Forge & Finish's Carly Mayer on Working Smarter and Saving Weekends for Family and Friends

At Forge & Finish, we create distinctive handcrafted metal designs for the modern woman. As part of our dedication to the inspiring women we know and love, we’re celebrating the working moms in our creative community in a series of interviews. Next up in our series, we’re hearing from our very own co-founder Carly Mayer on raising Forge & Finish’s littlest assistant, Isador.

What was the pivotal moment that inspired you to launch your own business? /Can you name a pivotal moment in your career that pushed you to where you are now?

Prior to Forge & Finish, I maintained an individual identity brand called Bombita Designs. I made mostly OOAK work under this name from 2009-2014 and did well at craft shows and markets but never got the hang of marketing myself on social media and keeping up with a current website presence. The summer of 2014, Emily and I were working pretty full-time for another jewelry company and got laid off on the same day. We weren’t mad or bitter because it was just the sign we needed and fire under our asses to set us on our own path of starting the brand you know today as Forge & Finish. We got Desiree on board and we knew that working together as a team would be the best way to fully realize a healthy business. Sharing ideas, resources, space and time is what began to set us apart from other jewelry companies. We weren’t just a business, we were “framily,” and that meant taking care of each other and considering one another in a way you don’t normally see in most workplaces. 

“In a way, having a kid helped me to work smarter not harder and I have become extremely efficient with the sliver of free time I am allotted in a day.”

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced running your own business and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge we have faced and are still currently working on surmounting is adjusting our business model from a predominantly in-person retail event operation to an online/wholesale brand. We thrive in community and having to shut off that lifeline for over a year has been really jarring for us. To keep our heads above water, we have partnered with some really incredible local stores like Lobo Mau, Ritual Shoppe, and Weavers Way Mercantile who have graciously nurtured our brand and projected a spotlight on our work to a client base we wouldn’t currently be able to get in front of. 

How did becoming a mama change your approach to your work life? 

B.I.M. (Before Isador Mayer) I was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-tails kind of gal. Working from 11am-10pm was not unprecedented. (Yes, I generally started my day at 11 because I enjoyed sleep which I haven’t been able to reclaim in over 2 ½ years.) Now, everything is on a schedule thanks to my husband Ian who is very insistent on time management. I wake up by 7:30 and my morning is centered around stimulating Isador while checking and following up with emails, then breakfast and a morning walk until about 12:30 when he generally takes a nap until 3. This is when the majority of my production work is accomplished. In a way, having a kid helped me to work smarter not harder and I have become extremely efficient with the sliver of free time I am allotted in a day.

Is there a particular way you structure your day or week to accomplish your career goals and balance having a family? Do you have any time-saving hacks that you’ve incorporated into your daily life? 

I try to save the weekends for family and friend time now, whereas in the past, I’d typically be working at events at least one day a weekend, particularly during the summer. One great time-saving hack that I have implemented this year has been making a calendar for our social media posts and updates. I like to lay out imagery and content for an entire month, usually in one day. This method has allowed me to turn off the apps on my phone by 10pm every night and not be stressed about what to share or write the next day. 

What have been your biggest challenges in the transition to being a working mama? How have you navigated them? 

Patience. Having a kid is a GIANT test of patience. I am fortunate to have a partner with tons of patience who also works from home so he and I have been fairly good at tag-teaming on parenting since the pandemic began. 

“I do the things I normally would enjoy and now I just have a tiny shadow by my side doing them with me. ”

How have your notions of what it means to be a mother changed since becoming one?

Everything before Isador is kind of a blur, but I love how I really haven’t had to change my social life too drastically to feel like I’m being an attentive mom. I do the things I normally would enjoy and now I just have a tiny shadow by my side doing them with me. 

What do you do to make time for yourself and recharge? Do you have any tricks for getting shut-eye when you need it most?

Like many during this pandemic, I have focused more attention to the outdoors and making sure I walk at least two miles a day. I also have become pretty obsessed with gardening. Weeding and cultivating the land is very cathartic and grounding — literally and figuratively. It’s also a great way to boost that vitamin D intake, build strength and work on your tan!

At night, I started smoking CBD cigarettes which I buy from Ritual Shoppe in Rittenhouse. I always poo-pooed CBD products because it wasn’t “the real thing,” but I have found that I enjoy the calming and relaxing effects of 100% hemp cigarettes with CBD without the psychoactive part.

What are some of your non-negotiables as a working mom?

Don’t wake me up before 9 on Sunday. 

What do you want your kids to take away from watching their mom work and grow their business?

I want Isador to look at the career paths his father and I have chosen and understand that running your own business and being self-employed requires just as much focus and dedication and may even be a tougher route to explore because no one else is responsible for your income but you! On the other hand, I want him to be inspired, curious, and inquisitive about all the skills it entails to create a product, market it, and sell it. I want to make sure to teach him about the value of hard work and earning money as opposed to just handing him the cash. I want him to have a healthy respect for money and to teach him to be responsible with it. 

What’s your support system like? How has community been important to you as a Mom?

Community is EVERYTHING for me — in my business and my personal life. I have been blessed with two very supportive business partners who are also my BFFs. They truly were a gift, especially in the first year of Isador’s life when I was still bringing him to the studio. We were all parenting him and learning how to do it for the first time. I have also been super fortunate to have a great handful of friends with kids close by that Isador gets to socialize with and cousins who have graciously handed him down an entire wardrobe. Now, since I have moved my studio to my home, Isador’s grandparents have really shown up for him and he enjoys spending time with them and learning from their experiences too. 

What is the best advice on motherhood you’ve ever received?

It sounds a bit corny and I don’t recall who told me, but “every child is a snowflake.” I find myself repeating this mantra when I am overwhelmed with the amount of attention Isador requires at times, or when he goes through nap strikes and decides he will only eat snacks for a day. I remember that every kid is different and needs certain things at any given milestone they approach. 

Are there any words you live by or quotes you love?

“Time Management” – Ian Mayer

What advice do you have for new moms balancing work and motherhood?

Make a list of all the things you need to do and complete at least the most pressing task. You will get better over time, but finishing one priority will bring a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and leave a lighter burden for the following day.