Mustard Made

My amazing journey at Mustard Made is coming to an end after 5 incredible years as I step away to spend more time with my little girl crew. I couldn’t let it slide without sharing some of what the last 5 years has taught me, because every experience we have in life forms us, builds us + makes us who we are. 💛 I’ve brought Mustard core values into my daily life, always trying to be kind, honest and helpful wherever I can - and remembering that we only see a small part of someones world 💛 Being a Mummy gives me super powers - I can prioritise better, problem solve + accomplish more in an hour than the average. Being championed by my colleagues has made me see that 💛 I’ve learnt how to be an effective and considerate manager and how best to communicate feedback while also receiving feedback myself. I will miss the team members that I’ve managed so much 🥹 💛 Taking time to “sharpen that axe” - taking a break sometimes is needed for the mind + soul and means you can return to a task refreshed + with a sharper mind. There’s no point attempting chopping wood with a blunt axe! (thanks Kate) 💛 Take the time to slow down + think through all the options - a fully formulated + strategic plan is better than a half thought through one 💛 You’re always tougher than you think - apparently it’s possible to homeschool your kids + do your day job - if you have a supportive boss + team around you (ah the Covid memories) 💛 Last but by no means least, Mustard has taught me that it’s ok to prioritise your mental health when you need to - it’s ok to not be ok 🫶🏻 From truly being a start-up, working out of Jess’s Dad’s office + being one of only 3 members of the UK team, to lockdown times, then 2 office moves as we grew bigger, launching in the USA, launching new colours then launching new products, 2 trade shows in Paris and hundreds of other magical moments….thanks for everything Jessica Stern + Rebecca Stern and my wonderful team. And if in doubt, always remember…. “You got this” 💛

Jess and I are not the most likely candidates for running a multinational business. I studied conceptual art at uni and became a mum at 21, then a single mum for 5 years and I’ve never had a proper grown-up job in my life. Jess survived school with dyslexia, sidestepped uni, and went into a job as a fashion buying assistant. Yet somehow – perhaps exactly because it was so unexpected that Mustard would be a success – we began anyway and we threw ourselves head first into the idea of building a business big enough to pay the two of us a wage. Skip forward 6 years and we now not only have a team of more than 30 and customers all over the globe, but our husbands both left their careers to steer the ship with us. That was certainly not what any of us expected! As a business built on metal lockers, glass was not a material we originally planned to work in, but the idea for an elevated range came into focus and glass was the scary new horizon. We knew it would represent a whole new chapter for us and open up so many (glass!) doors to new customers. But the journey to Glass really gained momentum a year and a half ago, when an unexpected person forced their way into our lives. Out of the blue, Jess received the most beautiful, handmade envelope with a resume for a product designer inside. We were not planning to hire a product designer at the time but I said Jess should call her and arrange a meeting anyway, just because, you never know. So Kate came to our office for a casual chat and Jess hired her on the spot. For me, having Kate in our team is like being given the gift of speaking five new languages overnight. She’s opened up the world to us and all the ideas we were stashing in our too-hard basket have been moved to the to-do list. When Kate started with Mustard, she inherited some early-stage prototypes that we were struggling to move forward. Over the next year, with her skills and relentless tenacity, we solved every single problem. How to make the lock fit in the thin frame of the door (a custom-made lock,) how to prevent the glass touching the metal (tiny custom brackets,) how to elevate the design and bring in the signature brand moments we are known for (mustard medallion handles and the cutest mustard keyring.) Together, we travelled to China and begged our factory to do things they told us were impossible. And they did! The Glass Collection is the next chapter in our story. An elevated range that puts a spin on what a locker can be. Jess and I have a saying we always return to: It’s all about the people. So while we are celebrating The Collector, The Mixer, The Kit and The Flutes, what I see when I look at them is the people that made them. As our Glass Collection makes its way into homes around the world, it will also become about the people that make these pieces their own. I can’t wait to see something that was once our wildest dream, brought to life.

This week, I received an email that made me cry. Don’t worry – they were happy tears! Starting a business is such a leap of faith into the unknown, and six years ago when Jess and I were taking our first steps as Mustard, we could never have dreamed of what was to come. To celebrate Pride this year, we created our very first limited-edition product: our newest locker The Standard, in a custom Rainbow colourway. We partnered up with LGBTIQ advocacy group Outright International, donating 50% of the sale of every Rainbow Standard to Outright. To say we were a little nervous would be an understatement. We weren’t sure how this product would be received, but with a deep breath, our fingers crossed and our hearts focused on the cause, we launched her into the world – and were absolutely blown away when she sold out globally in record time! After some quick thinking we managed to organise a second run of pre-orders, which were snapped up like Taylor Swift tickets too! A couple of weeks ago, we were able to transfer our total donation amount to Outright: a sum of $75,400AUD. Yep. That’s $51,000USD, £39,400, or €46,900. When I saw those numbers, it made me think of a time in my life where that amount of money felt wildly out of my reach. As a single parent, working every weekend at markets and selling on Etsy, I never would have believed that one day, I'd be in a position to not only make that kind of sum, but to actually be able to gift that amount to a cause I care about. It feels like a dream! So, why the tears? It was an email from Andrew at Outright, acknowledging receipt of our donation (receipts may have made me cry before, but this was different.) Andrew wrote “as anti-LGBTIQ backlash continues to threaten our movement's progress and jeopardize the safety of our communities around the world, your support could not come at a more important time. With Mustard's generous contribution, Outright will continue to work at the global, regional, and local levels – especially in the world's most under-resourced communities – until LGBTIQ people at every corner of the globe can enjoy full human rights and fundamental freedoms, living authentically without fear of persecution.” We’ve always said that Mustard is about more than lockers. Being able to contribute this amount to a cause that means so much to us, really puts everything in perspective. This is definitely my proudest Pride ever. 🌈 💛