Breegan Jane knows a thing or two about keeping and creating a busy schedule. Besides being a popular interior designer to the stars in Hollywood and around the globe, hosting a nationally-broadcast radio program (Mom Life Yo), she is also a full-time mother to two young boys.
From becoming an established entrepreneur and designer, to connecting with fellow moms on her radio show, The Levity Ball sat down exclusively with Breegan to find out how she balances it all and continues to succeed in everything she touches…
When did you first know you wanted to be an interior designer?
I got my first taste of interior design when I owned my own retail clothing store. I remodeled the physical retail space myself. One of the things I loved most was decorating my weekly window displays. I found I had I knack for it and realized I liked designing spaces. I can’t say that I knew then that it would take me into a full-time career; that piece of the puzzle didn’t add until I started working more closely with contractors later on. It all came together then.
What was your first ‘big’ project?
My first big project was turning a 20,000 square foot airplane hangar into a livable home and meeting space… in a two-week time period. It was an enormous blank canvas of steel and concrete. I had five different contractors working to turn the hangar into a mini version of a Malibu beach home with white cabinets lining one side of the space, columned pillars, interior shag rugs, the works.
Do you prefer working with Hollywood stars on their projects (yachts, homes, etc.) or like the more low-key type of clients?
The interesting thing is that Hollywood star clients can be really low-key people to work with, and clients who aren’t stars can oftentimes be the worst divas. For me, it’s a mix of finding the right personality that clicks. I like clients who get excited about interiors and want to have fun with creative design. It’s fun to work with a client that knows what they want but don’t know how to accomplish it. In another way, it’s also fun to work with someone who knows nothing about interior design and trusts me to do the entire thing and is happy in the end. The experience varies with each project and person.
After becoming a mom for the first time (and then again for a second time), how did that change your life career wise?
I didn’t let becoming a mom slow me down too much. I was one of those crazy moms who was showing up at construction sites eight months pregnant. Being mindful of dust intake and chemicals in the air, I had to learn to delegate more. That was huge for me because I prefer to keep a close eye on my projects. But that helped me career-wise, because it helped me strengthen that skill. Being a mother also helped me level out my work-life balance. I’m still as busy, but in a very different way.
You host a national radio show called Mom Life Yo… tell us about the show and why hosting this type of program is so important to you?
Mom Life Yo was a concept born organically around the conversations my co-host T. Lopez and I would have about our journeys into motherhood. We both felt a lack of warmth and openness from other mothers, as well as a lack of transparency about particular conversations. T and I wanted to create a space for moms to freely and openly discuss mom-related topics and be okay saying, “I honestly don’t have all the answers to these.” We wanted to be what we needed as moms but couldn’t find. The show was also created with moms and their busy schedules in mind. I love writing blogs for other moms to read, but my schedule doesn’t always allow me the time needed to write thoughts out. We thought the radio space was a good way for moms to listen in on our group chat and be a part of our conversations while they are doing ten other simultaneous things moms have to do. It’s been a soul-searching experience to be so honest and real on the radio waves every week, but that was the goal. I hope other moms can do the same and find connection if they don’t have their own supportive mommy tribe in their lives.
What is your advice to other mom’s out there that want to pursue their career dreams after becoming first-time mothers too, which is a full-time job in itself?
There’s something about becoming a mother that I believe helps women find their own truth. As challenging as being a working mother is, I found that becoming a mother gave me a renewed sense of my purpose in life, and it helped me better understand the reasons I wanted to continue pursuing my career. For me, those reasons were my kids and my creativity. For other moms, that epiphany may be that being a mother is their primary calling. Whatever that means for each mom, I think they should pursue it, whether that means staying home or going back to law school. Once you’ve done the sleepless nights and walked around with another human being inside of you for nine months, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Harness that reality, and tap into it. Do whatever it is that will inevitably make you happy, because a happy mother raises happy kids.
Who is your role model and what is the best advice you have ever been given?
One of my early role models was Monty Twining, a former boss who was the CEO of a yachting company I worked with. I spent a great deal of time with him and his children. I saw that his kids, who were six at the time, were raised in two different social cultures: the yacht culture and the a more rural ranch culture in Texas. The silent advice Monty gave me through his child rearing was to be my kids’ “true north” regardless of their circumstances. No matter where we were, whether it was on a yacht for the weekend, raising chickens or riding horses on a ranch–his kids were not phased. They were comfortable wherever they were because their parents made them comfortable by being present and supportive. I work to make sure my boys know and experience life to the fullest, in an adult world, as confident children.
You already have a lot on your plate career wise, so what’s next for you from here?
I am putting my creativity into product design concepts for the public. I want to make my mark in designing attainable design pieces for moms and women like me. I have a team that’s helping me bring some unprecedented concepts to life. We are in the beginning stages, but it’s pretty exciting to see how my ideas are shaping up.
You donate your time, money and services to cancer-related charity organizations such as Cookies for Kids Cancer, American Cancer Society and Stand Up To Cancer, why are these so important to you personally?
Both of my great-grandfathers have cancer. My mom is in remission from lymphoma. I had friends in college who lost parents to cancer. Cancer is something I saw touch friends and family members in their early years. The disease seems to be one degree away from personally impacting everyone. But the science is ever changing, and research efforts are growing every year. We continue to discover things everyday, so there’s hope. There’s still a lot to be done and discovered, so I do everything I can to support organizations that work to end cancer for good.
And final question: What do you want to be remembered for?
I want to be known for experiencing life and sharing those experiences from an extremely honest place to help others. I want to be that old grandmother who lived an extremely full life and passed down her wisdom.
Find out more about Breegan via: http:/www.breeganjane.com/
