Take 5 With... Alessandra Eddy & Laura Hannan, Founders Luna Atelier
Meet the mums taking pyjama chic to the street with their luxe fashion range. They share they're style and business tips PLUS what's next...
What do you do when you're a new mum living in gym clothes, operating on little sleep and constantly doing happy laps around the park to get your baby to sleep? Well if you're Alessandra Eddy and Laura Hannan, the stylish mum duo behind "The Tailored Sleepware" brand Luna Atelier, you conjure up the idea to launch a line of chic 100% silk pyjamas that you can take from the bedroom to the street. In the exclusive chat with the entrepreneur mums, we talk all things juggling a startup business with motherhood, to top tips for nailing pyjama chic and what's next for Luna Atelier. Who run the world? Me thinks, mums - in pyjamas no less!
How did Luna Atelier come about?
We have always been career driven, brought up in hard working, entrepreneurial households. We seized the opportunity when we became mothers to unite and build a business that enabled us to bring to life our love of sleepwear, creating and fulfilling the desire to make women feel empowered in what they wear not only during the day but while they sleep.
Why did you want to create a luxury sleepwear range?
Whilst there are sleep wear brands in the Australian market, we are lacking a more refined and elegant offering. We wanted to offer that next level of sophistication for women as more and more we see the trap of going to bed in an old t-shirt which doesn’t do any favours! Women should feel fabulous when they go to bed, just as they do when they walk out the door ready to begin their day.
Where do you draw your design inspiration from?
The design is derived from many creative facets such as inspiring travel destinations, interiors with a focus on a variety of period styles and old world leading ladies, think the glamazons of Hollywood and fascinating European women.
How long did it take the business of the ground from inception to production?
From the idea generated (brainstormed over endless walks getting the babies to sleep) to our first sale on our e-boutique was 18 months. Days and long nights were spent working on the detail, no stone was left unturned from our branding to finished garments. Extensive research and development into the construction and manufacturing finishes was worked through meticulously to ensure we delivered a luxury, well finished product right through to our customer service experience.
What has been the most challenging part of launching a label?
Managing our time, juggling building our business and prioritising our families, as many women can relate.
What has been the most rewarding part?
Seeing our brand out in the market place, there is nothing better than making women feel fabulous and seeing this whether it be on social media to walking down the street! We have received such lovely feedback from customers on the details of our product and their shopping experience with us.
Pyjama chic is quite the trend at the moment – what are your top tips for taking sleepwear to the street?
Alessandra: It’s not as daunting as one might think! Our sleep wear is cut on the reverse, so the glossy side of the silk sits on the skin. When you team one of our pyjama shirts with jeans, it looks like a tailored silk shirt. This is my everyday go-to look and in summer swap the jeans for shorts.
For the full head to toe look, I love seeing our customers in their pyjamas with amazing heels and big jewels, its such a standout look. I’m looking forward to wearing our pyjama shirt with matching shorts as a safari set this summer.
Laura: From someone who is less daring, it’s not only convienient but paired with an understated wardrobe staple it can dress up an outfit into a fabulous ensemble! I love wearing our camisole tucked into a high wasted skirt with a pair of heels out to dinner or more recently worn casually with some denim shorts and ballet flats walking the streets of NY.
Pyjama Dressing can be worn in full or you can take a more subtle approach and mix and match it into your wardrobe, the key is do what your comfortable doing, if your like me you will end up in a full Serengeti jumpsuit, its addictive!
How do you juggle motherhood and with a business?
Alessandra: There are 24 hours in the day, you have to make each one count!
Laura: The key for me is to prioritise tasks for both personal and business. Organisation and structure is key for me to get everything done, I’m a big list maker!
What are your must-have fashion pieces?
Alessandra: A silk shirt goes with everything and you can even wear it as a jacket. My go-to’s are Christian Louboutin’s Pigalle plateau heels and a bejewelled clutch (even for the day).
Laura: For any season silk pants are my staple, paired with a Valentino strap flat in summer or Christian Louboutin platform for nights out, they are a stand out for work meetings or nights out. I never leave home without a statement bag.
What’s next for Luna Atelier?
Exciting times! Our second collection will be on the way with new and exciting styles added to the staple range, along with more opulent prints and classic colours. Also after much demand we will see mens in 2018 as part of Luna Atelier!
