- Please introduce yourself: Name, what do you do & how many children you have.
I’m Rachel Carrell, the CEO of Koru Kids. I’ve got two children, a 2 year old and a 6 year old.
- How do you manage to juggle work and life balance as a mother?
With a lot of help! I think it’s impossible to be a full time working mum without a lot of support around you. As I’m from New Zealand and all my family’s still back there (sob), I rely on our amazing nanny and of course my husband. Not gonna lie though, it’s often difficult. I’ve got the wrinkles to prove it.
- What top tips would you give to any working mum?
Lots of mums want to work part time, but in the past it’s always been very difficult to find part time childcare. That’s one of the reasons I set up Koru Kids in the first place – I thought, ‘there must be a better way!’
My other top tip is to embrace the voice note. If you’re short on time, it’s much quicker than writing an email or arranging a phone call. I do voice notes with my team all the time. It feels personal but is also efficient, which is a winning combo.
- What do you love most about London? Do you have a favourite spot with your children?
My favourite thing about London is how many parks and woods there are. Especially during the pandemic, as we don’t have a garden of our own, we’ve been spending so much time there. I especially love Highgate Wood – with a fantastic playground and lovely café — and Queens Wood, which is ancient and feels magical.
- How do you define quality ‘me-time’?
Time when I get to totally relax. It’s not just about lying down and reading a book – although that could be part of it! – it’s more importantly the knowledge that you have permission to do so, that no one’s going to pop up and say Mummyyyyyyyyy… That’s when you can really breathe out and let yourself recover.
- What is your favourite & least favourite thing about parenthood?
My favourite thing is how ever-changing it is. The kids are constantly learning new things from the day they’re born. They never lose their capacity to surprise you. And my least favourite thing is how utterly relentless it is. Especially when you have more than one! There is just no downtime, ever. That’s why it’s so critical to have support around you.
- Tell us something people don’t know about you.
I love experimenting while I’m cooking. A lot of my experiments are failures! But I can’t resist. I don’t think I’m capable of following a recipe from start to finish without changing something to see what will happen.
- Given we are all about embracing Motherhood, what advice would you give a first time Mum?
Line up a good night nanny ahead of time – it is the best money you will ever spend in your life!
- I’m a mum and……
- Finally, please let us know what you love most about Kensington Mums?
It’s so important to find your mum crowd! Kensington Mums does an amazing job at creating a real community.
Read more inspiring interviews as part of our online motherhood exhibition and get in touch to share your story with us. We would love to hear from you.
