Marion Gruber, free motherhood

Creative and inspiring, Marion is not only a breath of fresh air in our Instagram feed. The influencer and mom of three confides in us her vision of parenthood and her desires for elsewhere. You need to breathe? Then read on!

Mother of three children in 5 years! Can you tell us how your motherhood has evolved? Are you the same mom now as you were at the beginning?

Marion Gruber: I think it’s in my nature to see the glass half full. I make lists, plans, anticipate and prepare a lot of things, but it’s more to reassure myself. However, when things happen (very often not at all as planned), I welcome them without worrying, appreciating all the little things in life. In my parenthood, it’s exactly like that. I’m not rigid about planning, schedules, I try to do the best I can, to make life easier for us at all costs.

And finally, it suits us well: the children are very cool, we take them everywhere, they adapt to everything. Their bond is very strong, it’s really magical to witness that. And we involve them in all our projects, we talk a lot with them, despite their little age, and I have the impression that they love it.

I think I’m the same mom I was five years ago, yes, maybe with the added fatigue (laughs). I still have tears in my eyes when I see them do something new, I still have this feeling of happiness that overflows in my heart, I tell myself every day that it’s incredible what Guillaume and I have managed to do. I’m just constantly overwhelmed and I go to bed every day very tired from my days, but hey, it’s a small price to pay for all the happiness I have on the side!

Was having three children a dream for a long time or a desire that was built up as you went along? The path of MAP is surely synonymous with a roller coaster… and a miracle too!

Marion Gruber: I have always dreamed of having three children. This idea of a large family and children who have siblings to constantly play with, grow up with and evolve with has always spoken to me. And then with my first pregnancy, I realized that having three might not be as easy as it seems, and how lucky I already was to have a baby in my arms. When you’ve been on an IVF journey like we have, I think you really have to appreciate how much of a gift life is, how much of a miracle and how much of a chance it is. But… the desire for more never left me. And 14 months later, I was pregnant with James. We could have told each other that it was OK, that we were really the happiest and luckiest people in the world, but I felt like we were missing one. And then Luna came along, and I never had that “not enough” feeling again. I immediately felt like we were complete. The missing piece of the puzzle. I still can’t explain it!

You’ve got three beautiful kids, written books, put together a hat line, a crazy house, you make inspirational content, you’ve planned an amazing move. It almost sounds “easy”. Do you have any advice for moments of doubt and keeping it together?

Marion Gruber: Thank you very much! It’s not that it’s easy, but challenges don’t scare me, on the contrary they are so inspiring, a real driving force. I need to create things, to dream, for my balance. It’s a lot of work, but since I love what I do, I do it with so much pleasure that it’s even more motivating. And as for life projects……  It’s now or never, and I hate having regrets. Sometimes I have doubts, but I am lucky to be very well surrounded, so verbalizing things that worry me or seem unclear to my close friends, family or collaborators, frees me immediately. I always tell myself that I must not lose sight of the objective and that in the end, success or not, the path to get there will be so instructive and positive that I must go for it. One rarely regrets the things accomplished to the end, rather those that one did not dare to do. So, here I am, I still have projects in mind, so why not try to realize them? I believe that being proud of the path you’ve taken and of your work is one of the best feelings.

By the way, what is the status of this project for Los Angeles?

Marion Gruber: This is clearly THE project at hand: change your life, leave everything behind and start over on the other side of the world. Typically the kind of challenge a little crazy, which leads to a constant questioning so much the upheaval is crazy … but for which the result will be so worth it. For the moment, we are still in our files for immigration and obtaining the visa. We went there to find a house and visit the children’s schools. It’s getting real!

What essentials will come with you in your luggage?

Marion Gruber: We’re going to try to go light – but we’re actually too passionate about a lot of things to do that! I need my sewing machine, my knitting material and my hooks. Guillaume needs his guitars, I’ll take a good part of my dressing room, our sofas and some furniture we love and then our Charlie Crane high chairs, of course!

15 years of love with your husband, 3 children, you work together with Guillaume… Help us! What are your secrets for a couple that lasts?

Marion Gruber: We talk all the time. All the time. We are lucky to be aligned with our projects and dreams. And then we each have our passions, our own moments. With kids, our balance is always changing. It’s a lot of work to figure out how to adjust it to life in general, but we manage to take a step back and find ourselves. A real team work, and a lot of love!

While we wait for LA, we’re still enjoying the photos of your home in Hossegor. Why do you like Charlie Crane furniture?

Marion Gruber: Charlie Crane has been with us since Romy arrived 5 years ago. We saw her grow up in the bouncer, discover food in her high chair, and then James arrived, he slept in the crib, and then Luna came to complete the picture, still comfortably installed in the same Charlie Crane furniture.

 

How does this furniture evolve with your children and within your home?

Marion Gruber: We really went through all the evolutionary phases of furniture.

After the KUMI crib, Luna sleeps in the KIMI bed today, and one day we’ll open it so she can get in and out as she pleases. We even pushed the thing with the LEVO baby rocker which today welcomes the children’s dolls.

Do you have a design craving right now? A piece that makes you dream ?

Marion Gruber: Yes! I’m dreaming of a Ray Wilkes Chiclet chair for our next home…

What will we be able to see in a year on your Instagram account? By the way, will we still have to follow you on instagram or on another network?

Marion Gruber: Hopefully some photos with pretty California palm trees in the background, and some new projects to share! I love photography too much to not be on Instagram anymore, but I’m trying to do more videos so I opened a YouTube channel and a TikTok account so who knows, I might be everywhere at once?

Thank you so much to Marion for her time. Follow her on her Instagram account @fringeandfrange!