Who is the most inspiring woman in your life? We posed the question to three successful, ambitious & influential women and their responses were synonymous, our mums are and always will be our biggest inspirations. Kristen Tibballs, Nicky Buckley & Ticky Fullerton are three women and role models that collectively embody a powerful ethos that is shared at Anthea Crawford. Honest, determined & compassionate combined with love and kindness, these three incredible women discuss why their mothers continue to influence who they are today.
Kristen Tibballs- Pastry Chef & Owner of Savour School
My mum’s continuous support and commitment is the reason I am successful today. As a child, I loved the sweet treats she would create from recipes passed down from her mother, such as golden syrup puddings, jam steamed puddings and trifle. It was her that helped me discover the joy that desserts can bring! When I started my apprenticeship at a small patisserie in Mornington at fifteen years of age, my mum was fully supportive of me starting full-time work so young and with such long hours. She knew it had been a long-time dream of mine to become a pastry chef. Mum would often help me wash dishes and clean the floor in the patisserie so I could get an extra hour of sleep. She did this for 3 years! She taught me that I could achieve almost anything if I was determined to do so. I am so appreciative of my mum, and on this Mother’s Day I hope to embrace the supportive attributes that she exhibited so effortlessly and continues to do so.
Nicky Buckley- Master of Ceremonies & Ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia
The most important woman in my life was my dearly departed Mother who sadly passed away from Ovarian Cancer some 13 years ago. As such I am now an Ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia. In her honour I want to raise awareness for the signs and symptom’s of this deadly disease so that hopefully an early detection test can be found. Please visit the website www.ovariancanceraustralia.com.au for more info. Wow what a woman and a role model my mum was. She taught me that Family is everything. She was an only child who made up for this by having 6 children of her own and she dedicated her life to being a very present Mum to us all. My mum taught me honesty, trustworthiness and compassion. I never ever heard my mum say a bad word about anyone, she never gossiped and showed compassion to those in need of being heard. All of my friends would confide in my mum things they perhaps wouldn’t share with their own parents because they trusted her confidence. She was the best, taken too soon like so many.
Ticky Fullerton- Anchor of TICKY on Sky News Business
My mother, naturally and always. Mum died a few years ago, like many mothers, from breast cancer and I wasn’t at all ready. So these days I speak to her often, sitting there as she does in whichever happens to be the brightest star or planet in the night sky. And usually with glass of white in hand – that’s me, not she. In the old days we’d chat effortlessly over a glass in the kitchen: politics, work, boyfriends, the garden, cats, the latest village gossip, all while Mum cooked up magic meals. There was always something to cheer, even if it was just having one to four of her children home for a night. In later years ours chats were rather overwhelmed by the arrival of my little boy. Mum was gentle, classy and very English, stunning to look at and with such a clever eye herself. She went to St Martin’s School of Art, made hats in Harrods and could stitch anything. She loved fashion. She cried when she laughed too hard. And my Mum was a great ‘earther’: whatever my highs and lows, a loss of perspective on things, at times consumed by work, or making a dud decision. It is, after all, all about family and knowing that throughout, there’s love and trust with no strings. Mum was extremely wary of the bunch of Aussies I fell in with at university in England and she was right to be so! Later she became resigned to the life I then chose on the other side of the world. Catch-ups were so precious. In three months I get married for the first time, at 54. Mum would have greatly approved and been very relieved. How I wish she were able to view it all from the first pew not up there as Dad walks me down the aisle.