Sydney lives with her husband, four adorable children and a menagerie of animals in the French countryside. A friend and customer of Scribble & Daub, she kindly took time out of her charmingly chaotic existence, to contribute to our You Are What You Give interview series for Mother’s Day...

Sydney is a polymath; having worked first in fashion, and then in property, she is now a published author and owner of Les Six, bringing her brocante finds to an avid audience of followers. Read on for her thoughts on gratitude and gifting, making and motherhood, and what she would love to be given on 15th March...

What sort of child were you, and can you see the beginnings of the person you would become?

I was a bookworm as a child, always with one in hand or in my bag. I loved being outside, setting up picnics, climbing trees, and our weekends in the countryside where I would get to go horse riding. I grew up in southeast London but loved being out in nature. I dreamt of having a pet, but our family travelled a lot so the answer to that was always no, and I dreamt of being a mum to a lot of kids! Seeing how things have turned out makes me, and my inner child, very happy!

What is the thing you most want your children to remember you for?

Being a safe place, always being able to turn to me, and talk to me. There are lots of things that I hope they remember about me, but for now that one feels the biggest and most important. It’s such a huge thing to have someone you can go to without fear of judgement, for help or advice or just an ear. Right now, they’re all still so young, and my husband and I are their number one people to come to. They come to us with everything – small things that to them are big things, and I’ll do all I can to ensure that they always feel able to come to us.

The pram in the hall - how has becoming a mother impacted your creative life and work?

Motherhood has actually made my creative life and work possible. I always wanted to write, to work to my own schedule and lean into my creativity. I loved the roles I had working in fashion and later in property pre-motherhood, but I struggled with a 9-5 structure, and not having time to pursue other creative interests. My ADHD diagnosis a few summers ago helped explain this a lot.  But becoming a mother gave me the confidence to pursue those other dreams, working more creatively and more alternatively, motivated by little people who I wanted to build my career around, and set an example to, of living in a way that was true to me. Of course, it’s chaotic - trying to do my job (or actually a number of jobs) while taking care of my children, animals, and home is full on. But it’s never boring, and I’m getting to live the life that I choose. The good bits outweigh the tricky bits every time.

What were you taught as a child about gratitude and giving, and are you mirroring this, or doing things differently as a parent yourself?

Though I have brothers and sisters, for a big chunk of my childhood I grew up as an only child in the house. My parents worked a lot, but would return with a lot of gifts (mostly books!) But what I always loved best wasn’t the gifts I was given, it was the time with my parents, be it our weekends away in the countryside when neither of them were working, or our trips to the bookshop - not the coming away with the books themselves, but poring over titles, and my Dad helping me choose.

It taught me the importance of sentiments around gifts. It’s not so much the buying of the gift that’s the main thing, it’s the time you have taken to think about what that person likes, or may need, if they mentioned something to you that they’ve been looking for...

Now as a parent, a lot of my gifts are secondhand things for my children, or homemade things. And sure enough, for now, these are the things they love best of all.

We have a tradition in our home on birthdays that you come downstairs to a “hall of fame” - birthday photos of you stuck on the wall or suspended from the ceiling. My eldest just turned 8, and she told us that her wall of fame (a collection of photos of her from over the years, stuck to a giant cardboard heart, hung from the ceiling) was one of the best things about her day!

You have four young children, and in your book Sustainable Play, you have lots of ideas for crafts and games, could you suggest some simple projects for Mother’s Day?

There’s a sweet flower card that I make with my kids to give to teachers at the end of term, which would also be so lovely for mums, friends, aunts and grandmothers this Mother’s Day.

All you need to make them are:

• Paper or card

• Tissue paper (or even baking paper)

• Twine, string or ribbon

• A glue stick

• Scissors

• Picked flowers 

Begin by cutting or folding your card into shape, then cut a square of your tissue or baking paper and fold into a cone. Stick the back of your tissue paper cone onto the centre of your card, and then tie a bow around the base of the cone with your string or ribbon. Add your picked flowers to the cone so they resemble a bouquet! 

Another very fun and simple thing to do is to cut a handle into each side of a cardboard box lid (a shoe box works well for this) to transform it into a tray. This can then be coloured in or decorated with wrapping paper or collage and used to bring a Mother’s Day tea to a very deserving recipient!

Please tell us 10 things you would love to receive on Mother’s Day...

Studio Simone painted frame as I love printing out family photos to have on display.

Straw London chalk bonnette perfect for in between times of weather and such a sweet accessory. 

Ciao Chiara print - I love her work so much.

Vintage silver tape measure - I can never have enough tape measures for work, and adore this one. 

Vintage collection of World of Interiors - I have a collection in my studio that make for great décor and also wonderful to pull out and hold for reference.

Jaya Had A Dream vinyl - My husband just discovered this artist and we love her music! Would love to have the vinyl to play at home on our record player.

Scribble & Daub streamers we already have some of these which we use for birthdays, but I’d love some more to decorate the children’s bedrooms with permanently. They’re such joy bringers!

Boustany recipe book - This cookbook looks wonderful as I need more ideas for vegetables, plus we can never have enough nods to Palestine in our home. 

In A World of Sunrises - I love Cleo Wade’s work and I’d love my family to pre-order her latest book for me.

Rare antique Digoin mug  - I have one of these already and use it everyday to drink my coffee or lemon tea, but I’d love another!

Thanks so much Sydney!
@sydney.piercey
Les Six