Mum on the Run

Today’s gorgeous mummy is Jess Clark, 28. She is a full time mum, a freelance blogger and stylist. Before having her first daughter Annabella (19months), she worked as a model and had various London based fashion design roles. Apart from fashion, which is a huge passion for her, she loves spending time with her family, going on walks in the countryside, listening to music, travelling and cooking. Have a look at her yummy mummy bible, Mumzy Not.

What was the last thing that made you cry?
Watching Forrest Gump last weekend. I love that film, It get’s me every time.

You are in an incredible shape. How do you keep fit?
I try to walk wherever possible – to the shops, to meet friends or walking the dog. I also do a spin class every Saturday and have just started one mid-week.I think running around after a toddler really helps though, as I don’t think I sit down all day for more than ten minutes! I am always happiest when busy, so that suits me pretty well. I don’t like doing nothing.

What are your wardrobe staples and favourite brands?
A good pair of jeans (I love Current/Elliot) and Jersey tops (plain and striped), a chunky knit,  leather skirt, my Alexander Wang jersey pants and an over-sized wool coat. I live in my navy one from Whistles that I brought last winter. I love Alexander Wang, Acne, Zimmermann and Marc Jacobs. Zara and Whistles are my favourites from the high street.

What 3 items of clothing would you advice pregnant women to buy?
A pair of hareem or jogger style pants (think Sports Luxe). Isabella Oliver do a fabulous pair and also get a Poncho style knit and a black jersey ruched dress.

What have you found the biggest challenge about being a mum?
Time management. I have so many things I want to do but never enough time. It’s hard trying to prioritise and to say no sometimes. Working for yourself means you have to work during every spare minute  usually the evenings. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. I can’t imagine having to leave Annabella behind to go and work full time in an office.

I feel I’ve been neglecting my poor little blog a bit recently, so I’ve decided to start posting a bit more regularly again. I’ve also come up with a new regular Monday post, Mama Matters, where I introduce you to some of the amazing mothers I’m lucky to know. It’s only fitting that for my first mummy interview, I’m talking to the founder of a new online magazine called MAMA…

Alice Harold is a 27 year old mum of Elfie, 2 years and Huxley 9 months. Before moving to Olney in Bucks, she used to work as a magazine marketer for Vice in London.(Bizarrely, we used to live next to each other in Shoreditch, but our paths never crossed. Or if they did, we were too drunk to remember it!) I met Alice about a year ago and she has become a great friend. She is beautiful, witty and kind. She writes openly about the ups and downs of motherhood on her blog More Than Toast.

Two weeks ago, I made a flying visit to Paris on a Sunday in order to meet Juha Marttila, who is the Accessories Design Director at Nina Ricci. He is a fellow Finn and a really genuine and lovely guy, who I have interviewed a few times before, most recently for my blog.

I was welcomed to a beautiful home just outside the city centre by Juha, his boyfriend Laurent, who works for YSL and their dog called Maito, which means milk in Finnish.

I enjoyed a day of chatting, home cooked food and playing with Maito whilst my photographer Aleksi Niemelä was hard at work taking photos of their home.

My interview will be out in a Finnish interior and design magazine called Divaani in the next couple of months and I’ll post a link on my blog so you can see the gorgeous pictures of their home for yourself. I was most jealous of their Sauna…

Photo Credit: Aleksi Niemelä

Hamelin D’abell started out as an aerobics instructor in the late 80s and moved on to teaching various classes from Circuit training to Pilates. In 1998 he launched The Hamelin D’abell Method, which is a new way of connecting mind and muscle by working through an intense amount of precise movements and exercises to deeply sculpt, stretch and strengthen the body. In November last year, he brought out a DVD that has been a huge success. I found out about the method through a friend who trained with Hamelin after giving birth to her first child. She said the method Hamelin used was an integral part of her getting back into shape. So being as curious as I am, I was dying to find out more…

You’ve been working in fitness for over 20 years. What have the biggest changes in the industry been, in your opinion?
The biggest change happened in the mid to late 90s when Madonna showed off her buffed shoulders and arms. Since then people started flocking to yoga studios in the hope of getting lean and toned without spending hours in the gym. The increased awareness of the mind body connection has certainly opened up a lot of new avenues in the fitness and movement industry.

Describe your method in a few sentences to people who have never heard of it.
The Method is very deep and the practitioner develops a very special relationship between the physical aspect of the workout as well as the mental one of the breath and focus used during the exercises. The exercises will pull in the features making the body strong, contoured, tight and flexible without the risk of getting bulky or injured.

How quickly can people expect to see results?
Usually in a matter of sessions. A lot people have transformed their bodies in as little as three weeks by following my Method. It works fast and yet everything is safe plus you feel fantastic afterwards.

Your DVD has sold out twice. Were you expecting such a great response?
Not at all! I was expecting to sell maybe 100 copies but have already sold 600 copies and I’m getting more and more requests from people all over the world. And all this is just by word of mouth from people who have seen the results of the Method. I am very flattered.

What makes your method so effective?
A lot of it comes down to experience. Having worked and taught in the movement/fitness industry for more than 20 years has given me a great understanding of movement, people, body types and the way the body responds to different types of movement. The effectiveness of the Method also comes down to the choice of exercises and the way they’ve been put together systematically to speed up the results.

You have a lot of international clients. How does that work in practice?
I design custom workouts on a three or six month subscription basis. Each month, I send my clients one or two new workouts based on my Method. Every workout is different, and the clients are seeing fantastic results without having to come to London which is where I’m based.

How important is diet to you and if you had to name three things that people should introduce to their diet, what would they be?
If people want to see real results then they need to start focusing on their diet. I focus more on a healthy balanced diet that’s wholesome and nourishing. Diets that restrict can often lead to obsession, which is what I see every day – and obsession isn’t healthy. In terms of three things that people should focus on in their diet, my choices would be 1) lean protein 2) more vegetables 3) green juices.

What is the next step for you and the Method?
I will be releasing some more workouts, which will be in download format rather than a DVD. I am also having an increased interest from A list names in Hollywood and my fan base is growing rapidly. It is all very exciting and it’s just the beginning too!