MyShowcase CEO Nancy Cruickshank

MEET OUR INSPIRATIONAL MOTHERS

Nancy Cruickshank CEO MyShowcase.com

Can you tell us a bit about your business and family?

I am married to Jim, who I met aged 19 at University in Leeds! We have two amazing daughters (aged 10 and 9) together and we're also the proud parents of Holly (miniature schnauzer) and Lola (Jack Russell)! We live in London and occasionally, escape to Devon where we have a small idyllic cottage by the sea. My business is called MyShowcase, think Avon meets Space NK! It's a new beauty retail business that I launched with my business partner, Kate Shapland (Telegraph Beauty Editor) in June 2012. We sell 25 gorgeous independent beauty brands (including the gorgeous Beatitude) via a network of incredibly talented female entrepreneurs - who we call MyShowcase Stylists.

2. What do you do to relax?

I walk on the beach whenever I can. That might be in Devon or an early morning Sunday escape form London to West Wittering. Walking & larking about with our daughters and dogs on the beach liberates the mind & makes you feel amazing. Likewise, I practise Yoga once a week and I attend a 1-hour Mindfulness class with my lovely friend, Ellie. This is a fairly new thing for me - it's an extraordinary guided meditation experience, without judgement, and somehow incredibly regenerating & life-affirming. I feared it might all feel a bit mad & alternative before trying a class out, expecting to spend my hour instead thinking about all of the emails that I had to send back at the office. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was mind clearing, energising and clarifying. At the office, my team regularly tell me that I am at my best on a Friday after a session with Ellie!

3. What is your favourite Beatitude product and why do you like this ?

I love Joy & Patience bath oils. Joy is an all-round thing for me (I'm a fan of the body oil also) and Patience is my Winter bath oil supplement. I regularly drop oil into the bath and sink into the blissful relaxation that this creates. My daughters are fans too - they love the smell and want to steal my lovely little bottles!

 4. How will you be spending Mother's Day on 30th March?

With my family, no question! Hopefully we'll be enjoying a wonderful lunch together in Devon after a long dog-walk along the beach at Weston or tramping around on Dartmoor! 

Beatitude's Inspirational Mothers

On the run up to Mothers Day we are delighted to introduce you to our 2nd Inspirational Mother!

We have been lucky enough to meet and be inspired by Claudia through the Entrepreneurial Spark programme - which is a business accelerator programme for start up businesses - www.entrepreneurial-spark.com

Meet Beatitude's Inspirational Mothers

On the run up to Mothers Day this Sunday we are speaking to 3 Inspirational Mothers and finding out a bit more about them and asking which is their favourite Beatitude Product and why they like this so much.

                   

Carol Smilie, co-founder www.diarydoll.com

 

 1. Can you tell us a bit about your business and family?

My Company is called 'DIARY DOLL ' www.diarydoll.com

 We make a completely innovative product - the most amazing knickers for girls, with a secret, breathable, waterproof panel to help with problems with heavy periods, pelvic floor and post-maternity. They're washable, super soft and look and feel exactly like your favourite pants but nobody would know the difference!.

I'm married to Alex and am mum to three teenagers, Christie (19)  Robbie (16) and Jodie (14)

2.     What do you do to relax?

I walk my two black labradors (Jess & Ruby) and love pottering about the house, cooking and taking extra long baths!

3. What is your favourite Beatitude product and why do you like this?

My favourite is definitely the Patience Bath oil. It smells like a spa treatment and was wonderfully relaxing. I suppose as a mum of three, Patience was the most apt of all the names!

4.How will you be spending Mother’s Day on 30^th March ?

I'm a bit funny about things like Mother's Day, Valentine's Day etc. I'd far prefer treats when I don't expect them. On the day though, this sounds really bad, but I'll probably be either on my own (Alex is away motor racing that weekend) or chaperoning Jodie while she's busking!!  I really don't mind Alex not being around on the day, because he often does far more spontaneous gestures, like bringing me flowers for no  reason at all, cooking for me, taking me to the movies, or arranging a spa day out of the blue!  and I love watching Jodie busking, we have a laugh afterwards about some of the characters she meets!