By Jenny Sharpless, founder of WA’s HyperLuxe on work and motherhood
Whoever declared that business and family don’t mix obviously never spent a day at HyperLuxe.
One of the most important things to me and my family is spending quality time together; we especially love being active and staying fit and healthy. After I beat cervical cancer nearly two decades ago, we have never taken our health for granted since. It’s one of the reasons we opened HyperLuxe Activewear; to combine our love for fitness, fashion and family.
We initially considered opening a healthy food outlet before we realised that our love of fashion far outweighed our love of cooking. Myself and my two daughters, Cassie and Madi, always wanted to go into business together, it was just a matter of deciding what. We thought of preparing and serving healthy food, but to do it all day and then go home and do the same for family dinner… As you can imagine, the idea soon lost its appeal.
We set out to create a retail destination where fellow Perth fitness fanatics and active wear devotees could discover outfits that could take them from a gym class to a catch up with friends at a local cafe. We often worked out together, and loved the feeling of going from yoga to coffee whilst looking and feeling good. That’s when the thought of sharing that with others sparked and HyperLuxe was born.
I have many ‘proud Mum moments’, and to think they are only 21 and 23, I often stop and smile to myself when I hear them chatting/socialising with our customers and watching them attend brand showings asking questions regarding fit, fabric composition, payment terms etc…
I love the fact that they are as passionate as I am about providing the ability to find something suitable for our customers no matter their age, size, budget or fitness level. This is something that is extremely important to us – everyone deserves to live the best, healthiest life they can whilst looking stylish and comfortable.
I have treasured every stage of life with the girls but I have to admit if I could, I’d like to freeze time at this moment as they are not only my daughters, but they are also my best friends and I love hanging with them.
I want to empower my daughters to think work is good and necessary. And can even lead them to the road of their dreams.
Here’s my advice for my daughters:
1 //
“If you can be anything, be nice.”
2 //
“Treat everyone as equal.”
3 //
“Trust me, there’s no better job than being a mum.”
4 //
“If you marry a man who is even half the man your Dad is, you will be truly blessed.”
5 //
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
6 //
“Avoid taking on too much stress as it’s not good for your health.”
You might also like: 6 easy (non-beauty) ways to indulge in self-care, 5 inspiring mamas to help you kickstart the week, and We’re throwing in the 9-to-5 for life on the road with a 1-year-old.
