Your Mom Friend: Corinna Williams
Mom to Lila and founder of Celsious on finding time, kindness as a rule, and the importance of help from family.
THE BASICS
Talk to us about where you’re from and what you do.
I live in Brooklyn, but grew up in Germany. After working as a fashion and lifestyle writer for German glossy magazines, I opened Celsious with my sister in 2017. It started out as a laundromat-café and has since evolved into NYC's premium sustainable laundry service and online destination for eco-friendly garment care solutions.
What are your kid(s) names and ages?
Lila turns four in November.
Do you have a favorite age so far? And why?
The age she is now, just going on four, has been among my favorites. As she’s starting to grasp how the world around her works. We’re starting to have deeper conversations around the concepts of human life. I do also miss the six month-old phase, though, when they’re just so deliciously squishy and still let you dress them!
What do you love about raising kids where you live? Do you wish you were raising them somewhere else?
Both my husband Nico and I grew up in Europe, so we fall into this periodic spiral of wanting in on the free childcare and university education, healthcare for all, paid family leave, zero gun violence… but we also love seeing Lila grow up in the diverse community that is Brooklyn – with access to everything New York has to offer.
Can you walk us through a typical day for you and your family? (the morning routine, drop off, work, etc.)
I typically wake up first in the morning, between 6-6.30am, to get myself ready and prep breakfast for Lila. Then I wake her and Nico up around 7am. Breakfast, getting dressed (which is a process and usually involves at least one outfit change midway and a five minute shoe selection debate) and ready for school. We just got a bike trailer, so papà Nico bikes Lila to daycare in South Williamsburg. Our apartment is just above our business, Celsious, so while Nico does drop-off, I’ll start work – until it’s time to pick up Lila at 3.30pm. Then: playtime. We either hit the playground, go on playdates or get creative at home. Papà mostly works from home and we’re lucky he’s an incredible home cook, so he will usually whip up a delicious Italian meal for us. After we have dinner together around 7pm, it’s bedtime routine shower or bath, books and storytime until approx. 8.30pm. Lila will virtually never fall asleep earlier.
What’s the vibe post-bedtime? How do you end your day?
Honestly, it’s usually complete and utter exhaustion. We alternate bedtimes, so whoever is not on bedtime duty prepares lunch and does chores. Sometimes the parent on bedtime duty will fall asleep with Lila and not emerge, sometimes the chore parent will crash immediately after cleaning the kitchen. If we both happen to make it to the other side of bedtime awake, we might watch an episode or two of a TV show together.
Who or what is inspiring you?
I continue to be inspired by fellow founders who happen to be raising children while running their businesses.
What do you struggle with?
Ha, too many things to even list here, the leitmotif being “there are not enough hours in the day”: finding time for myself, finding couple time, finding time with Lila…
What grounds you inside and outside of motherhood?
It’s our family bond that really grounds me inside and outside of motherhood. No matter what, I know that I’ll always be there for Lila and we, as a family, will always be there for each other.
What does YOU TIME look like? How do you find time to take care of yourself while raising a family?
It’s a work in progress: Currently, self care looks like Pilates class once a week, taking short breaks throughout the day to just breathe and sit in the sun and I just got back into reading fiction – just for fun.
MOTHERHOOD
Looking back to your early days of motherhood or postpartum, what do you remember most about it? What stuck?
I was fortunate to have an intimate home birth experience with the incredible support of our midwives and doula. Lila was born on Thanksgiving Day and I remember being in this cozy cocoon with my little family for the first few weeks. It was the height of Covid and holiday season, so the first month of nesting just felt very warm and grounding and much less chaotic than expected. Then, I went back to work (as an essential business, we were able to keep Celsious running during the pandemic), with Lila in tow, in January. And just wish I had given both of us more time in our bubble.
What (if any) advice would you give yourself as a new mom?
Give yourself more time!
What’s the best advice someone else has given you about motherhood?
Not that I heed it very often, i.e. I feel myself running on empty regularly, but: “You cannot pour from an empty cup!”
What do you think is the one thing no one really tells (or warns) you about motherhood?
l think the one thing no one really tells you because you cannot really grasp the feeling until you’re a parent yourself is how you go from having the relative freedom to focus mainly on yourself to being responsible for another human being 24/7. Particularly, when you’re breast/body-feeding, and also happen to be the only source of nutrition for the first six months of someone’s life – talk about demanding!
What do you enjoy the most about being a mom?
Seeing our daughter develop into her own person, getting to watch her embrace her environment, effortlessly switch between three languages. And learning to re-embrace my own curiosity and hunger for knowledge through her.
What would you say is your greatest challenge in motherhood?
Relinquishing control.
What does ‘giving up’ or ‘giving in’ look like for you?
Sugar – the bane of my existence. My husband grew up in a pastry shop, which my in-laws still operate. Whenever we’re visiting them in Italy, there will be copious amounts of cornetti and gelato waiting for Lila. Resistance is absolutely futile.
Which values or lessons are most important to you to pass onto your kid(s)?
Our #1 house rule is to be kind to one another.
COMMUNITY
What does your support system look like? (ex: childcare, friendships, mother or mother figure, bodyworkers, mentors, healers, therapists, etc.)
I’m fortunate to have my family very close by, so Lila gets to hang out with her Oma (grandma), Bubba (grandpa), Tante (my sister, her aunt) and Zio (her uncle; my sister is also married to an Italian) regularly. We enrolled Lila in Montessori school, which she attends Mon-Fri from 8.30am-3.30pm, when she was two years old. These are the most important cornerstones of childcare for us. To help me transition into motherhood (which did not come as easy to me as expected), I’ve been leaning on therapy sessions and the mysha community, a mom group that facilitates WhatsApp pods and IRL events where I met some of my first mom friends.
Do you have any favorite parenting resources (podcasts, books, people)?
I love author Simone Davies’ practical approach to the Montessori method. I’ve read all her books and also regularly turn to her online resources for parenting advice and activity ideas. Also, mysha – they have a pod for moms who are also business founders, which has been a great resource. And, I never thought I was going to be this active on Facebook again, but some of the local Williamsburg, Brooklyn parenting groups have been incredibly helpful in navigating everything from baby gear sourcing to toddler activities and education.
How do you express love (to your children, partner, family, friends) and how do you like to receive it?
In true Taurus fashion, I love giving – and receiving – thoughtful and beautifully curated cards, notes and gifts.
How has your relationship with your partner evolved throughout this journey thus far?
It hasn’t been an easy one. This morning Nico told me he missed me. Curious, as we haven’t spent more than a total of two weeks apart from each other since Lila was born. But I think we, to this day, haven’t figured out how to balance the demands of parenthood and everyday life in NYC to reconnect as a couple after becoming parents.
How have you made your mom friends?
Through mysha, at Lila’s school and through chance encounters at the playground. Also, I am still very close to my high school friends from Germany, many of whom are also moms.
What's the number one thing you seek from your mom friends?
Resonance.
What does your ideal mom’s night out look like?
A night out on the town with one of my single/non-parent friends for some pre-mom era shenanigans.
STYLE
Did your style change when you became a mother and if so, how?
I’ve always loved a utility look. But since becoming a mom, I feel like uniform dressing in workwear basics has become a necessity. My brain doesn’t have the capacity to put together outfits anymore.
Do you have a uniform? If so, what does it consist of?
White t-shirts (I probably own 10 or more of Industry Standard’s) or long sleeves by Everybody.World, jeans or utility pants by Still Here, GoldSign, Closed and Alex Mill plus Birkenstock or KEEN on my feet.
Favorite shops? For yourself and your kids?
Online shopping for me only, ssense.com or The RealReal. For Lila: ssense.com happens to have the best kids’ pants. Gray Label from the Netherlands and Organic Zoo from the UK for cute basics. That said, we do a lot of vintage shopping for Lila (Parachute in Greenpoint has the cutest selection) and hand-me-downs from local parent Facebook Groups – particularly shoes. I feel like Lila’s feet grow about 1-2 sizes every season, so I’ve given up on buying them new.
Best vacation spots with the family? Where’d you go, what’d you do, where’d you stay? Anywhere you’d like to go?
Nico is from Italy, his family, my in-laws, live in Napoli. We’ve been going every summer since Lila was born and it’s perfect! We’ll stay with family and/or rent a place by the beach close-ish by. We’ll just spend our days by the sea, have great food, family time, but also date nights (since there’s grandparents, aunties and teenage cousins all competing to babysit Lila).
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
Favorite last purchase for yourself?
A barely used Burley Encore X bike trailer off of Facebook Marketplace. I love biking and just got into it again after having had eye surgery a few months ago. So excited to be able to take Lila along for the ride!
Fav podcast?
I studied International Relations in college and then worked as a print journalist. I am a news (from politics to pop culture) junkie – but with zero time to read. So I get my fix from podcasts: I usually start with NPR’s “Up First”, then New York Times’ “The Daily”. I also enjoy Astead Herndon in “The Run-Up”, Airmail’s “Morning Meeting” and Vox’s “Today, Explained”. Any recommendations to add to the list – send them my way!
Favorite local restaurant?
Diner in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Fav place for self-care?
Ideal date night?
Must always involve good wine.
Last book you read?
Desert Island- Products you can’t live without?
Terra-Tory Baby Oats Soap Cube and Under Luna shampoo/conditioner for both of us. For me: Marie Veronique Pure + E.O. Free Oil Cleanser, Ursa Major Mountain Glow Golden Serum and, of course, clean sunscreen. Le Prunier Plumscreen is the best! Is that too much?
Define in one word your expectation of motherhood:
Fulfillment
Define in one word your reality of motherhood:
Rollercoaster
Favorite recipe that your kids will actually eat?
She’s thankfully been into pretty much everything we like to eat as well. Among her/our favorites: papà’s pasta, meatballs, Schnitzel and mussels.
