The Lovely Ladies of Glug

Kristen Pena and her husband Luis started the Glug Collection of clothing after their daughter Sadie was born, seeing it as an opportunity to channel their creative energy into something that would allow them to spend more time with her. The two, who both worked in advertising, started out selling their eclectic designs at a few boutiques around town and they are now sold around the world and have been pictured on celebrity babies in magazines. As the business (and her family) grew, Kristen invited her friend, Meredith Ashworth, to join the company. The women, who each have two young children, work side-by-side and help each other juggle the demands of work and parenting.

Read on to hear how they got started, what inspires them and where the name "Glug" came from.

Kristen Pena

town: San Francisco

company: Glug Collection, designer

kids: two — Sadie 6,  Emmi 2

 

Meredith Ashworth

town: San Francisco

company: Glug Collection

kids: two — Zander 6, Lula 4

When did you start Glug?  

K:  Luis + I  started glug in 2003, after Sadie was born.   We wanted to do something creative, but also to be home with my baby.  I started VERY small with 6 silkscreened t-shirts and sold them around town. Mere joined us in 2007.

M: The thing Kristen won't tell you (which I love) is that the name of the company came from their daughter Sadie. Glug was the first sound she ever made. I was a friend of Glug for a long time- helping when I could tagging shirts or loaning my kids as models in the early days. And I was flattered and thrilled when Kristen asked me to join them. I had been freelancing as a broadcast producer and still wanted to do something creative, with people I loved and that I could be excited about. 

Luis & Kristen, Sadie & Emmi

How do you work together?   

K:  Mere and I overlap in a lot of areas.  We work together on clothing design, marketing and managing sales,etc.  Lucky for her, I do all the financial stuff, but lucky for me, she deals with all the importing and shipping.  Luis does all the graphic design.

M: I would just add to what kristen said by saying that, we are very fortunate that, because we are both moms, we are able to be very supportive of one another. if one of us has something going on for a few days, the other can carry the weight of running the business. It allows us to vacation and have lives and be with our kids (sometimes tossing them all together) when they need us. 

Were you always into apparel design? How did you get your start? 

K:  No we all worked in advertising in different aspects.  We had kids and thought we might be good at it. So far, it has worked out. 

M: No for me either. I have just always loved design and think there are so many ways to point that into different directions. 

What inspired you to create your own children's line? 

K:  Having kids and the need to do something creative, beyond being a mom. 

What inspires your designs? 

K:  Our designs are inspired by what is happening in the broader design world.  We strive to keep things current and fresh.  

What do you like most about your work?  

K: Seeing kids around the country wearing our clothes.  It really exciting to see kids that we don’t know. Even more fun to see them on celebrity babies in magazines!, 

M: working with people I really like and seeing sketches, designs, measurements, ideas all come together. I also really love seeing our kids so so proud of Glug. I  think they like seeing the clothes on their friends and knowing where they came from. There are so many grown up jobs that are hard for kids to wrap their heads around. I really love that these guys know what we do.  For a period when I was sketching ideas for kids pants, my son would spend time sketching his own pant ideas and I loved that (they were pretty good :-))
 

Meredith, husband Matt, Zander & Lula

What advice can you give others who would like to start their own business?  

K: Start small.  Grow organically.  Learn from your mistakes – there will be tons of them! 

M: Agree with K. I have been fortunate in that I joined in after Glug was already well established, but I was just impressed at how Kristen and Luis just went for it. I was (am) impressed at how brave that was. 

Which is your favorite item you've created so far?  

K: Monkey t-shirt is by far our favorite and best seller. 

M: That's tough- I have new favorites every season. I love it when we get a fit just right, because it takes so much work and when it's right, it's so good!

How do you deal with childcare?  

K: Work while kids are in school. 

M: Juggle, like everyone and occasionally throw them all together in front of a movie if we're under pressure. 

What is your favorite thing to do to relax?  

K: Ummm…neither of us are very good at that.  But speaking for both of us, I’d say decorate our homes. And lately, meditate. 

M: yes and procrastinate

What is your proudest parenting moment and parenting tip?  

K: Oh geez. I have a lot of not so proud ones. I think my tip would be to try your best to be happy with yourself.  Do things that fill you up and let you kids see this in you. 

M: Wow. Me too. Why is it the not so proud ones come to mind first? I believe so much in what Kristen said because I think kids learn to value themselves if they see how you value yourself. Personally, I  think i am proudest of learning to let my children feel hard things without shielding them from them too much. It's tough but I feel good when I can hear my daugher say "mama...i'm just really sad right now" i hesitate to jump in with "you're okay" and try hard instead to say "i know."

You two are also both so stylish and put together all the time. Especially for having two young children - each! Any quick beauty or fashion tips for moms? 

K: Ha! Only wash your hair every 4 days – it saves time in the morning and looks better! 

M: Wow thanks. Um. A good haircut and a great fitting pair of jeans that you can wear about everyday. As long as you change your shirt I don't think anyone ever notices if you wear the same jeans. 

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Check back on Wednesday for our Glug give away!