Photo by Brooke Schultz + @minimagazine

Morgan Hutchinson is someone you can’t help but admire. She speaks Mandarin, has lived in four cities in the past four years (including Beijing), is a mother to two small children, and runs BURU, an online shop that carries a beautifully curated selection of designer clothing that caters to the needs of new mothers (i.e. breastfeed-friendly!). The name “BURU” is actually a nod to her time spent in China; the meaning of characters BU (哺) and RU (乳) when combined means to breastfeed.

Photo by Brooke Schultz + @minimagazine

Photo by Emmy Lowe

Morgan has transformed BURU into a destination for mothers, not only for its beautiful clothing that she carefully handpicks but also for the honest and raw motherhood advice that she offers on the blog. She is super transparent about the challenges she has faced as a mother, including her mental health and the difficulties of moving to a new city when you have children. We are in awe of her business accomplishments, and even more in awe of her genuine, caring approach to helping others.

We sat down with Morgan to chat about her career journey and founding BURU, and how she finds balance between running a company and raising her two children. She recently did a cross-country road trip for her new BURU Bus with her kids in tow!!

Read her interview below – we know you’ll love her thoughtful, insightful answers as much as we do!

Originally From: Murray, Kentucky

Current Location: Los Angeles, California

Education: Interior Design, BS from the University of Alabama

You studied interior design in college and worked in the industry for a few years before realizing your true passion was fashion. Can you tell us a little about this realization and transition? Any key moments that encouraged you to make the switch?

MH: I think it boils down to risk-taking. I love to experiment with design and style, and I found it very difficult to get clients to step out of their comfort zones when designing their interior spaces —residential and corporate. It’s much easier (and quite honestly more fun for me) to style a person’s wardrobe. Clothing is not nearly the financial commitment of furnishing a home or business—so in most cases, women are much more willing to take a bigger risk and have fun with it. I’m all about the fun, creative process!

And the truth is, I’ve always loved clothes. For some reason I thought Interior Design was the “safer” career move. I know now that following your passion is often what leads to success.

You founded BURU shortly after becoming a new mom. Tell us a little about the idea came about and how you landed on the name “BURU”.  

MH: When our daughter was just a few days old, I ordered half a dozen shift dresses to accommodate my post-baby body. It took me all of 10 seconds after they arrived to realize what a colossal mistake I had made. They were neither nursing-friendly nor washable— two things I desperately needed.

 My husband was with me for round two of “Mission Mom Style”. We spent hours scouring racks at traditional big box retailers for easy access tops and dresses, elastic waist pants, washable fabrics, and mom-friendly lengths. It was time consuming and fruitless.

I felt like stores were marketing to young 20-somethings and 50+-somethings. No one seemed to be speaking to the 30-somethings or the modern mom. No one was speaking to “me”. After conducting a very informal survey among my friends, I discovered that I was not alone.

BURU was born out of the need for elevated mom style that focuses on a mother’s needs AFTER the bump. In fact the name actually means “to breastfeed” in Mandarin—a language I studied for 4-years while living in Beijing. Our daughter, Olive is a “Made in China” baby, so it just felt right to incorporate our time spent there into our family business.

 What were the biggest steps you took to put the idea for BURU into motion? Were there any missteps made along the way that you would advise other entrepreneurs against?

 MH: A few weeks after the initial idea (and countless hours searching the web to see if any brands were speaking to mothers post-bump)—Brett (my husband and partner) and I booked a trip to attend Coterie in NYC, a wholesale market for womens’ ready-to-wear. We didn’t go with the intent to actually buy merchandise, but upon running into my friend Rebecca Minkoff, who signed off personally for us to carry her line as a sign of support and as an advocate of breast-feeding herself, we decided to take the plunge. It seems crazy in retrospect, as we had no website and no formally typed out business plan, but sometimes in life you just have to go for it! 

That said, inventory is no joke and it can make or break you. It has the potential to be a cash-flow nightmare which is why it’s so important to have someone on your team (in my case my finance wiz husband) to make sure that you are handling the ebbs and flows properly.

As far as missteps go—OF COURSE we have made our fair share. My advice would be to run the opposite direction from anyone who makes you a “grandiose” promise. Business is hard—grueling in fact. We work around the clock and there is rarely a fast track to the top shy of hard work, grit and a little bit of luck. No one is going to love on your business the way you do, so be very careful what you decide to outsource.  

The pieces curated on BURU are beautiful and obviously very intentional for a mother’s lifestyle. Tell us a little about the process for selecting designers and pieces for your brand. 

MH: I think my closet actually laughed at me when I became a mama! And now thinking about of number of mini skirts and “dry clean only tags” it used to be filled with actually makes me laugh. It was clear that my wardrobe needed a shift, but in no way was I ready to say goodbye to my style. For me, it meant some longer hemlines, easy to care for textiles and silhouettes that accommodate all the phases of motherhood.

I follow these exact rules (among many others) when hand-selecting ready-to-wear styles for BURU. I spend countless hours curating our collection in hopes to take the guess work out of getting dressed for mamas. As every mother has her own #momstyle, this is no easy feat, but I try my hardest to have a balance of looks—from classic to boho, edgy to girly—all within our fashion guidelines to #elevateyourmomstyle !  

You also have your own BURU White Label collection. Tell about the inspiration behind this line and your involvement in the design process.

MH: Over the seasons, we began to see prices of our ready-to-wear brands continue to increase. Granted, many of the increases were for valid reasons—like sustainability, added details and craftsmanship, but the truth is that this doesn’t mean our mamas’ wallets became more sustainable! I knew we had a void in our price points, and I couldn’t fill it with brands currently on the market in any reliable way—so we created our own!  

The BURU White Label is a mix of cut & sew (some in LA and some overseas) and private label designs. We use the same fashion/fit guidelines as we do with our ready-to-wear brands—wearability, washability and easy access to nurse, but now we have even more control and design input. We also have the ability to regulate the cost, keeping the retail prices ranging from $48-$158. 

Additionally, we have the ability to launch “mini-collections” every 3-4 weeks so that we can consistently offer our mamas fresh styles. They like the newness and the fact that adding one or two fresh pieces often gives new life to many existing pieces in their closets.

As with everything aspect of our business—my inspiration comes from motherhood. I’m inspired EVERY SINGLE day by EVERY MAMA I connect with (or insta-stalk!) 

What does your day to day look like between running a company and motherhood starting with your morning routine? 

MH: Is there a classy way to write, “sh*t show?” Ha ha! But seriously, with a 4.5 year old, a 10-month old, a husband in the business, our amazing employees and now permanent team members running our #BURUbusSOUTH—life feels a bit like a tornado right now—moving a mile a minute! Trying to act like it’s anything but constructive chaos feels phony to me… 

But specifically speaking, we start the day getting Olive off to school. Brett does drop off with Schafer (our baby) in tow so that I can get dressed and start responding to emails. As a young business, every day is different, but one thing is certain—I never have more than 20 minutes to get myself ready (I try to take showers at night for this reason). 

From emails, I go straight to my to-do list which ranges anywhere from working with the team to shoot new products, arrange our newseltter/editorial calendar, take fitting meetings for new styles, place orders for RTW styles, work on our PR/marketing strategies…often with a baby on the boob! (Very on brand…don’t you think?)  

I do school pick-up and then our office becomes a bit more kid-friendly with homework happening in between emails and accepting Olive’s input on design. Be on the lookout for a lot of sequins for our holiday collection!

What is next for BURU and how do you see the company evolving over time?

MH: I briefly mentioned the #BURUbusSOUTH above—which launched last weekend. In addition to our website, we (as a family) opperated a sprinter van outfitted as a mobile store (AKA the BURU BUS) last summer, traveling all around the country popping-in to shops and private residences. It didn’t take us long to realize that mamas (particularly in smaller cities) are starved for a hands-on experience with an element of personal mom style guidance.  

As a southern girl and Alabama graduate, the South holds a dear place in my heart. There was no question that we would launch our second BURU Bus there. We also have an amazing Southern Pop-Up Coordinator and Bus Driver, Brandace Wilson who is hitting the road with our BURU White Label to elevate mom style and meet our mamas face-to-face below the Mason Dixon! (PS—if you’re looking to have a BURU-to-YOU event, please email brandace@shopburu.com) 

The grand plan is to have a fleet of BURU Buses cruising the country…but one Bus at a time, right? We also have some super exciting launches happening in the spring that we can’t wait to share with you! 

BURU has a loyal following of brand ambassadors and Tastemakers. How did you build this impressive group of supporters?  

MH: I agree! I am so amazed and honored to work with alll of these incredible women. I don’t think I have any major secret as to how we built this group—other than to say I really call them all friends. This business (like any industry really) can be superficial at times, but that’s really not my bag. Slow and steady wins the race for me, and I would rather build REAL relationships of mutual respect and admiration. I can honestly say that I admire every women we’ve ever worked with. I adore building the #BURUtribe —it’s one of my favorite aspects of the business! 

What tips do you have for mothers with full time careers to maintain a sense of balance?

MH: My tip is to realize that it doesn’t exist. At least not in the way that you think. Everyday of my life is not balanced—some are far more work heavy and some are family focused. My idea of balance is the overall big picture. My idea of balance is what works for our family. Good or bad, it does not involve an hour of yoga before I kick off the day and quiet time to shower and primp. It’s fast paced and full of multi-tasking. It’s also full of laughter, hugs, music and choreographed chaos. The key to balance is finding your own and NEVER comparing it to someone else’s. After all —comparison is the thief of JOY!

How has your personal style changed since becoming a mother? Are there any styles you used to wear before motherhood that you would never wear again?  

MH: I would say my overall aesthetic is the same—a bit of edge, paired with a lot of girl and a dose of sequins or gold lamé anytime I can make it work! That said, the silhouettes and the care labels have certainly changed. I replaced the mini-skirts with midis—the Dry Clean Only for washable (or at least hand-wash…aka the hand wash cycle on my washing machine).

 Favorite part of living and working in Los Angeles:

 MH: What is there not to love about LA? It’s sunny. It’s full of incredibly creative and talented people. It’s the hub for our BURU White Label. It’s packed with diversity and inspiration. I love it all! 

(Okay—I don’t love the traffic, but we live in the Arts District so we are able to walk to a lot of things and we live super close to our factories, suppliers and Olive’s school!) 

Three must-have pieces in your closet as a working mother:

MH: White button down shirt with a twist (aka statement sleeve or interesting silhouette)

Attention Grabbing Midi skirt

Day to night booties (that you can chase a toddler in!) 

Three words to describe your working style:

MH: If this is how I work and not what I wear to work, then my style is: Lists. More lists.