Bug and Forest

I headed to Saffron Walden on one of those cold autumnal days to visit the founder of Bug clothing and photograph her for my ‘Creative Mothers’ project. In her cosy studio set in the countryside Bug not only creates beautiful garments, but also memories with her daughter Forest. Being there with them, eating croissants and drinking tea, I was fortunate to document the deep connection between a mother and her child as well as a mother and her work.

‘My biggest fear when finding out that I was going to become a mother was how would I keep up my work which I love so much.’ – Bug

‘My identity was so tied into my business and the worry of that being compromised terrified me. I didn’t know until the moment she was born that I wouldn’t care so much about that and that I would become a better businesswoman because of it - I had no choice but to be savvier with my more limited time. Forest came to the studio with me from just a couple of weeks old as I’d attempt to get an order sent or a sample finished, I also had a sewing machine at home and would work on small projects whilst awake at 5am with a tiny newborn who wanted milk and to be attached to me full time. It was a huge lesson in surrender, she was more important than my work and I realised more and more that there was no timeline for my achievements, things would happen as and when they should.’

As she grew I adapted my studio to be able to work with her alongside me, we went from a Moses basket to a travel cot to floor mats, sometimes I would end up spending so much time setting up so that she could play independently so that I could do a moments work that I would wonder why I bothered because it was so hard, but on occasion when it worked it felt dreamy. I didn’t have the choice to take time off from my work because I had to financially support myself and I sometimes felt a bit jealous of people who were able to fully focus on their babies for a chunk of time, but I look back so fondly on sewing between feedings and cuddling and stopping her from trying to eat pins. Hopefully she’ll one day be really proud of me and us and what we’ve achieved.