In Conversation with Thea Blocksidge
Meet Thea, she’s an artist, stylist & mother to her sweet daughter, Vida. Together with her fiancée Tommy, she works on their brand MARSH while also busy renovating the character-filled heritage home that they recently moved to their coastal block of land.
Photography by @Aisroseport
In this Milk Journal we chat to Thea about how she now sees life through a mother's lens, how it has shaped her and how she has learnt to lean into the slowing down and presence of motherhood.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your home, and who you share it with?
My name is Thea, I’m an artist, stylist and also work together with my fiancée on his brand MARSH. We have relocated an old home and are lucky to be living in the downstairs of Tommy’s mum’s home at this time while we are bringing it back to life. Susie and her dogs Sylvie and Colin are upstairs, and we are downstairs with our baby Vida Agnès and cat Baci.
What do mornings in your home look like?
We all share the one big bed, Baci the cat has slept with us ever since Vida was born. Vida usually wakes us. One of us will make coffee and bring it back to bed, we’ll wake up early from bed most mornings then wander down to the beach. If there’s time and it’s not too hot I like to walk along the beach with Vida to Salty’s, while Tommy surfs then meet him back at home for a kiss before he heads off to work. I get to spend my mornings with Vida most days. Chinos, drawing, in the garden with the animals.
How did the birth of your daughter change you?
Vida Agnès makes everything infinitely better. She has made me realise a whole new concept of time. Her birth was long and arduous and taught me the absolute importance of presence. Time has a whole new dimension and I’m in awe of it.
What do you love most about being a mother?
The exchange of complete joy. Vida makes me laugh so much! Her little curios, I just adore them. I love witnessing the world through my baby's eyes, moments experienced for the first time and the simplest of things. I am thinking a lot about the mother’s lense and how it would be to film such a zoomed in and delicate portrait of the connection between mother and baby in those initial days, weeks, months. And of course, putting outfits together, together.
What surprised you most about motherhood?
I think what has surprised me the most is how clever milk is. I didn’t know much about it before. Also, how much energy, time and attention it takes to just feed your baby in that initial year. Breastfeeding, bottle feeding, food feeding even! I found introducing solids really tricky, I love food and cooking, and I wasn’t prepared for the mess and waste in that time, a good exercise in patience and playfulness. She loves many different foods now, so it all pays off.
What was the hardest part of your breastfeeding journey, and what was the best part?
My breastfeeding journey has been easeful and I am so grateful for that. That’s not to downplay it at all — breastfeeding is laborious, it is a whole-body experience and takes a lot out of you. I have tried to have an intuitive approach, a kind of nonchalance from the get go and I’ve found that’s what has kept me going so long. I went from never really wearing a bra pre-pregnancy to feeling so supported in my Milk bras, I've had them on rotation since the very beginning and they’ve really helped me to feel comfortable day and night. The best part is slowing down; you have to be present. It’s the closeness, there is nothing quite like the feeling of your baby drifting to sleep, resting across your chest, in your arms. I hold these moments so close.
How has motherhood changed your relationship with yourself?
I am learning to move more slowly and with clearer intentions than before. Things take more time than they did before, and I am coming to realise that the slowness is conserving for projects to unfold in their own time and in their own way. We have so many pots on the burner right now and I just have to sit comfortably with doing one or two things at a time alongside parenting.
Are there any books, podcasts or journals that have inspired you on your journey into motherhood?
I’ve really found the most inspiration through conversations with other parents. Spending time together. Witnessing, listening to them and their experiences over the years and even well before I had a baby. Music is another wonderful thing to share with your baby, we both really enjoy soft sounds like Laraaji, Sun Ra, Dorothy Ashby, Alice Coltrane etc. and chakra balancing by Steven Halpern always sends her into a deep sleep. I now know why my mum would only ever listen to classic FM growing up.
Can you tell us one piece of advice or lesson in life that you want to pass onto your daughter?
To laugh, to draw and to find comfort in the sea and the sun.
