Flourishing Woman of WA, Charmaine Lobo

What's your personal story? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My parents migrated from India to Australia in the 60’s, they were sponsored by the Catholic Church; they arrived by ship, at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal with four children to feed and less than $5 in their pocket, with no clue as to where they were going to stay or where the next family meal was coming from.  They managed to quickly get jobs, Mum had never worked before, eventually they bought a house, we didn’t have a great deal of material things as kids, but there was always nourishing, delicious food, special curries for Xmas (what’s the turkey thing all about ? ), Mum made our dresses, and later beautiful, evening dresses for my older sisters.   I guess I learnt a lot from my parents, about a strong work ethic, resilience, making do with what you have, and the strength and courage that you can access when you connect to the divine. 

My Mother has been a great inspiration in my life, with modest means she always dressed beautifully to go out to social dances with my Father and the family, different sets of jewellery with matching shoes and handbag….an elegant woman.    I guess my love of handcrafted pieces, jewellery and cooking stems from her; she is a superb cook, she jokes that she was born with a wooden spoon in one hand a pot in another!  Mum can make anything, dolls, and dresses to intricately beaded purses.   She is self- taught no lessons here!  These things have been my touch stones as I have grown up and have been a solid grounding for where I find myself now.

What's your business and career background?

How much time have you got?  A quick potted history – I left school and did Dental Nursing for a while, went back to full time study and obtained a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Curtin University, I held 5 part-time jobs to support myself through University (it was hard yakka!).  After graduating I worked in the field of Community Development for several years; then I decided it was time for a career change so I enrolled part-time into a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) course from UWA, during this time I worked full time and moved into business management roles in the higher education sector.  It took me a little bit longer to finish my Masters, but I am relieved to say I finished it! Part–time study is a test of resolve, endurance and self-discipline; whilst others are partying you have to knuckle down!

Having my son was a life changer, which it is for most parents I’m sure.  This gorgeous boy not only changed our world but threw it upside-down and inside-out, for the first four years of his life.  Our son was diagnosed with severe and multiple food allergies at 6 months of age.  He also developed asthma and has had several hospital admissions, included a stint in ICU. Having said all of this you wouldn’t know it if you met him, he is a thriving and delightful 4.5 year old!  I on the other hand, feel like I’ve aged seven years to his one! 

We have overcome many obstacles, we have travelled many times with him, it does require  precision planning of food, first aid support and common sense. Of course don’t ask me how I feel 24 hours before we fly!

So since his breathtaking arrival into our lives, I have set up a HR consultancy, an on-line jewellery store and I am now (surprised to say) a blogger!

All of these roles allow me to work part time so I can be there for our son.  I find work acts as a good distraction, a kind of tonic to stop me worrying about how my son is going at school – he has just started Pre-Primary. 

What inspired or motivated you to enter this field?

The HR consultancy was a natural progression from the work I was doing previously before I was pregnant.  I have a small group of wonderful clients that I work with, I should be expanding, but I don’t really want to carry a full time load.

Lobo Luxe is my internet jewellery store; it is both a creative outlet and a passion for me.  I love sourcing the jewellery and I get a real buzz when someone purchases it and makes it part of their life, their story.  Many of the pieces are ‘one-offs’ so you won’t see someone walking down the street with the same piece you have on.   I liken the jewellery in my store as wearing works of art; instead of putting it on the wall, you get the joy of wearing it and showing it off to the world.

The store has over 20 jewellery designers from Australia and around the world.  The idea is to provide women (and their significant others) a one stop shop for unique jewellery pieces.  I have many return, male customers, who love shopping at Lobo Luxe, because their wife/partner emails them the item they want, the husband jumps on-line and purchases it, and hey presto!  The present arrives (beautifully wrapped) in time for their special event, without them having to ‘go shopping’ or wrap!   I love the feedback from my customers, I have often joked that I would love to have ‘gift-cam’ where you get to see the look on the recipients face when they open up their present.

This image is from the Lobo Luxe blog – every now and then I style pieces in store, to a certain theme; with Valentine’s Day coming up I styled some jewellery to arguably one of the greatest love stories of all time “Out of Africa”.

Intrepid Allergy Mum is the new blog I have started to share my experiences of living with allergies.  I started the blog last year and stopped, I ran out of momentum to continue. Over Christmas I had several people contact me for my allergy free recipes – so I felt this was the push I needed to get going again.  One of the most motivating factors for me to do the blog was the many people who have contacted me about their child, nephew, or friend, who were missing out on chocolate or birthday cake because of their egg and dairy allergies.  My mission is to put an end to that – everyone should be able to eat chocolate and birthday cake!  My blog in its simplest form is about sharing information, feeling less isolated and of course yummy recipes.  Pictured below is an image of my son’s 3^rd Birthday Cake - you can find my chocolate cake recipe here.

My nickname in my family was “Nigella”, I loved to bake – I even made my Mother’s 70^th birthday cake!  After my son was diagnosed with dairy and egg allergies, I stopped baking altogether and contemplated throwing out all my gadgets including my most prized, and much loved, red Kitchen Aid mixer.  These gadgets made me feel depressed; I felt ‘what was the point?’, my son couldn’t eat anything and having those ingredients in the house were life threatening for him.  With the help of a great counsellor to sort out my fears and worries about my child, my thinking turned around.  I came out of my baking depression and started to hunt around for recipes for him and to my surprise I started to find things that he could eat fun things like cake, ice cream, fruit mince pies, meat pies, biscuits, ginger bread and sausage rolls.  So now all the gadgets get a hammering and I am pleased to say my son loves to eat baked goodies (in moderation of course!).

What obstacles have you had to overcome along the way? How have you approached and dealt with these?

Lobo Luxe has been a learning curve, photography, managing a website, social media all of these have required a new set of skills, but it’s so much fun.  I guess my MBA has helped with the business side of things, however the course did focus on large scale enterprises, and I have found that I needed to calibrate my knowledge into niche-small-boutique-e-tailing; that is delivering a high quality personal shopping experience on the internet, something special to keep people coming back and to stand out from the crowd.  So I read widely and do a lot of research on the internet, of course!

With Intrepid Allergy Mum, the greatest obstacle in doing the blog was me!  I am a reasonably private person, so I find it a bit difficult to talk about myself and my life.  So it took a while for me to feel confident about doing the blog.  However, I am trying reach out and connect with others who are experiencing similar issues, and quite truthfully it is cathartic for me to let go of some of this stuff that has been bubbling away (better out than in?).  I have found a wealth of information out there and so many great things to share; like did you know that there is a dairy and egg free version of custard!  My dream of doing a trifle for my son is becoming a reality! Also the Wiggles have just recorded a song about Allergies, it should be released soon.  I know this stuff may be small change to others but to me, and parents like me, these little things are newsworthy!

Do you or did you have a mentor at any stage? Do you do any mentoring?

One of my consultancy assignments was to develop a Mentoring Model for an organisation, so I understand the concept and the process really well; and what’s more I think it is a powerful tool to assist individuals in reaching their potential.

I did have a great mentor when I was working in community development, I chose this person because I really respected their value set, their professional standing, their knowledge and breadth of skills, I liked them as a person, and importantly it was a really positive learning experience for me.  I would be open to mentoring someone else – if they thought my skills and my personality (that comes into it too!) were the right fit for them to reach their potential.

How do you manage the work/life balance? What advice or tips can you share?

I try and limit the time I am on the computer or phone when I am with my son, but like all Mum’s that work, it’s a juggling act.  I am also making it a priority this year to get fit, and factor at least 10-30 minutes a day of ‘me’ time, whether that’s just staring into space, reading a book or doing some much needed meditation.  I do like cooking and a challenge, I am currently experimenting with dairy free yoghurt – so if anyone out there has got good ideas please let me know!

What are your goals and plans for the future for your business and/or personally?

My goals for the various adventures that I have, is to keep it real, be consistent and to expand slowly.  I am a finite resource and although I have these amazing ideas (in my head) I have to step it out slowly, because I really want to be there for my family, for my son.

How can we find out more about your business/es? What are your website details?

Lobo Luxe is www.loboluxe.com, please stop by and have a browse – it’s great for just some eye candy and you can send a wishlist to interested significant others as a hint!

Intrepid Allergy Mum is www.intrepidallergymum.com, come and have a look and leave a comment or two, it is great to get a conversation going!

What are your top 3 mottos or tips for living a flourishing life?

In the last five years I have really been humbled, almost crushed, by my child being seriously unwell at times.  But through all this upheaval my son smiles and looks forward to exploring and doing new things. He has been my greatest teacher about life, about being in the moment and not dwelling in the past. He is always hopeful about what’s going to happen next.

I have learned to ask for help when I need it, to lean on people for support and especially when you are facing a crisis, and can I mention God? I had what was best described as patchy ‘dial-up’ connection with God before having our son, I now think I have upgraded and downloaded a smooth, broadband connection, and my spirituality has re-awakened, I feel more centred.    

Some inspirational words I use as personal mantras, were sent to me in a Christmas card by my beautiful friend Nevin, who died of breast cancer last year at the age of 42, “don’t sweat the small stuff, and count your blessings, because there are many” and her favourite quote:

“There are only two ways to live your life.

One is though nothing is a miracle. 

The other is as though everything is a miracle” Albert Einstein (thank you Nevin xx). 

I hope these words and quote inspire and encourage you too x

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