From the outset, it’s obvious that Ash Owens, the gorgeous Auckland based blogger, adores her mother, Cath Owens. Peas in a pod, the duo share a wonderful rapport – and open affection for each other’s point of view. We chat to Ash about a life online and the pressures that comes from it. She tells us about her mum, their shared style and how she intends to spoil her this Mother’s Day.

Tell us about your mum…

My mum Cath is my absolute #1 best friend. She has been there for me through literally everything! All of the good and bad, she has always been there for me and will truly drop anything and everything to be there for me when I need her. I love her so much for that!

 

What is your favourite part about her?

She keeps me calm when I’m stressed, we have opposite personalities when it comes to stressing and worrying about things so my favourite thing is how well she puts things into perspective for me and calms me down when I’m worried!

 

What is the best thing she has passed on to you?

A big one is definitely her creativity; she has always loved fashion and art which is definitely something I got from her. She painted all of the artwork in our house and has always been really creative, and without that quality passed down I wouldn’t be doing what I do now!

 

Favourite thing to do together?

Brunch and shopping, predictable we know haha

 

How has your relationship evolved as you have got older?

We have always been close for as long as I can remember, but as we’ve gotten older we’ve definitely developed more of an adult friendship. We tell each other absolutely everything and go to each other when something is stressful at work, or with a friend or anything that we need advice on, all though of course she’s always the one giving advice!

 

You’ve mention she has picked out bits and pieces for your wardrobe, how much of your style has evolved from her (elaborate)

We both LOVE Autumn tones, terracotta, mustard and shades of brown have always been the types of colours that we both gravitate towards. She’s always loved earthy tones and I’ve definitely been influenced by that when it comes to my own style

 

Do you share much?

Pretty much everything excluding shoes and pants! We share handbags, tops and jackets

 

How will you be spoiling her this Mother’s Day?

I know that at the end of the day all Mum really wants is quality time, so we’ll be having a fun day out together brunching, and probably shopping!

 

THE SOCIAL WORLD –

It’s 2019 and we are on the cusp of equality and seamless diversity. Yet there is STILL SO MUCH TO DO. Do you feel pressure / social responsibility to use your platform to encourage this. (cultural diversity, gender equality, body image etc etc the list goes)

Yes absolutely, I feel like the sole purpose of having an online presence in 2019 is to discuss important topics and to ‘influence’ people to care about things that are important such as cultural diversity, gender equality and body image. They still love the fashion, beauty, travel and creative content, but social media users want more authenticity from the people they follow online so it’s really important for me to discuss topics that I often think about or want to create awareness about, otherwise there isn’t much point in doing what I do. It actually keeps both me and my followers engaged because my interests run further than beauty, fashion and travel! I also like to spark up conversations around things like smear testing, environmental sustainability and the idea of everyone taking social media responsibility by only following accounts that make you feel good and not blaming social media for all of our insecurities. 

 

Pressure in general can be overwhelming on a personal level, let alone public, how do you manage this?

I always stay true to myself, then there isn’t any pressure to ‘be’ a certain way publicly. I think if you were trying to be someone you’re not online, you would feel an insane amount of pressure to keep up that façade. I’m unapologetically myself, I post what I love, I allow my creativity to flow naturally rather than ‘trying’ too hard with it, I find maintaining an online presence actually comes very naturally. The only pressure I sometimes feel is to be creating more and more content, but I always tell myself that it’s all about quality over quantity! If I only get one blog post up per week, my readers are going to be fine with it! 

 

What motivates you in this space, and with the opportunities that come by how do you filter to stay true to your values?

When it comes to sponsored work opportunities or even gifting, if it’s not a brand I would purchase from or talk about organically without payment online, I won’t take on that that opportunity. This way of thinking makes it really easy to figure out when to say yes or no

 

Do you implement separation between your gram and personal life, or is it one of the same – that’s the point?

I absolutely have boundaries with Instagram, I don’t believe that I am entitled to share my entire life online. I share small bits of my family, relationship and offline friendships but I am really conscious of not sharing too much. I just think that sharing absolutely everything would feel really exposing and is actually unnecessary, I’m still 100% myself, so the bits I share are authentic and I think that’s enough to keep up an online presence and still feel connected with my readers

 

Travel!! Oh my gosh girl, we love coming along for the ride! Which handbag will you be taking? (/why?)

Oh me too!! My Frankie came with me to LA and she was the perfect bag that fitted everything but still has that great cross body strap! She’s coming on our big 4 month trip through the US and Europe as my main handbag

 

Cath Owens

Best part about being a mother

The best part is definitely seeing your child happy and successful and fulfilling their dreams. It’s also really fulfilling seeing them use the lessons you’ve taught them in life to navigate the world!

How has your relationship evolved as Ash has got older?

Our mother daughter relationship has developed into a true friendship which is wonderful. Our friendship is a no judgement zone, it’s been like that ever since Ash was a little, through her teens and onward to adulthood, I’ve always wanted her to feel like she could come to me about absolutely anything

What is it like watching Ash chase her dreams?

It’s the most amazing and rewarding thing to watch her enjoy life and love what she does for a living

We know motherhood comes in seasons, the unrelenting sleeplessness of the early days, then in the trenches of school, sport, homework, repeats, then those teen years (oh gosh do we even go there?) and then early adulthood… at what point did you start to find more space for yourself, and was there an identity shift? Talk us through finding purpose beyond your (now grown up) babies.

I definitely started to find more time for myself after Ash started school, when she started to develop friendships and interests of her own. I was able to go back into the work force and take up hobbies such as painting classes which gave me huge purpose as I think it’s great to have something else to do on top of a full time job and being a mother to keep life in balance and maintain your interests, especially if they’re creative.

What does your dream Mother’s Day look like (ill make sure Ash gets the memo ;p )

My dream Mother’s day would just be to spend quality time with Ash, nothing too crazy, we love to go for brunch!

What drew you to the Saben Fifi python handbag?

I absolutely love the unique styling of the bag, especially Autumnal colours! It will be in my wardrobe forever as a statement piece that will never go out of fashion