me that I was already pregnant. It was surprising, and terrifying and very emotional. Most everyone I knew took months or longer to get pregnant, so we realized how much of a miracle this was.
I loved being pregnant, it was also very scary but quite magical. We, however, did not have a great labour and delivery. What finally ended up in general anesthesia and an emergency c-section after 12 hours a little gem was born. We were very distanced from the start. I woke up with no baby, and not pregnant. We didn’t have that instant connection, I didn’t feel love at first sight that most mothers talk about. For the next six months, it felt robotic, just repetitive days. It took a long time to build a connection to each other, but we persevered and now I have a tiny best friend.
FW: What does your current work/life situation look like balancing roles of mother and designer?
Justine: We are currently doing online Grade One with my daughter Ruby. We chose this in the beginning to give teachers a chance to adjust during this pandemic. I recognized our privilege that we could do so, since I already work from home with a very flexible schedule, so we did! Eight months later, we are still at home but it’s ok! We both fell in love with Ruby’s online teacher. It’s a lot more work than I ever anticipated, so working/designing has really taken a step back.
I always joke that this was going to be MY YEAR. My year with my kid in full time school!! Ha. But it’s OK, because my life and family will always be my priority. I try to work during Ruby’s online schedule, while also assisting with her assignments. It’s certainly not a lot of work I’m getting done, but we are managing the best we can. If I have the energy to work at night, I will. My husband is THE best support, so we will juggle the workload.
Everyday comes with it’s own level of anxiety and stress with the amount of work there is to get done and the “hustle” but I’ve realized quite quickly that there is no balance. I do what I can, when I can, with realistic timelines for me. I’m very lucky in that I don’t have a lot of client work, but even then, they are usually always so accommodating.
I’ve also found, by slowing down, I’ve created some of my best projects. Having Ruby home, always peeking at my computer, she’s given me feedback, always pumping me up and we’ve even created some great projects together out of it. Integrating work and life together has been a big part of my business. I’m so appreciative of this time we’ve had together.
FW: What inspired your Mother’s Day graphic?
Justine: Ruby has always loved listening to my heartbeat. Recreating the thumping with her little hand on my chest.
They say that your children are an extension of your heart. You wear your heart on your sleeve and literally will do anything for them. Heartbeats came from that — our little heartbeats running circles around us, giving us life.
Parenting through the pandemic
FW: What does a typical day for you look like right now?
Justine: My 9 to 3 is pretty much dedicated to assisting Ruby online with school. I’ll get in some work emails, and when I’m lucky, I’ll even get one project done.
Fill in the blanks with dog walks and fun activities to keep us staying positive and motivated.
FW: What are the best and worst pieces of advice you’ve gotten as a working mother?
Justine: When I first got pregnant, a fellow small business owner and friend told me that this was the worst time for me to start a family. She thought, since my business was just getting noticed and popular, that this would hinder me in such a negative way. That wasn’t great haha. Being the positive person I am, I knew that having a child wouldn’t stop my business from growing.
FW: How have you managed balancing your workload in a time when childcare has been sometimes unavailable or sporadic?
Justine: I like to integrate Ruby into my work as much when she’ll let me. When she was little and I had to do some lettering or watercolour, I’d set her up a station beside me. I’d save my old fancy pens for her to use, she loved it! Right now, she’ll even help me peal masking off of laser cut projects or do some sorting. Mostly though, if I need an hour to work, she’s so great in independent play. She’s respectful and understands the responsibility that I have to work too.
FW: What supports and/or resources have made it possible for you to take on both career and child-rearing responsibilities?
Justine: We took full advantage of pre-school when Ruby was little. Those three hours a day were very productive! As an only child too, we felt it was important to socialize her. This is our first year, where we chose to keep her home, that we haven’t had the support that we typically had in previous years.
FW: What have been some of the biggest challenges or changes to your work life since the start of the pandemic?
Justine: Having Ruby at home full time has been A LOT. It’s been stressful for us both. We are persevering through it though and looking forward to a fun summer together.
Unfortunately this means that work gets pushed aside or I can’t take on as much as I’d like. It’s important to know that this is temporary, so I’m finding the joy in every day and the realization that it won’t be like this forever.
FW: Has the pandemic impacted how you parent your child/ren?
Justine: YES! I’m personally feeling like I’m attending Grade One as well as teaching it haha. I’m more stern since I don’t want to see her fail, so I try my best to stay on top of her assignments without pushing her to tears. We don’t do as many fun things as we did before since we stay home a lot. I’m trying to also integrate her more into community initiatives as well to stay positive and make an impact.
FW: How have the demands of motherhood impacted your career?
Justine: I suppose my priorities have changed. I don’t have much client work, so I’m very lucky in that respect with deadlines. I don’t force myself with deadlines either. I’m super flexible. In return, things have slowed.
FW: Have you formed a personal motto or philosophy surrounding your recent experiences?
Justine: Stay positive. Try to find the magic in every day. Pause when you need to. Don’t be upset that you need to take a break or slow down. Slowing down is not a bad thing. We need to take care of ourselves and a lot of the time, that means slowing down.
FW: Has the pandemic positively impacted your career/life in any way?
Justine: I think over this past year, I’ve really learnt to not stress about work too much. At the beginning, we were actually SO busy, it was amazing — the support we got from people supporting small business was incredible!!! We have a strong, connective community, we are so grateful! In return, we also support small and local whenever we can because the small businesses are the ones that need us!
FW: If you had to pick, what would be the biggest thing mothering through the pandemic has changed your perspective on?
Justine: Hygiene hahahah. Teach your kids to wash their hands properly and thoroughly. I think kindness though. We must be supportive, kind, listen and learn. Let’s be human and take care of one another, and support each other. We have so much to learn. Let’s just be good people. I suppose these are all things that parents should teach their children, but over this year in particular with many movements happening, we are elevating these discussions in our home.