Life imitates art, and sometimes, art imitates life. As the two most influential women in EREDE founders’ Jeramie Hotz and Talia Shuvalov’s lives, it felt fitting to honour matriarchs Susan and Sandra as creative powerhouses in their own right this Mother’s Day. 

Both Jeramie’s mother, Susan, and Talia’s mother, Sandra, ran their own successful fashion businesses. For Susan, a textile design business, and for Sandra, her eponymous knitwear focused label. Both women worked side by side in a small Australian industry, but on their own journeys, interweaving their roles as mothers with that of industry pioneers. Sandra, with four children, and Susan with two daughters, each simultaneously managing businesses while juggling the demands of motherhood. 

“Mom has a quiet inner strength within her. It is at her core, wrapped by her warmth and love for us and our children. She has the most beautiful smile, a smile that brings joy to others. She reminds me of Milanese women, she has genuine sprezzatura!” says co-founder Jeramie of her mum, Susan. For Talia, it’s Sandra’s unwavering presence and love which she values so deeply. “My mother taught me that strength lives in the constancy of showing up again and again, through years that asked more of her than most could carry. She has held our family together not with force, but with devotion. Everything I understand about love and about what we carry forward begins with her.”

Below, in conversation with EREDE, we track the influence and vision of two extraordinary women. 

Words by Francesca Wallace.

Sandra: I went to fashion design school and then I did a young designer's competition for the wool board, which I won. The prize was working for Sportscraft for a year, which was in Melbourne. I then moved to New York for a stint when I was 19 or 20, working for Antonio Lopez. New York at the time was quite rough, so I ended up coming home. My parents were in the rag trade, my father was quite a large importer at the time, so naturally I joined the family business. I then developed my own label and started manufacturing for it, which we ended up selling everywhere, in all the department stores. I was quite proud of Talia for wanting to pursue a career in fashion. It’s a tough and often thankless industry. I never expected her to stay in it long-term, though—building a life and career in it is a different story.

Susan: I went to art school for a while at East Sydney Tech, and then got bored with it because I was doing fashion design and I hated the sewing bit! I just liked the design bit. I ended up working for the fabric company Sekers Silks as the fabric colourist and stylist. I used to travel around to all the fashion shows, and to Japan and after that I’d put a collection together. I was a colourist for a long time. I later moved to work with John Kaldor as his fabric stylist—he was a huge influence on me and really drove my appreciation for design and art. Then I started my own textile design studio. I built the business just before I fell pregnant, and then worked through it. When [my daughter] Georgie was six weeks old, I had to do a business trip to Japan and she came. Because when you start something, you just can’t stop, it’s your baby, too. Computers changed everything. We all started off painting, using our hands. It was all in an art studio. We painted the fabric designs, it was really special. We changed over to digital tools eventually, obviously, but it was never quite the same.

Sandra: I have four children, and they always gravitated towards our home and brought their friends over. It was always a busy, lively household. Despite having demanding careers, we were very hands-on parents. Since my husband recently passed away, my kids have probably been surprised at how I’ve managed things, even learning things like online banking! I think they’re proud of me. I’ve always been a total workaholic, I used to work day in and day out, and travelled internationally as an importer while raising young children. Once, I took Talia to a Hong Kong fabric fair as a teenager, and my son Josh came once as a baby because I was breastfeeding. 

Susan: My father trained as a jeweller. He studied jewellery after returning from the war — remember going into the diamond traders as a little girl. Eventually his eyes went and he had to stop that, but he was probably a jeweller for about 10 or 12 years. I think Jeramie was probably influenced. She’s always loved beautiful things, jewellery especially. Jewellery is heritage. It was very, very much in her heart.

Sandra: I think Talia gets her passion and drive from me. We’re both very driven and creative, especially when it comes to design. We share a love for aesthetics, whether it’s clothing, furniture, or art. We like shopping together, especially around where she works in New York. I’m constantly in awe of Talia. She’s incredibly capable and dynamic. She’s achieved amazing things in her career and works extremely hard. She has a strong design sense and is very confident in her opinions. I’m incredibly proud of what she’s created and her work ethic.

Susan: We’ve always just been a unit, two girls, mom and dad. We all nurture one another and take care of each other, and we all live close. It’s the best. I know the teenage years are difficult  but I think they were really special and the girls were very open with me, we could share things together and really laugh. We got on like sisters in a way.

Sandra: I actually just wear EREDE  jewellery and I don't wear anything else because to me EREDE is amazing, and I mean, I love the pieces. I’ve got a solitaire diamond necklace, an emerald cut Art Deco-style ring and some little everyday hoop earrings which I absolutely love. My mom had a sapphire ring that I've given to Talia and she's redesigned it. That was beautiful. I would describe myself as chic, I guess. Sort of elevated, a bit polished. I like a little bit of gold. I'm not an understated dresser, when I go out, I like to dress well. 

Susan: One of my favourite pieces is a beautiful fob chain with ivory from Japan I got years ago when I used to work there. That’s pretty special. And my grandmother’s engagement ring that my father redesigned, I wear that all the time. It’s a really old school sort of diamond, with wings and everything. I love that. I wear EREDE pieces every day, I have both the Delta Studs and the Diamond Three Drops and an incredible three carat emerald diamond ring.

Sandra: Having a husband who has just been very sick, it makes you really appreciate life in general. I value being healthy, spending time with friends, and walking. I'm quite positive so I'm  in general grateful for everything. I feel most beautiful when I’m around my children. They make me feel that way—we’re a very closely bonded family. 

Susan: I love watching Jeramie be a mom. She’s an amazing mom amongst everything else. She’s a very driven person, which I admire so much. It’s possibly because she’s seen her own mother work all her life. If we didn’t work hard, it just wasn’t going to happen. I really admire her drive, and I think she balances everything really well. She’s not affected by wealth, or stature. She’s a really, really fair person. 

Sandra: The best advice to younger mums is to just make sure your kids feel really loved and understood. That’s so important. 

Susan: It is a tough road sometimes, but they’ve still got to follow their heart and their own desires. A lot of moms, I’m sure, are happy to be just a mom, but others might be very conflicted. I do think that you grow as a person when you follow your heart and do something that you really want to do. Sometimes it’s a leap of faith.