In our How She Does It column, we talk to inspirational mothers about work-life balance, their favourite travel destinations, travelling with children, and how they really do it all. This month we caught up with Johanna Kociejowski and Edwina Gieve, founders of fashion brand Clary & Peg.
Passionate about creating stylish maternity wear and clothing that women actually want to wear, friends Johanna and Edwina have grown their brand to become a go-to for mums-to-be and those looking for comfortable but chic designs. Here they tell us about their love of fashion, how they manage to run such a successful business while also raising six kids between them, the joy of family holidays both in the UK and further afield, and why – no matter what stage of motherhood you are in – everything with kids is just a phase.
Tell us about yourself?
We’re Edwina and Johanna, founders of Clary & Peg. We met in an antenatal class 14 years ago when pregnant with our first babies and bonded over our shared love of vintage clothes and a desire to find maternity dungarees like our mums wore in the 1980s. We set up Clary & Peg, a small womenswear brand that makes maternity friendly clothing, in 2013. As the brand has grown, we have shifted the emphasis from maternity. All our clothes are still designed to be worn when pregnant or breastfeeding, but we realised that more and more women of all ages are wearing our clothes, regardless of whether they are pregnant or not. Between us we have six children. Edwina has four boys aged 14, 12, eight and five; Johanna has a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. We both live, work and manufacture our clothes in London.
Tell us more about your working life?Â
Edwina: We set up the business with four small children between us – we actually launched the week after I had my second and a month before Johanna had hers. It meant that we started off very slowly and growth was organic, essentially word of mouth.
Johanna: As the children got older we were able to redress the balance and spend more time working. This is really a labour of love for us, like all small business owners we are involved in all aspects of the business and it is deeply personal. As two woman who had a love of clothes, but no experience in fashion, every small achievement has felt significant. The first order and every order since, the first piece of press, the first time we saw someone on the street wearing our clothes.
Edwina: We have a collaboration this season with my cousin Poppy Delevingne. It’s something we have talked about for ages and it was so special to realise our shared vision and then to be featured in British Vogue. Our lemon yellow Doris Dungarees have been our hero piece and we’re struggling to keep them in stock. One of the many benefits of manufacturing locally is that it means we can turn things around quickly and respond to demand.Â
Johanna: I have a history degree and worked in galleries and the arts until I had my first child in 2010, at which point I decided I wanted to try something different that would afford more flexibility and allow me to be a bit more creative. I love the freedom of working for myself, but it does make everything very personal – you really feel the highs and the lows!
What inspires you in your career?
Edwina: My mother and grandmother loved clothes and both kept everything. As a teenager I wore Ossie Clark and Zandra Rhodes pieces that I found in their cupboards not realising how special they were. There was no sense that they should be kept for best but should be loved, passed down and worn. I really hope that our clothes are passed down in the same way.
Johanna: We love what we do. To create something from scratch and be entirely in control is very exhilarating and exciting on a daily basis. Every day is different and the highs and lows are relentless, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Now that our children are older they are also engaged and involved, interested in new designs and how many orders we’re getting. My mum also inspires me. She taught herself to weave in her twenties when she experienced real loneliness after moving to a small mining town in western Canada. I love that she found a creative outlet and taught herself something so skilled. She still weaves and teaches today and absolutely loves her job. That sense of complete satisfaction and constant desire to keep learning is something I aspire to.
The three things that help you juggle everything?
Johanna: Endless notebooks. For some reason neither of us can write lists on our phones or computers – we need to handwrite things and actually tick them off. We get all our stationary supplies from Present & Correct. Whatsapp – when we’re not together we message each other a million times a day with inspiration, ideas, customer queries, just generally bouncing things back and forth. We feel very grateful to be a partnership and not doing this on our own.
Edwina: My bicycle from Tokyo Bike. Our studio on Columbia Road is a 15 minute cycle from my house, it’s such an efficient way to travel and I find it gives me clarity of thought and I often get my best ideas when cycling. Also it’s a great way to see what people are wearing out and about.
Have your career goals and aspirations altered since becoming a working mum?
Edwina: I was an actress before having children and kept at it after I had my first but it was very difficult to make it work. Everything is last minute in the industry; getting a call for a 2pm casting the next day and trying to sort childcare was too challenging. My mother is an artist and was very much around during my childhood and I wanted to be around for my children, to pick them up from school and work in a more non-traditional way.
Johanna:Â I’m definitely more focused on finding a work/life balance.
If you could give your past self one piece of advice about being a working mother what would it be?
Edwina: Running your own business and being a mother is not the easiest combination. I think there is a notion that being your own boss and the flexibility you have means that it goes hand in hand with motherhood. But the truth is it’s very hard to switch off from work when you are so personally invested. I see it as my 5th child! So I think I would say be more disciplined and when you are home turn off your phone or put it out of the way. My oldest is 14 and my youngest is five and I realise how quickly and precious time with them is. It can all feel so fleeting.
Johanna: Try not to feel guilty.
If you had the power to change one thing for working mothers, what would it be?
Edwina: More hours in the day.
Johanna: Flexibility – I’m a big supporter of Anna Whitehouse’s campaign for flexible working.
If you have a day to yourself, what do you do?
Edwina: Have a bath, read my book, go for a walk/lunch with friends. Potter around not doing much and not looking at my phone or laptop.
Johanna: I try to see a friend. In our forties we’re all so busy working and looking after children, so it’s a rare treat. We’ll go to a gallery – The National Gallery is always a favourite – or something more local like the wonderful Dulwich Picture Gallery. Or I’ll take my dog for a long walk. I love exploring the beautiful rambling Nunhead Cemetery near our home in south east London.
Heading ‘out out’ – where is your favourite spot?
Edwina: I love to go out to a restaurant for dinner. I feel like I can switch off more when out of the house. I recently celebrated my wedding anniversary in One Club Row which was lovely, and I had a delicious birthday dinner in The Dover which is very cosy and cool.
Johanna: I love going into Soho, perhaps to a restaurant like Randall & Aubin or Andrew Edmunds – it reminds me of being in my 20s!
Tell us about the best holiday you’ve taken with your children?
Edwina: We went to Greece a couple of years ago. My youngest was six weeks old when Covid hit and that year I kept thinking to myself, when this is all over we’ll go to Greece. I love Greece, the pace of life, food, blue skies and warm seas. With four children we didn’t want to spend days travelling to an island so we went to Hotel Zoe in the Peloponnese and it was perfect. Right on the beach but in a small town with lots of beachside restaurants where the boys could play while we had lengthy dinners – a real treat when you have small children.
Johanna: We have a house in the Wye Valley in Wales so nearly all our holidays happen there. I wanted to give my children the same freedom I had as a child. They spend hours playing in the woods, building dams in the streams and digging up ‘treasure’ – usually old Victorian bottles.
Favourite hotel ever – with or without children?
Edwina: My husband and I try and go away for a couple of days every year and this January we went to The Gallivant Camber Sands. It was the perfect place to switch off for 48 hours, so comfortable and cosy with delicious food, it felt like so much thought had gone into every detail. We had long walks on the beach and a lovely day in Rye.
Johanna: As a child I stayed in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore and in my mind that has come to epitomise everything a hotel should be – old school glamour, the perfect setting for an Agatha Christie mystery. I love b&bs or smaller more unusual places to stay. My husband and I went on a cycling trip around the west Highlands and after a particularly long day of peddling up mountains (with the light fading and no accommodation booked) we finally came across the most perfect 1950s caravan. It was owned by a lovely Scottish couple who cooked us sausages and made us cups of tea. I rarely stay in hotels now – it’s so much easier to rent Airbnbs with children in tow, although I do love The Rose in Deal which was decorated by another friend from our antenatal class, Michelle Kelly.
What are your tips on things to do with children in London?Â
Edwina: I find with so many children we often stay local on the weekends – there are normally lots of activities and birthday parties etc going on. I do try and go to the theatre regularly with them though, normally one at a time so we get some time just us. I’m going to see Oliver with my 12-year-old next weekend, he loves musicals and it’s supposed to be the classic Westend show. We love a boat ride down the Thames, we often go to the Southbank for a wander and lunch and then hop on a boat as it’s a great way to see the city. We also live a cycle ride away from the Olympic Park. There is always lots going on there. London has so many child-friendly places to eat and an array of great playgrounds.
Johanna: The parks in London are amazing, both the local ones (Peckham Rye is on our doorstep) or the ones in central London. We used to spend hours at The Diana Memorial Fountain in Kensington Gardens and another great fountain is the one at Somerset House, My children loved it there when they were little.Â
Travel essentials with kids?
Edwina: Our dungarees. They are the perfect thing to wear when travelling – loose fitting and comfortable with no waistband and lots of pockets. They also look great over a swimming costume. The last few summers we’ve done road trips around France. I’m a terrible packer so I’ve really appreciated having a whole car to fill. Always lots of cold water and snacks and a list of good podcasts for kids – we all love Everything Under the Sun.
Johanna:Â I love our new culottes. The jersey spot version would be my ideal travel outfit, very soft and practical. My children are older now and pretty self-sufficient, but previously I’d always pack a box of ready cut fruit and vegetables if flying. Also a whole range of fidget toys.
Travel essentials without kids?
Edwina: Books. Now that my youngest is five I finally have time to read again. Last summer I read three books including Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. It’s a perfect coming of age story set in Martha’s Vineyard, total escapism. I have given it to all my friends, there’s something very nostalgic about it.
Johanna: A good book. I’m looking forward to taking the new Elizabeth Strout on my next trip.
How do you think travel benefits your children?
Edwina: It’s so easy when life is full to rest on your laurels and stay local, especially with teenagers who have to be prised away from their friends. But getting away even to the countryside for a weekend means that everyone comes together in a way that you don’t at home. A change of scene is both bonding and restorative for everyone.
Johanna: We try to limit our flying. My husband doesn’t fly for environmental reasons, so recently most of our holidays have been in the UK or somewhere we can travel to by train. The UK has so much to offer, but occasionally I have a yearning to travel abroad. My 14 year-old daughter and I now take annual trips to places on the Eurostar, most recently Paris and Antwerp. We have the best time exploring cities on foot, sampling the food, practising our French and most of all, we love a foreign supermarket. I would love our children to explore an entirely different culture though and would love to take them to India.
Any top tips for travelling with kids?
Edwina: Lots of snacks. And manage your expectations. Travelling with children is stressful and there will always be moments where it doesn’t feel like a holiday – but those are the bits you will all forget, it’s the good moments that keep you going and feed the soul once you are home.
Johanna: Be flexible. Plans change with young children!
Where are you off to next as a family?
Edwina: We are going to America this summer to do a road trip down the East Coast. My eldest is going to summer camp in New Hampshire, so we’re going to pick him up and travel around staying with friends and having an adventure. My children have never left Europe before so they are very excited.
Johanna: I’m taking our children to Canada (without my husband) to visit family this summer. All my relatives have holiday cottages on the same lake in Quebec and it is the most blissful place to go, and where I spent my childhood summer holidays. The scenery is stunning and there’s no better place to swim than in the (always ice-cold) lake.
The best advice you would give to other mothers?
Edwina: People always ask how I manage with four kids but I think the joy of the constant chaos is that you’re less hard on yourself and your expectations shift – you have to be a relatively relaxed parent. It means I can’t sweat the small stuff and my priority is making them feel loved and secure, everything else is secondary to that.
Johanna: I know it’s cliched, though I do think it’s true – everything’s a phase. My children are now teenage and pre-teen which presents different challenges to the baby, toddler, young children era, but the same applies – good or bad – it’s just a phase.
How do you do it?Â
Edwina: With difficulty. I am constantly stretched and there is very rarely a quiet moment when I’m not consumed by either work or family. I really do try to come home and put my phone away otherwise I tend to get drawn back in via an email or message. Your day doesn’t really end as a small business owner so you have to create boundaries (which is hard as you are so invested). But I think my children seeing me doing something that I really love and am so excited by, can only be a good thing. I hope.
Johanna: I also think it’s great for your children to see you doing something you love.
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