Meet Abigail Ahern : International Women's Day

To mark International Women's Day and to celebrate female empowerment, we asked our founder Maya which women inspired her throughout her personal journey of starting and growing this business.

This weekend, we'd like to introduce you to these inspiring women, the go-getters, innovators and game changers, who Maya personally looks up to.

In this blog post, we're shining a spotlight on Abigail Ahern, founder of her namesake interior design and homeware brand! We're inspired by Abigail's creative vision and her determination to do things differently, by breaking the traditional rules of interior design. We were so very excited to ask her some questions about her journey!

Hi Abigail! Would you like to introduce yourself & your business, Abigail Ahern?

Hi! I launched my retail biz after returning from the States where I worked as an interior designer for quite a few years and have grown the business into a thriving e-coms site, a wholesale business, and a licensing portfolio. In between all of that, I've also written 4 books, done bits and bobs on TV and run international masterclasses.

Is interior design the career you always wanted to go into? If not, what was?

I always wanted to be a designer, the retail side sort of organically happened but subsequently I've found it more exciting actually than the interior design side! I look back and was so green launching our retail arm. I literally had no idea, happy to say I've wised up a lot and now the business side excites me the most. We're growing at quite a speed, so it's exciting and challenging at the same time.

If there's any advice you could give to a woman looking to start or grow her own business, what would it be?

As odd as this sounds my advice has everything to do with failure. Failure is such a prerequisite for success. Robert F. Kennedy said that "only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly", and I really believe that. When your business starts to take off things will go wrong, but it's all about learning from these failures and not giving up. Failure is as equally important as success.

When lockdown ends, who is the first woman you are catching up with in person?

My mother! I haven't seen her for months and I literally cannot wait.

Let's talk about....jewellery!

"My jewellery is super simple - if I had more time it wouldn't be but at the moment my everyday style is just a ring passed to me when my mother in law died."

My favourite Maya Magal pieces?