Melinda Ayre is an art director, stylist, designer and beauty editor who has recently launched her own online beauty magazine, blog and e-boutique, The Beauty Hunter.
She lives in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs with her fitness entrepreneur partner, Damien Kelly who runs a fitness studio at Coogee. They have two children, Finley (3) and Venus (2).
Melinda Ayre
CFK: You've worn many hats in your time! What drove you to the decision to set up The Beauty Hunter?
MA: My initial motivation emerged when my employer decided to change the structure of my role at body+soul, The Sunday Telegraph. They wanted me to relinquish my very popular beauty column and art direct body+soul three days a week. I am so passionate about beauty journalism, so I decided to create my own editorial platform to continue reviewing cosmetics. I really wanted to emulate the design and quality journalism of magazine beauty editorial in an online environment. I felt there was a space online for a beautifully designed beauty website with professional beauty journalism. Online is a very modern, fast-paced world for a journalist to be and I felt I better jump in and learn right now!
CFK: With two pre-schoolers and a home based business it must be hard to juggle your time between them. How do you manage your day/week?
MA: It is very hard to juggle both. But for me working in an office away from them was very difficult, especially getting home at 7pm. I have learnt that you can't work efficiently with toddlers, as they don't play alone for long at all. I divide up the day and only work in their rest time and after they go to bed. If I have a meeting or function I ask my partner to babysit if possible. The biggest problem with running a business from home is that kids don't always follow the well-planned schedule. They won't nap, they won't go to bed til 9 or of course they get sick. I do housework when they're awake because I don't need to concentrate and I can involve them. If things go haywire I guiltily use the television to occupy them for a short period.
CFK: What child care options do you use and how did you find them?
MA: Recently I was finding the late nights exhausting and something had to give. I decided to get a nanny for 4 hours on Monday from 9 to nap time at 1pm. My little boy has just started at Montessori pre-school 2 half days a week which helps too. The nanny I use is actually my partner's cousin and being a young uni student she has a group of wonderful girls that I call upon. This network of sitters who know the children well is invaluable.
CFK: What's the main benefits of the child care you have in place?
MA: The benefit of having a nanny is of course the one-on-one care, kids are close to home and they help you a little around the house. Of course nannies are expensive so I only use my nanny occasionally at crucial times like my Monday for a few solid hours of work or a crime time (4pm to 7pm) now and then if I'm getting exhausted.
With regards to childcare, earlier on I tried to send Finley to childcare when I had Venus and needed a bit of a break. I won't mention the place, but it was a disaster, he was verbally abused and actually injured and we had to pull him out of there and report the incident to Docs. After that I used nannies and was very guilty and frightened. But this was a very unusual situation, so I tried to moved forward and conquer my fear of childcare. We waited then until Finley was three to send him to pre-school. Since Finley started at Montessori he has slowly settled in, the drop off is easier and he loves the lessons, games and friends at his pre school now.
CFK: Damien also works for himself and is around more than most dads. Is that a great help or does it just complicate matters?
MA: There is an upside and downside to Damien's hours. Being in the fitness industry his busy times are outside traditional working hours. He leaves at 5.30am and is home at 8pm so he missing those busy top and tail kid times like getting kids ready in morning and the bath and sleep routine. Plus, he eats lunch at home and he eats a lot!!! I used to resent mums that could hand the kids to dad for bath and bed at 6pm. The upside though is that Damo is home in the day for lunch and to play with the kids which they love. He takes them to swimming and soccer once a week and can cover me for work appointments if I organize in advance. This is invaluable for dentist, doctor and hairdressing appointments too if you have no family in Sydney like us.
CFK: Did you take time out with both the kids in terms of formal maternity leave and what was the hardest thing about going back to work?
MA: Yes, with both children I left six weeks before the birth and had the full twelve months off. At News Ltd I got a good 12-15 weeks pay which helped and I kept freelancing my column from home through the twelve months which was crazy but gave me pocket money. Funnily enough when I returned from maternity leave after having Finley I was already pregnant with Venus - so I only worked for six months before skipping off again! But News Ltd were extremely supportive and told me it happens all the time! It was hard leaving my full-time job for maternity leave as I realised a working life creates a social life and a sense of identity and achievement. I felt very insecure about someone taking over my role for twelve months. The hardest thing about returning to a fast-paced Newspaper office was my surprising lack of confidence - I felt like a very different person than the vibrant woman who had left 12 months before. My body image, my life priorities and my brain power had all changed dramatically.
CFK: What 3-5 things are essential for you for juggling family and work and staying sane?
MA: Dora the Explorer at 8am and 5pm; my daily phone call to my Mum, Audrey; my weekly training regime with crèche at Damien's studio; my 5pm Sauvignon Blanc; lifting kids over fence to my darling neighbour, Rebecca when having mummy meltdown.
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