The Post Supply had the privilege of speaking with Kate Parfet about her new business, the messy beauty of motherhood, creativity, and the unstrained art of paying attention.
Kate Parfet is a writer, founder, model, and creative based in Los Angeles. She recently co-founded Wiggle Room, a creative marketing and events studio for parents and brands shaping modern family life. Her poetry, art, and photography book, Milking a Duck, traces her journey of becoming a mother while exploring reproductive health, trauma, and healing.
Read on for our energizing conversation.
TPS: We have been in awe of you and all you do for many years. We first came across your work and life through the lens of your beautiful home. Can you speak to how you emphasize living beautifully in the everyday?
KP: For me, living beautifully is really about paying attention. Not in a perfect or styled way, but in the small things that make everyday life feel a little nicer. Flowers from the yard. A warm towel from the dryer. Making a simple dinner feel special.
Since becoming a mother, that feels even more true. Beauty can’t be too precious, or it sort of misses the point. It has to survive a toddler, a snack, a mess, a bad mood. I’m much more interested in a life that feels alive than one that looks perfect.
TPS: Wiggle Room is the new creative marketing studio you have co-founded. We love the community that you have created, where parents and brands connect. Can you tell us the role you want your company to play in making the world a better place to be a woman, raise children, and be creative?
KP: Wiggle Room grew out of conversations Emma and I kept having. We both have young kids, and we realized we weren’t seeing ourselves or our friends reflected in the way parents were being spoken to. Parents don’t suddenly stop caring about culture or creativity because they have kids. They still care about fashion, design, beauty, travel, food, and interesting ideas.
We wanted to build something that reflected that. We work with lifestyle brands through the lens of modern parenthood. It’s less about a category and more about a stage of life.
TPS: Can you speak to the challenges, inspirations, and earned knowledge that comes from being a mother as well as a founder? How do you support yourself as you continue to grow into all the roles you need to fulfil, often simultaneously?
KP: Motherhood and building a business are both humbling. They both ask a lot of you, and usually at the same time.
Becoming a mother has made me much clearer about what matters. I have less patience for work that feels empty and more appreciation for work that actually means something or brings people together. I’m probably more ambitious than I used to be, but less interested in proving myself.
I try to build a life with good people around me. Great collaborators, childcare, walks, friends, humor. And accepting that not everything has to be done perfectly. Some days I feel stretched in a good way, and some days I feel stretched too thin. I’m still figuring out the difference.
Explore Wiggle Room at wearewiggleroom.com and on Instagram.