BCM - How did your life change when you became a mom?

Jenny - I was traveling at least a hundred days a year internationally before I gave birth to Eden.  I was not sure what I would feel after Eden was born so I left my decision up in the air with my boss.  I was living in Israel at the time, where you are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave so I had a few months to think about my options.  It did not take me long to figure out that going back to my job as it was before Eden was born was not going to work.  I spent the last month of my maternity leave looking for another solution, as not working was not an option.  Fortunately, I was able to find something that enabled me to make my own hours.  I was very lucky.  But I went from spending a lot of time working in foreign places to singing “you are my sunshine” at least 50 times a day.  It took some time to figure out the right mix, but launching Leshem Loft, enabled my husband and I to make a living doing what we loved, while spending a lot of time with our girls.

BCM - What has been your most memorable moment (s) as a mom?

Jenny - Considering that my memory is pretty much non-existent (and it should be noted that in my case it has nothing to do with mommy brain as I have always been known for forgetting pretty much anything sentimental) I will relay a story that happened only last week.  My mom purchased Eden a book that outlined projects that Mothers and Daughters could do together.  You can imagine the joy I felt when I received a call from my mother who was speaking on behalf of Eden (her beloved granddaughter) in order to inquire whether I would be willing to participate in the book if she purchased it?  So, the book came home.  That evening, we discussed what projects we would start with and it was decided that we would dress up fancy and act as restaurant critics in a fancy restaurant.  We penciled in a date for the following week.  As my husband/business partner, was out of town, we decided to also include Maya.  We were supposed to leave at 7:00 for our dinner, and at the last minute I scheduled a client meeting in our live/work portraiture studio at 6:00 (yes, I know this was a horrible thing to do).  I figured I could be quick.  I spoke with the girls ahead of time and told them we would get going as soon as I was finished but while they were waiting they could go through my make-up and jewelry (I have all my old jewels from my teenage years stored in a bag for a day like this).  This seemed to distract them for a while and they scurried off into the bathroom to work on becoming fancy.  At 8:45 PM I finished my meeting (for anyone who knows me I am not known for brevity when I speak), and I was exhausted.  But as soon as they heard the front door slam, they came running out, dressed in fancy clothes, holding fancy bags, completely made-up and wearing more strands of fake pearls than you can possibly imagine.  So off we went.  The girls had already decided we were to go to the fanciest Italian restaurant in the area, so we pranced out the door, in our fancy clothes and all, holding our notepads and pens in order to rate and critique every moment.  We live in tribeca around the corner from Locanda Verde, which if you called today, is booked solid for the next 3 to 4 weeks. But we were on a mission, so we marched up to the host and declared we were three fancy girls pretending to be restaurant critics (wink wink), and would they kindly seat us.  And without blinking an eye, he said “right this way”. 

BCM - What has been the biggest challenge for you in motherhood?

Jenny - Dealing with the unexpected.  I seem to be able to manage and multi task the things I am prepared for. But when something pops up out of the blue, that can throw me for a loop.  I am sure this is connected to not having extended family locally.  Both Yaron and I have amazing sets of parents who are wonderful with our kids, but as we chose to live far away from them, we have put ourselves in a situation where we do not have back up in case of an emergency and this can be very stressful.  In our boutique we have an amazing line of handmade custom charms.  Last year I made one in Braille that says breathe as a reminder when everything feels unmanageable.

BCM - How do you manage your career while being a mother and a wife? Any advice for moms?

Jenny - Yaron and I launched Leshem Loft as a way for us to work together, work from home and do something we both loved. We know we have a very unusual situation that we do not take for granted. Because we fill very different roles in the business, it works. 50% of our photo shoots are on location in and around New York as well as across the country. In most cases, we take the kids with us so when our shoot is over we can enjoy something in the new area together. The downside is we work almost every weekend, as that is when most of the families we shoot want to take their family pictures. This can be hard on the kids sometimes. Advice, humm, I think we, like everyone else, try to do our best. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but overall, it is amazing. I also not only love my husband, but I really like him (you can all roll your eyes now). But anyone who has been on one of our shoots, can see the mutual affection between us, we have so much fun together and with the families we shoot. We also really respect each other. Yaron is so talented not only as a photographer but also as a printer of his own work. I would never dare to get involved in his areas of expertise and he feels the same about the things I contribute to the business. We also share a lot of the responsibilities in the home and with the kids. We both cook, we both walk the dog (although I never do it in the rain), we take turns with getting the kids off to school or tucked into bed. There is no system we just know when each one of us needs a break and then the other one steps in.

BCM - Why should people hire a professional photographer when it is just as easy to take pictures themselves?

Jenny - As I am not the photographer in our partnership, I can relate to every Mom out there that feels like she is the best person to chronicle photographically every moment of her family.  Trust me, when Eden learned how to dive under water, I became so excited to capture it digitally on my $399 camera from B&H, that I dropped it into the pool.  But taking a thousand photos on your iPhone (yes I do this to) and sending them to grandma and everyone else you know, is not professional photography, it is just really cute pictures of your kid.  Talent, artistry, equipment used, lighting, experience with children, experience in making everyone feel comfortable and printing are all components that go into capturing and creating memorable, natural, beautiful portraits that will be loved immediately and through time.  Photography is an art form and Yaron has studied the art of photography as a language and not as a mom or dad.  He has a professional eye for the right composition, the perfect lighting and the final print.  Most of our clients, work with us to create something they cannot create on their own that can be loved and integrated into their home.  So, keep taking lots of digital pictures and uploading them to your computer, but once in your life or once a year or once every 3 months, let us capture your family.  In 20 years you will not be sorry.  In addition, we also suggest having a study done of yourself (yes, you Mom) in black and white for yourself or for your partner.  First of all you will feel beautiful, second of all you will have fun and if you are gifting this to a partner, you will have an amazing birthday, anniversary or valentine’s gift that is just for the two of you to enjoy.  We were recently hired by a group of close girlfriends who took turns being photographed; while one was photographed the others had their hair and make-up done over a glass of wine (or two).  And I almost forgot, family photos are not family photos if one member of the family is behind the camera or jumping into the picture before the timer goes off.

BCM - What types of activities do you like to do w/ your kids?

Jenny -We love to travel and we bring our kids everywhere. Because we have family in Israel, we frequently take an 11 hour flight across the Atlantic. Most people think we are nuts as they cannot imagine doing it with little ones, but it is what it is, sometimes they cry and kick the seat in front of them and sometimes they sleep the entire flight. Note to all families traveling on a plane (pack not only a spare outfit for your little one, but also for the person holding the little one), both my husband and I have been peed, pooped and thrown up on and it is not fun sitting the remainder of the flight in any of these bodily fluids. We have a ton of dance parties in our home, and we recently purchased a karaoke machine for Maya's 4th birthday. Maya doesn't know it but I am secretly planning to kidnap her machine while she is sleeping in order to throw me and my girlfriends a party one night. We walk our dog a lot together, and during these walks I do not look at my phone or email (at least most of the time I don't). We cook, I am a total foodie, and am obsessed about finding new recipes to cook for and with our girls. If I said we read or played a lot of games together I would be lying, I wish I did this more and I feel super guilty about it. Thankfully, Eden has filled this role for me and is the perfect little Mom herself to her little sister. Mostly, we hang and talk and laugh, and sometimes if I am lucky I can coerce the girls to rub my feet.

BCM - If you could give one piece of advice what would it be?
Jenny - It is the same advice I still try to give myself. I tell myself it always works out in the end, even if it worked out differently than I had anticipated. That’s life and it goes on whether you enjoy it or not, so try and relax and have fun before it is too late. (Note to self, tape this mantra on to wall next to computer monitor)

BCM - Which BCM event was your favorite?

Jenny - Definitely the biggest baby shower ever. You guys do such a fantastic job and not to mention the goodie bags! Besides, I have a soft spot for this event, because it was the first event we did with Big City Mom’s. We heard about it last minute while we were in Germany but without blinking an eye, when we contacted Big City Mom’s, you squeezed us in so we could be a part of it. We really appreciated this then and now.