ON TO THE NEW

Emilie Pullar has faced some stressful moments this year, but developed techniques to manage them.

Emilie Pullar has had a tumultuous year. Not only did she make the decision to wrap up her successful fashion brand, Maaike, after 14 years in order to pursue her passion for pasta, but in April, her father died.

“It’s been the most testing year mentally and physically and there have been moments I have felt truly paralysed by the strain and pressure I feel,” admits Pullar, who celebrates her 39th birthday today. “I am very much looking forward to 2024, this year hasn’t been fun.”

However, Pullar says one of her strengths is putting things in perspective. “Life is full of beautiful moments and painful ones and it’s just all part of the journey. As cliche as that sounds.”

What do you do for a living?

I am one of the designers and directors of the fashion label Maaike and after 14 years we are wrapping up at the end of this year to pursue new ventures. I have been building up my second business, The Burnt Butter Table, a pasta-focused recipe blog, for the last two years.

What hours do you work each day?

This year I have had to work a lot to ensure I get Burnt Butter Table to a good place, so during the week I do 12-hour days and I work all weekend too. I don’t think that is impressive or cool at all, it’s just the season I am in right now.

Do you have set work/life boundaries or do they merge?

Absolutely zero work/life balance this year! It’s been a real challenge and something I am looking forward to getting right next year.

What time do you wake up?

Between 6-7am, even at weekends. My husband and I are incapable of sleeping in. I would if I could ...

What do you have for breakfast?

I don’t eat breakfast, it doesn’t work for me. People say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I couldn’t disagree more. Our bodies need a break from eating and stopping eating in the morning improved my stomach so much.

Do you have an exercise routine. If so what is it?

If I don’t exercise I feel really sluggish. I try and exercise four times a week, but if I have to physically go somewhere for exercise it won’t happen, so I just do HIIT and weight workouts at home.

Do you use supplements?

I have always struggled with digestion and stomach issues so I have pretty much tried every supplement under the sun for that At the moment I am taking some Bepure digestion supplements, as well as magnesium.

What pillar of life causes you the most stress – work, family, finances, health?

Even though I have run my own business for so long, work has never stressed me out until this year with the transition into a new career. I have had the pressure of wrapping up Maaike but also building up Burnt Butter Table to a point where it makes me enough money to pay the bills.

To add to that, I lost my darling Dad in April so that has added an entirely different stress and toll on me and my family.

And what do you do to manage it?

I have always been extremely good at putting things into perspective. When times have been tough with Maaike, Abby, my business partner, and I would always remind ourselves we are making clothes, not curing cancer. With losing a family member, yes, it’s the worst thing that can happen, and we need to allow ourselves to feel that pain, but it is just life.

What time do you go to bed at night? Do you sleep soundly?

I go to bed around 10.30pm most nights. My husband and I are both terrible sleepers. It’s a constant battle.

What do you do in the final hour before bed?

I do try and shut down my laptop and put my phone away at 9pm. But then I’ll often watch TV to unwind, so that isn’t a great habit. I read before sleeping every night as it helps get me to sleep, and I have a shower every night right before bed. It’s a non-negotiable.

When I have a run of bad sleep it forces me to get my shakti mat out to lie on before bed. I swear it helps.

How do you deal with the stress of failure?

I have never found any kind of “failure” in business that stressful. You learn more from things that don’t work than the ones that do. The reason people are successful and have got to the top of their game is the fact they have kept going after failure, not given up.

I take this mindset into my next venture. I truly believe I am going to turn Burnt Butter Table into a huge success. I know there will be challenges and mistakes along the way but it won’t stop me.

What do you do for fun?

Eating! How lucky I have managed to turn that into a career. Eating out is my favourite thing to do. Spending time with friends and family, reading, walking and very much looking forward to doing some more travelling in the next couple of years.

Favourite free stress-buster?

I am lucky to live near the beach so walking there is the ultimate therapy. I love the sound of the water.

What’s been the biggest change you’ve made when it comes to looking after your health and mental health and wellbeing?

This is still a constant battle with everything that I have going on this year. I think I have got better at admitting when I am struggling and being kinder to myself when that happens. There are moments when I just don’t know what to do with myself, I can’t focus on work or do anything and I feel so anxious. In these moments now I just sit, breathe, acknowledge this is normal and fine, instead of just trying to push through and keep working.