We are thrilled to be featuring Morgan Hutchinson for the Mompreneur spotlight today! Morgan is the founder and owner of Shop BURU, which designs chic, glamorous and totally functional attire for nursing and post-pregnancy moms. Morgan’s aim is to help new (and seasoned) moms feel and look their best, during breastfeeding, baby, and beyond!
GG: How did you decide to launch your business? Tell us a little more about Shop BURU.
MH: When my baby girl was just a few days old, it became blatantly obvious to me that the bulk of my wardrobe wasn’t going to work— for nursing, for my post baby body changes or for (countless) spit-up catastrophes! My husband and I had just moved back to the US from an almost 4 years stint in Beijing. We landed in my tiny hometown in Kentucky to be with family for the birth of our daughter. While it was fantastic to be near those we love most at this special time, it was quite challenging to go from a city of 25 million (with shopping galore) to a city of 25,000 with extremely limited options.
With a background in fashion—from designing lingerie to styling photo shoots in China, I couldn’t accept the fact that my style should change just because I became a mom. I also couldn’t accept the fact that most nursing clothes were sold exclusively within maternity stores—destinations that I did not look forward to revisiting for a while.
With the help and support of my husband, I began scouring the racks of department stores (a 2-hour drive away I might add) to find tops and dresses with easy access to nurse and silhouettes to accommodate my new shape (aka my out of control nursing boobs). It was time consuming and frustrating (plus it was so easy to be distracted and tempted by all the amazing styles that wouldn’t work for my new phase of life).
Brett saw and appreciated the challenges I faced and together we began to brainstorm about a solution. 8 weeks after Olive was born we traveled to NYC to a wholesale market to hunt for brands and styles that would work. With freshly printed business cards emblazoned with BURU (the mandarin word for breastfeed), a dose of “ignorance is bliss” and absolutely NO working website—we took to the streets and turned my pipe dream into a reality.
SHOPBURU—the online destination for elevated and functional #momstyle will turn 3 this September!
GG: How do you balance work and family?
MH: Ha ha! What’s balance? Honestly, aren’t we all just winging it every day. The truth is that it’s my family that keeps me balanced—my husband’s arms, my daughter’s giggles…they ground me. I am not me without them, yet I also not me without my goals, my hopes, my dreams. Balance for me is the big picture. Perhaps everyday is not a perfect legal scale measurement, but if I get to tuck my happy little Olive in at night with songs and stories and then fall asleep in Brett’s arms, then I am good—no matter how bad, chaotic or insane the day was.
GG: What’s the best part of being an mompreneur?
MH: I love this question! I am often asked what the worst part is, but it is SO much better to focus on the good. And the good for me is huge. Let’s start with my favorite—I get to take Olive to ballet class, I get to pick her up from school, I get to volunteer in her class and I don’t have to ask anyone for permission! I may not get to do it every time, but it’s my choice, my decision and I am so grateful. This doesn’t mean there are not times when work/BURU gets in the way—of course it does, but at least the only guilt I feel is self-inflicted. It doesn’t also come from a BOSS!
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