THE NEST HAS ARRIVED….THE BIRTH OF A NEW CONCEPT.
A Letter From Founder, Christina McHugh
It’s hard to pin point where exactly the concept for The Nest began. I could say it started when, almost overnight, I became the mother of an adopted 3 year old. I was in my early twenties, had zero “mommy friends,” and no idea what it took to raise a child. I was suddenly thrown into parenthood and found the never-ending amount of information on parenting (books, blogs, BPA free, organic this and that) to be nothing short of daunting and overwhelming. It didn’t take long for me to realize that my career as a Wedding Planner was no longer a viable option and shortly thereafter found myself a stay-at-home mom.
Like many new moms, I, almost instantaneously, became aware of the isolation that comes with the “new mom journey” and searched high and low for what exactly I was supposed to be doing with my time now that my career was on the backburner. What do you do with this kid all day? I knew I needed adult conversations. I knew I need purpose. After a few months, I started a mom’s group called Mom’s In The City and was able to connect with a group of fabulous women who visited the parks with me, talked potty training and breast feeding over Sunday Mimosa brunches. Moms whom I could call when I was exhausted and confused to seek advice or to simply grab a glass of wine with me. Those friendships, those women, were the most important tool to help me through that transition and supported my marriage through parenthood.
A few years later, I once again, almost overnight, became a divorcee/single mom. I was forced back into the working world with more responsibilities on my plate than ever before. I suddenly found myself dragging, my now school age child, into sales meetings and appointments, searching for games and activities to keep him distracted for long enough for me to read my email, and often wondered where in the world I could take him to have a dinner without a twenty-minute negotiation or compromising for another pizza dinner. During that same period, I once again, reached out to a community of women.
This time the women were single mothers. All of them out in the world hustling in their careers attempting to pay the bills, to get dinner on the table; often without a partner to relieve them of the responsibility or support to lean on. That group of women did not have the option of going out sans kids. If we were having “girls night,” the kids were right there with us. If we had a business call to make, the kids were being shushed in the background. If we wanted to read a book, there was no one in sight to take them outside to play. It was a no relief experience; and especially a no relief without a LOT of guilt experience.
It was through both of those divergent experiences that I began to notice; especially through my experience in the hospitality world, a HUGE deficit in the current market. There was NOTHING around to serve the needs of BOTH women and children. There certainly was nothing around that could offer what I, and so many of these women were in desperate need of: connection, community, support, and understanding.
On top of my experiences as a mother; my experiences as a professional were mostly with women planning events, parties, and gatherings. Through those professional experiences I found the culinary and hospitality world to be rather “male-driven.” There seems to be no short of pubs, sports auditoriums, and games available to connect men and yet when looking at restaurants, parties, classes, and event venues it seems so few of them really have a “female vision.”
Thus the birth of a new concept…and a new question…. what do women want?
This began an ongoing discussion between my friends and I.
It didn’t take long for us to start to answer that question….
We wanted a place that was “pretty,” and “comfortable,”…. I mean enough with the old boys club already. We wanted a place to eat the food that we love...without the meat and potatoes. We wanted a place our children would love to spend time and that could give us a break when we needed it. A place we could socialize without feeling guilty that we were leaving our children behind with a sitter. We wanted a working environment where it is perfectly acceptable to bring our children with us and where they were allowed to make noise. We wanted lots and lots of girly things…you know…the stuff that smells good and sparkles. High tea, big Victorian couches, birds, Nests...you get the idea. We wanted access to the stuff that makes us healthier, more present, more balanced: yoga, group therapy, music. We wanted the right kind of women to be a part of it…. women that want to grow. Women search for meaning. Women with thoughts and options. Women that are mothers, but are not only mothers. Strong women. We wanted it all under one roof.
Thus…. An idea hatched….The birth of the Nest.
And through the partnership of several brilliant women, we were able to make our idea a reality. Once we started the conversation – it seems everyone had ideas. Being that we are women; we listened. And from that we were able to create a creative collaboration of a million tiny nuances that separated us from everything else that is out there. Because as women, we love the details.
Welcome to The Nest. We hope it will become your home. We hope you find a friend. Find a class. Find a moment for yourself. Find yourself.
Join Our Flock. Learn to Soar. Build A Little Birdhouse In Your Soul.