Role Mamas

Focus is a trait both entrepreneurs and mothers need to have in spades. That’s something jewelry artist Lorraine West knows first hand; she’s bootstrapped her line of fine jewelry since 1999 and became a mother to a bright and equally artistic little man in 2010. West’s client list boasts some of the biggest names in music, but to hear her tell it, it was becoming a mother that has given her the confidence she needs to take her line to the next level. West spoke with mater mea about how she’s determined to expand her two lines of jewelry, thanks to the birth of her 2-year-old son, Solomon.

"What now?" It’s a question many stay-at-home moms have wondered as their newborns become toddlers, and then children going off to full days of school. Former corporate world veteran Judia Black decided to found enJoie, a food and wine lifestyle media company after almost a decade out of the corporate world. Yet her journey is marked by great losses. Black spoke with mater mea about moving past one of the hardest things a mother can go through to create the career of her dreams.

Motherhood comes with a certain level of expected sacrifice—a natural shift in priorities that most moms will say happens as soon as a baby arrives. But how many of your personal goals should you put aside in order to be a present mother? Lindsey Caldwell has been walking along that tightrope for a year. The DJ spoke with mater mea about reshaping what her career can look like as she balances being a great mother to her incredibly sweet 1-year-old son, Henry.

In the age of Google and iPhones, it’s hard to remember a time when basic information wasn’t readily available, especially for a life experience as universal as pregnancy. Latham Thomas created Mama Glow, a full-service holistic pregnancy outfit to address it. Thomas spoke with mater mea about how she created a revolution in maternal health that has attracted stars like singer Alicia Keys and actress Tamera Mowry-Housley.

Associate professor of fine art at Parsons The New School for Design, heralded artist with showings at the Whitney and MoMA, celebrated author, and—oh yeah —hands-on mother Coco Fusco, 52, has a lot on her plate. And while she makes the work-life-mom balance look easy, Fusco freely admits it’s anything but. Fusco talks with mater mea about whether or not women can really have it all at her son Aurelio’s seventh birthday party.

Work-life balance. It's a concept more women are concerned with as they find themselves juggling two ostensibly 24/7 positions: being a mom and working full time. While Trenesa Stanford-Danuser, 43, admits she's far from having all the answers, she's found a way to make her job as a vice president at the Estée Lauder company fit with her life as a wife and mom to Dylan, 11, and Romon, 4.