Earlier this Fall, I received an invitation to interview Rebecca Minkoff before her meet & greet event at Neiman Marcus – Austin.  Rebecca Minkoff is an industry leader in accessible luxury handbags, accessories, footwear and apparel.  Her playful and subtly edgy designs can be spotted around the world on young women and celebrities alike.

Guests enjoyed light bites, cocktails, and hip beats while shopping a well-curated selection of Minkoff’s Fall ’16 line across all categories.  The space was full of booties with embroidery and clutches with colorful tassels!  A local artist was on-hand customizing pieces with monogramming, plus the designer herself signed purses for fans.  At first I was a little embarrassed to bring in my ancient canvas & leather tote, but turns out  Minkoff loved seeing this little blast from the past (it’s like 9 years old & bears her old logo)…and she even snapped a pic of it to share with her team!

Meeting her up close & personal was such a fun opportunity!  She is everything you’d imagine an international fashion designer to be:  tall, slender, styled all fashion-forward, but totally funny & charming, too.  She runs a legit major fashion line with her brother and seemingly rocks her role of wife & mom, too.  Of course, I couldn’t help but ask her about being a mom:

–What’s one thing every mom should have in her M.A.B.? (the ‘Morning After Bag’ that propelled her brand into the limelight)

RM:  A paci and silver gel.

–Silver gel?  Never heard of it!  Is that like colloidal silver?

RM:  Yes, it’s like this (gestures to a bottle of Purell on our table) but it’s natural.  It’s great for kids because they’re always touching everything.  You can put it on their fingers and just under the nose.

{Awesome tip for keeping the little ones healthy, right?  Apparently it has powerful antimicrobial properties.  Check out some brands & types of silver gel here on Amazon.}

–So I read somewhere that asking a woman “How to you balance it all?” is the new “What are you wearing?”  …I still think it’s a very relevant question for moms, so I’ll go ahead and ask it anyway.

RM:  It’s relevant because we’re all hoping someone has the answer, hoping someone’s got it all figured out.

–That’s comforting to hear that maybe even someone a successful as you is still perhaps feeling the same way as the rest of us!  You totally seem to have it all together, though.  What’s a mom-to-mom life hack you can share?

RM:  Hmm, that’s a hard one!  I try to do a very conscious job of not fitting kids into a mold.  I let them be free as kids, rather than this force of boxing them in.  I try & stay calm…just be a sea of calm, because they feed off how you react.  Comfort is greater than sympathy.