Born from Stars - MADELEINE
Nestled at home amongst cosy, cashmere knits sits Madeleine and her beautiful children, Evie & Felix. As Felix plays with RUUSK rings, older sister Evie watches on, amused and intrigued.
We joined them to chat about all things motherhood and creativity.
“Wow, meeting both of my children for the first time was exhilarating,” Madeleine says.
“Everyone tells you how much you’ll love your kids, but feeling that fierce, unyielding love for the first time is extraordinary. Whenever I need a mental hug I think back to a day at Neilsen Park a couple years ago when Felix was about 6 months old and Evie was almost 3…"
“It was early morning, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. I was feeding Felix with my feet in the sand and Evie was splashing around in the water with Andy in front of me, and I remember thinking how beautiful life can be and that I had to somehow hold on to that moment. I closed my eyes and pictured it in my mind, and now it’s the special memory that I keep replaying over and over. I’ll treasure it forever.”
For Madeleine, motherhood means treasuring every little experience she shares with Evie & Felix.
“Children have such a huge thirst for knowledge and everything is new and exciting. To be with them and watch them delight in something as simple as a lizard sunning itself on the footpath, or teaching them to put on their shoes is such a thrill.”
“I think as adults we lose sight of how important each little moment can be, and spending time with my kids helps me to remember that. Children have such an enormous capacity for love, empathy and acceptance. It is something that I am hoping they hold on to as they grow.”
She’s also lucky enough to be surrounded by strong females who have become guiding stars in her motherhood journey.
“Mum has taught me that I need to be patient with myself and that life is not always perfect and that is OK. If I can teach my kids to be kind to themselves, and to accept change and to think outside the box if things don’t go the way they planned, I think that is a pretty good start to life.”
“I have never been a super spontaneous person, I was always a planner, but the moment you are holding your baby in your arms, all capacity for structure kind of goes out the window. One of the hardest things for me in the first weeks of motherhood was adjusting to that change, but I decided to embrace it and found that generally being a mum has made me more relaxed and able to delight in the little moments.”
Madeleine is a creative soul and those little moments certainly help in maintaining a creative spark. From her knitwear label Campbell & Co to painting and crafting with her children, creativity is an important part of life for their family. Evie & Felix are even helpful in the design process!
“Evie loves painting and colour, and she always has an opinion on what colours I should be using. We all really love hanging out and being cosy together, which really is the ethos of my business. I love that I can create a little bit of cosy in people’s lives.”
Each day brings something new, but for Madeleine that is part of the joy of motherhood. For us, watching on and seeing the beauty in this little family tells us there is truth to the universe showing itself in humanity – and we certainly are all born from stars.
