Julia Armory
Founder, India Amory
The kids are down, your work is done - how do you spend your “me” time, when you get it?
“Quiet time” as my mom always called it is so important. Baths are huge for me - these days my evening bath is usually with my daughter but that makes it more fun! I have also recently committed to the practice of turning my iPhone off around 7pm...helps me resist the compulsive urge to check emails or Instagram.
What is the thing you bought in the last three months that you have most enjoyed?
A NuFACE! I genuinely think it’s incredible and I use it every single morning for about 10 minutes. It’s been about a month and even if it’s just psychosomatic I’m buying what they’re selling!
What is the quality you most like in yourself as a mother?
Perhaps this is true of every parent, and maybe this will be what my kid ends up resenting most about me in the future but I really hold her to a high standard because someday, the rest of the world will as well. I adore my own parents but I think I’m much harder on myself than my mother ever was. I’m 100% the Tiger mom to my husband’s Panda dad….
What is the quality you most like in one or all of your children that they did not inherit from you?
When I was growing up in New York strangers on the street would tell me to “smile” which used to give me rage blackouts. Perhaps it’s my German DNA but I take a relatively “non nonsense” approach to life. Contrary to my seriousness, my daughter is pure sunshine and is rarely not BEAMING, which she 100% gets from her father - she has figured out early on in life that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Now at 35 it makes me want to growl slightly less when a stranger tells me to smile...
What is the other career you’d most like to try out, given a second professional life?
This is actually my second professional life. I worked in finance for many years prior to launching India Amory...I’m grateful for every minute that I get to develop this business further!
Is there anything that quarantine forced you to change that you would like to - or will - maintain post quarantine?
I visit my sad racks of party dresses that have gone unworn for so many months now and I realize how much more thoughtful I am when it comes to clothing purchases these days. I genuinely think long and hard about where I’m wearing something more than I used to and I think that’s a good lesson in sustainability (and perhaps NOT hoarding! that I will continue to embrace in the future)
What are the nicest things your partner does for you, and you for them?
My husband is an angel and has the patience of a saint. While I actually love the creative aspect of cooking and am pretty competent in the kitchen I am HORRIBLE at meal planning, grocery shopping and or generally getting food on the table. He is incredible at making sure we all stay fed and simultaneously extremely sweet and totally enabling in his commitment to keeping me caffeinated in the morning. 
What are the three beauty products you always have in your rotation? We always love to know someone's go-to lipstick color too…
I will be buried with Glycolix face wipes, Skin Ceuticals Triple Lipid Moisturizer and St Tropez self tanner (body mousse and the clear face spray). I don’t really wear lipstick because I hate that it has to be reapplied so I look for stains - currently love Buxom lip stain in Frenchie.
Where is the place where you feel like your best self - your happy place?
Anywhere I'm working. Productivity and daily accomplishment make me tick.
How important is routine to you? What parts of your routine are sacrosanct?
There is no real routine in entrepreneurship and I've learned to roll with the punches. hat being said aiming to cross everything off my list that I set out to accomplish is very important to my mental well being.
What are your professional goals and how do you go about achieving them?
I plan to continue to develop India Amory and grow into additional product categories reaching a new and broader audience. The best way I know to accomplish that is to never rest on my laurels or accomplishments and to just keep grinding, as gracefully as possible.
What are the things that make your home personal to you and your family?
We’re in a very strange year because we’re sort of not in our home - we haven’t been in our New York apartment with our daughter since last February, so we’ve been in Southampton which is a family home that’s been passed down through the generations of my husband’s family. Almost everything in the house tells a story and is highly personal to all of us which is very special - it is well loved and a little wonky with a kind of magical patina to it that I feel lucky our daughter will get to experience growing up.
How important is community to you, and how do you go about building and nurturing it for your family?
Community is everything and from raising children to growing a business I firmly believe it takes a village. Sadly the circumstances of the first years of my daughter’s life have made it challenging for us to do some of the things with her we would have hoped to but fingers crossed for a return to more normalcy in the coming year.
What maternity style or clothing item could you not find this time around that you most wish FH would create?
I really struggle with pants when pregnant. Maternity pants that have elasticized inserts at the pockets tend to sit really low which i can’t stand and pants that have a “belly band” tend to feel like they’re always falling down - I’m not sure what the magic solution is but if you can design attractive and functional pants I’ll buy a pair in every color.
Shop Julia's Look: Ribbed Knit Tee, Pencil Ribbed Knit Skirt
