
Mother Stories
Meet Brand-New Mama Lisa Fuller Of Courtshop NY
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Maria Del Rio
Nov 22, 2016
Denim fans, this one’s for you. If indie jean labels are your thing, there’s no doubt you’ve heard of NYC brand Courtshop, which has become a closet staple for the downtown set, as well as some pretty major stars—Michelle Williams, Rihanna, Natalie Portman, and Drew Barrymore, included. Here we sit down with Courtshop’s down-to-earth founder and designer, Lisa Fuller, as she talks style, business, and her brand-new role as mama to 4-month-old Simone.
- "We're in a classic railroad in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We moved in when I was very pregnant, this past spring. My husband and I both work in the neighborhood. His office is actually in the building next to mine, walking distance from home. It's a pretty great set up." Lisa wears a vintage top, Parker dress (worn open), and Courtshop jeans.
- "A work in progress. There are so many things I want to do that I haven't gotten to. But, thankfully, the apartment has enough character on its own that even if I never get around to putting up curtains, which I very well may not, it'll do."
- "I've clocked a lot of hours on my couch. It's kind of like my second husband. I also love our vintage black lacquer desk, which started out as the cash wrap at the first Courtshop location on Mulberry Street, back in 2008."
- "There's so much to do. We live right in between McCarren and McGolrick Parks. It's hard to walk down the street without bumping into like 10 strollers. There's definitely a community of young working parents here, which is nice."
- "Toronto, but that's probably not going to happen, sadly. L.A. is inevitable at some point, but while my husband is ready, I can't quite wrap my very east coast brain around it just yet."
- "She still sleeps in a bassinet beside our bed, so we don't have a crib yet. So, for now her room is for listening to records, playing, and getting dressed. She loves it in there! Her changing pad has a strange calming effect on her, so whenever she's having a freakout we lay her down there and she is usually smiling within a minute."
- "A very good friend who's a journalist brought her a slightly angry-looking antique wind chime from Iraq. It's beautiful and very old. I also love her dresser, which I painted when I was 8 months pregnant. I was huge and it took me forever. I ended up stepping in the paint tray and had to crawl to the shower. Total mess. But it turned out great!"
- "Our place is pretty tiny, and we don't have any closets (not one!), so it's inevitable that the apartment explodes with baby stuff every once in a while. We're learning to keep on top of it, but my husband and I are not the neatest people on earth, so it is what it is. The less aesthetically pleasing the toy, the more Simone loves it, of course. She just outgrew her swing, which basically took up our entire living room. I was not mad to send that thing out the door."
- "To see who she turns out to be. I can't wait to hear her opinions and silly jokes. She hasn't laughed yet, she hasn't even had water! There's so much ahead of us. I'm excited that she has a clean slate and that I get to be a part of it all."
- "That I will say or do something that will scar her for life. That she won't grow up feeling strong and confident. That I will let her down. That our current government will undo all the work women have done to fight for gender equality."
- "Her name is Simone Michelle. We had such a hard time naming her. My husband, whose name is Mookie (after Mets player Mookie Wilson), wanted something unusual. I joked that if we really wanted to be subversive in 2016 Brooklyn, we should name her something like Jennifer. In the end we finally agreed on Simone, but not until an hour before we left the hospital. The nurses were like, 'Guys, get it together.' Her middle name was always going to be Michelle, which is a family tradition on my side."
- "Both my mom and mother-in-law are badass breadwinners. Very inspiring women."
- "I liked Pregnant Chicken when I was pregnant. But there is so much information out there, and so much of it has a negative bent, like those '10 Things No One Tells You About Motherhood' pieces, where numbers 1-10 are basically just saying 'It's awful!' over and over. I find it overwhelming. I've mostly stopped reading parenting stuff unless I have a specific question. I try to just pay attention to my baby and listen to my instincts and now we're pretty in sync."
- "They were pretty laid back and they always encouraged me to express myself how I wanted. They gave me independence, but I knew that if I ever got stuck, they'd be there." Lisa wears a Jill Stuart top and Courtshop jeans.
- "I feel so lucky to have had a really nice, easy pregnancy. I felt healthier and more calm than I had in years, and I really loved my body. With all the flabby side bits stretched out to the front, it was the first time in forever that you couldn't pinch an inch!"
- "Feel free to ignore all the advice. You know best, believe in that!"
- "Never say never...but we're very happy with one."
- "I'm the founder and creative director of Courtshop, a denim brand and store in Williamsburg."
- "I grew up in Toronto, which still has my heart. I dabbled in college, studying business, but it wasn't for me. I started my career in banking, of all things, which also wasn't for me. One day I just quit and moved to New York. It's been 10 years now that I've been here and working in fashion."
- "It's given me new perspective. It feels good to be working for something more than my own wallet or ego."
- "It hasn't so far, but I imagine that narrative could change as she grows up a bit. I do spend time weighing the pros and cons of having the freedom of a flexible schedule vs. a corporate job where there would be benefits, which was never really on my radar previously. Right this minute, this works for me."
- "I worked like hell when I was pregnant so I could take 8 weeks off. The timing worked out nicely, in that she was due at a slower time of year. My team is incredible, and they really stepped it up when I was gone. My husband also runs a business, and he was able to take about 6 weeks off. That time together was such a fun, weird blur, it was some of the happiest days we've spent as a couple. All parents should have the right to do the same. There needs to be more support for working parents. I really feel like those first few weeks set the tone for many months to come." Lisa wears an Upstate dress.
- "Not so far. She's only 4 months old, I'm sure it will come. But I mean, she's here, she's healthy, we're doing it...what more can I ask of myself? Let's all meet back here when Simone is 30 and see what she has to say."
- "Yes, we have amazing friends and my husband's family is here, which I'm thankful for every day. I'm also a part of some really great mom groups online. Amazing women figuring it out together."
- "Go anywhere in the world and you'll see denim all over. To be able to carve out a place in that huge market is an incredible challenge, so it's endlessly satisfying seeing Courtshop out on the streets."
- "The only way to get through this crazy ride, as I see it, is to truly share responsibilities. I read somewhere that you never hear the term 'working father.' So true. It's up to both of us to make this thing work. A nice dinner here and there doesn't hurt either. Shout out to single moms. I am in awe."
- "I'd love to do a maternity denim line. We'll see..."
- "Jeans, boots, and a leather jacket."
- "It's all about the hunt for me. I would rather spend a day thrifting than do just about anything else. When I shop new, it's mostly in person. I have a hard time pulling the trigger online because I'm always like, is there something better out there? There's actually a name for it, 'Analysis Paralysis.' Whatever, it saves me a lot of money."
- "These days it's really about a bottle of wine at home and more often than not, delivery. When we do go out, it's usually to eat at one of our faves—Diner in Williamsburg, High Street on Hudson in the West Village, or Mission Chinese in Chinatown. My husband works in music, so there's always a show to go to. If we've got Simone with us, a quick lunch at Enid's in Greenpoint is the best. We've been taking her there since she was days old."
- "Moisturize and hope for the best. I'm not that into makeup, probably because I'm no good at applying it. I keep my bangs in check by trimming them regularly, and the key to that is exactly 1.5 glasses of wine. Any more and you're too bold, any less, you're too meek."
- "My postpartum body is...interesting, so I should probably get to a gym, but oh god I hate exercise. My excuse right now is that I made a whole person with this body, so it's fine to give myself a break."
- For more on Lisa, Simone, and Courtshop, check out her Instagram feed.
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