Kids on the coast

In precious downtime from her demanding media career, Kate made jewellery in her garage and, after her daughter’s birth, Kate was inspired by a set of antique letter stamps in her workshop to create a necklace that incorporated the baby’s name.

The innovative design was the very first Ubercircle, a unique piece that attracted the attention of friends, family and even strangers. Kate quickly built up a niche market, and in 2004 she launched Uberkate, a jewellery and design studio that now has a staff of six and a thriving client base.

Running a home-based business is not all plain sailing, but Kate says she and Adam now have a more balanced and flexible lifestyle which includes more time and closer relationships with their children – seven-year-old Lulu, and 18-month-old Cameron.
 
Why did you launch a jewellery business when you already had a successful career?

I had a fantastic 12 years in television and there was no big brainwave decision to start up a business. I was a travel producer at the time when I made my first set of Ubercircles. I was away from my family and I was wearing them every day when I was away. Whether I was overseas or travelling within Australia, people just started stopping me on the streets and asking me what they were and where did I get them from.
 
So I started juggling – still working in television and starting to make these circles for other people. To be honest, I really didn’t really understand the power of my circles for quite a long time, so I did juggle for probably six months. I still worked in television until the business just sort of took over.

My husband and I were both working on a TV show on Channel Nine at the time, and the show got axed. We both lost our jobs on the same day and we just decided to back ourselves and for me to set up the business. Adam went back to working in television, but we took a gamble at that point.
 
What’s the philosophy of Uberkate jewellery and what inspires your designs?

To connect people to the jewellery that they’re wearing. To connect them to their families and the people they love, by wearing their names embossed in precious metal.

I’m inspired by shapes and pieces that I find in nature, but every single piece that I make is to do with people’s names, birthdates, sentiments, mantras that people live by. It connects people, and those pieces become family heirlooms – they become so much more important than any other piece that you could wear.
 
How do you balance the demands of running a business with being a mother?

For the first couple of years I found it really hard. I worked really ridiculous hours and I worked around the clock at various times of the year. I didn’t have any help then. I was the mum up till three o’clock in the morning making jewellery and then heading off to work, still at Channel Nine. So, there wasn’t balance in the beginning.

I’d much prefer to be completely honest with your readers and say it’s not always a sunshine day – sometimes it’s really, really hard, and you do have to take risks – you’ve got to back yourself. In terms of balancing that with being a mother, your kids always win out – they just do.

Part of the juggling is having a good support network if you can. Not everyone is blessed enough to have their parents around or in a capacity that they can help, or their siblings, but definitely, getting a support network helps with the juggle. The juggle is constant and it never ends.

Have your family relationships changed since you started working from home?

I’ve got so much more time. Because I’m at home, my kids know that I’m here. If I’m not on the phone and the door’s not closed to the office, well, they’re just in and out. It’s part of their life. My daughter designs her own necklaces and already tells me she’s going to be taking over the business and calling it Uberlulu. So, definitely, there’s a closer relationship.

When I was travelling and trying to juggle having a child, I had a stressed-out child and I was stressed out and I had a stressed-out husband. So, pulling back from that kind of work has definitely allowed us more freedom, more relaxation, after the initial stress of finding our feet in a business.

Do you work well with your husband Adam?

I know it’s going to sound really daggy, but we are probably one of those freaky couples who can work together. We did work together in television before we set up the business as well, and somehow we just manage to bounce off each other. If he’s having a bad day, I’m having a good day and I can pull him up, and vice versa. I will admit to you though, that he’s been sacked four times by me, since he’s been working here.

He always gets rehired though. I had to give him a talk once, and I made sure that I sat on the high stool looking down on him and he was sitting on the low stool, and we had a performance review, which he thought was very, very funny. I guess making it fun worked for us.
 
What are the main advantages of self-employment for families?

Flexibility. We work long hours, but we can fit them in around our kids. My daughter got an award at assembly yesterday, so it was the middle of a work day and there were three people working here from home, but I was able to duck out and be there when that assembly was on. When I worked for Channel Nine or any of the TV networks, I didn’t have that flexibility. Having time back in your life, having control of what you can and can’t attend is really fantastic.

I’m not a business brain – I’ve had to learn the hard way. There have been high points and low points, and I wouldn’t change any of it. It’s not easy. Sometimes you tear your hair out, and other days you cry with happiness because of what you can achieve if you put yourself out there.

What’s been your biggest parenting challenge?

Cooking an evening meal. Just having time to think about dinner and preparing dinner every day, when both of us are working from home. We’ll work right up until the time that we can, which invariably means that the kids are starving and they start hounding us for dinner and we haven’t prepared that.

Adam and I try and plan – we try to take it in turns. He’s fantastic at five meals and that’s it. If you work his five meals into a two-week rotation with my five meals, everyone seems to get their vitamins and minerals and we’re all still alive
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What business advice can you share with other parents?

Research the marketplace, do your figures…and work out how much you can fit into your life. Don’t over-commit – put a toe in the water, and do some tests.

Find a mentor. Look around you and work out who you can ask for advice. Talk to your parents, aunts and uncles, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws and don’t be scared to ask the silliest questions…if you don’t ask, you’ll find out the hard way.

Remove your guilt gene…otherwise you’ll spend your whole life feeling guilty over everything. Remove the guilt and just give it a crack, give it your best shot. Sometimes it works, sometimes it won’t, but you can’t feel guilty over every single decision that you make for the business and for your family, because there will be good and bad days.
 
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
 
I see myself still running Uberkate. The thought of having a family business…and still designing and still carrying on building what we’re already doing, is exactly where I’d like to be.

Personally, I just want to be happy. I want to continue the balance, continue the journey. Part of setting up your own business is you want to be on a journey of being entrepreneurial, and just see how far you can take it. We’re constantly amazed at where we can take these little circles and that’s a thrilling journey to be on.

And so, to continue building on what we’re doing. We hope to be overseas by then – we’re already selling to overseas, but we want to have a presence in stores in the UK and the US within the next 10 years.

How do you relax as a family?
 
Our favourite way to relax is to hit golf balls around the backyard. We’ve got a little patch of grass out the back and we all love getting out there, (especially with the kids), just teaching them how to swing a club. We do a bit of daggy dancing as well. You’ve really got to bust a move, you’ve got to let yourself go and you’ve got to be taken back to the ‘80s, to be successful.


Kate’s favourite things

Rainy day activity: Watching movies, eating popcorn, and snuggling under doonas.
Fine day activity: Definitely the beach – we’re all very beachy people.
Holiday destination: Hyams Beach, on the NSW south coast – it’s beautiful.
Food: Chocolate and ice cream, and wine for the adults.
Movie: The Princess Bride – we just love it.