When I have conversations with women my mothers' age about what I do for work, I'm often met with "I wish I had that with my babies". This concept got me thinking, as I feel like many of us intimately connect with our mothers' journeys once we have children of our own. We realise that their journeys were so similar to ours and while they may have had a village, we have technology.
The more I thought about this, the more I felt that BreastFriend had a place to honour these women, our mothers, and connect the mother of today to the mother of yesterday and the creative concept for the Pump Your Mum Wished She Had was born.
The vision came to me quickly: the 80s, a red car, fashion, a mother and this new technology. My first port of call was my good friend Juudit, who is a mother but also an editorial model who's worked on international campaigns. The whole vision around the campaign was her, the mother, Elsie's mum, I saw her in every image I was designing in my mind. And I was so excited when I got her message back saying "Hey gal, oh my gosh I LOVE this!!" and I knew we were going to make it happen!
From there, it was a journey to finding the right car, which led me down a rabbit hole of contacting any vintage car owner in the area, ideally a red one, and thankfully we hit the jackpot when a local offered their car up for the shoot. Subsequently I locked in Sita from Beauty Tribe NZ, a local make-up artist, a mother but also one of the Breastie māmās who came with her little man Navi - who's now 6 months old - and absolutely nailed the make-up concept.
From a styling perspective, I had a clear vision, and if you followed along on Instagram, you know that I actually reached out to you all in stories to get your thoughts on the outfits. I was very lucky to be supported by Recycle Boutique Tauranga for this, and we managed to use some of their gorgeous second hand pieces for our shoot. The Breasties themselves were dressed up, and a handmade case was brought in made by my mother in law, Kay, from The Eye Of A Needle.
While the images are undeniably editorial, Juudit’s personal journey as a mother is what truly brings this campaign to life.
It is easy to look at a stunning, slim model and assume her path to motherhood was effortless. But that is the illusion I want to fight against. In talking with Juudit about her own experience, it’s clear that motherhood is the great equaliser.
Like so many of us, Juudit shared that her early postpartum journey was far from easy. She faced the same sleepless nights, drowned in her milk supply and the same travel challenges that every breastfeeding mother knows, including feeding in unsanitary conditions like on the floor of an airplane.
Seeing Juudit in these photos isn’t about unrealistic standards; it’s about reclaiming your space. When we talked about the campaign’s retro aesthetic, Juudit shared that it felt like a direct nod to her own mother. Her mum wasn't able to nurse her first baby, so for six months, she exclusively hand-expressed because there simply weren't any pumps available to her back then. Hearing about her mum’s resilience, her absolute commitment to breastfeeding despite the lack of tools, gave this entire shoot a deeper meaning for both of us.
Juudit is a testament to the fact that while the tools have changed, the grit of motherhood remains the same. As she put it: "Pumping is rarely glamorous, but it’s fun that it can be. You truly can pump anywhere, any time, with the Breasties!"
A Note on the Shoot
This shoot was a labor of love, grit, and a little bit of fashion-forward thinking. It felt fun and effortless, in a way it was two friends hanging out, taking some cool photos, and trying to change the narrative for the next generation of mums but the result is, I think, much deeper than that. Many mothers were directly or indirectly involved and their energy translates through the images.
Creative Direction: Marie-Claire Houtsmuller / @breastfriend.co.nz
Photography: Marie-Claire Houtsmuller / @mini.piccies + @breastfriend.co.nz
Model: Juudit Breakey (my dear friend) / @juuditbreakey
Make-Up: Sita Engling / @beautytribenz
Styling: Marie-Claire Houtsmuller / @breastfriend.co.nz + Recycle Boutique Tauranga / @recycleboutiquetauranga
Location: Plummers Point Rd, Whakamarama, Tauranga, New Zealand.
Special thanks to Craig Bettjeman's gorgeous Holden Monaro 1987 for the vintage backdrop.
