Moms on the Move with Co-founder Callie Bloem
We are so excited to introduce you to our interview series "Moms (and Dads) on the Move"! This series will feature some truly amazing Los Angeles "parentprenuers" and will give us a chance to learn about their businesses, how they network, their favorite spots for adventures with their kids and lots of other exciting nuggets.
Speaking of truly amazing moms, let me introduce our first interviewee... me! Ok, I kid. But I am going to kick off the series with my own answers.
First, tell us your story! We’d love to hear little bit about yourself and your business.
Callie: I’m a producer, writer and mostly recently, an entrepreneur. I
grew up in DC, went to college in Wisconsin (Go, Badgers!) then moved to San Francisco where my then-boyfriend-now-husband went to film school. I somehow found myself working at a consulting firm post-college where I was lucky enough to work in a beautiful office in the Presidio, meet one of my best friends and live a generally awesome SF existence.
Then we made the move down to LA where I started working at a healthcare tech firm which became a seven-year career. At the same time my husband and I started a production company on the side because we had always loved working together on music videos and commercials.
Fast forward to 2017 and we had our daughter. Once she was born I knew it was the right time to go out on my own and here I am now. Not only am I producing and writing, but I’m lucky enough to be working with Christianne on MiLOWE.
How many kids do you have, what ages?
I have a 2.5 year old daughter
What are your top three recommendations for things to do with kids in LA?
It’s so hard to pick only three, so here are my top three at this specific moment in time:
The Grove - My whole family loves The Grove. It starts with the elevator ride down from the parking garage and then on to watching the fish in the fountain. My daughter has special names for all them (Nina and Nina are the twin fish, the yellow one is sometimes called Goldie and other times called Donna and then her two very favorite fish get christened with her two favorite names for all things – CeCe and Saucy). Then we usually meander on over to the Farmers Market for food and a stop at Sticker Planet (which is, as you can guess a store full of all kinds of stickers). I think this is the perfect place to meet people because everyone can mix and match their own food options, it’s super casual and always a fun, loud atmosphere (aka it’s totally ok if your kid decides to dance or sing by your table).
Any type of park or outdoor activity. Our current favorites are Stoneview Nature Center (post coming next week!) and the Culver City Park, mostly because it has a lot of climbing structures and more importantly a skate park, where my daughter loves to sit and watch the cool older kid skateboarders.
The LA Zoo. We’d been meaning to go forever and when our daughter was born it quickly became our go-to post-nap weekend activity. It’s a perfectly Los Angeles version of a zoo, all production-designed twists and turns and tons of nooks and crannies to explore and discover upon repeat visits. Our daughter’s favorite inhabitants include the super expressive and playful giant river otters, the sleepy hippos, the Tasmanian devils (or “kitties” as our daughter likes to call them) and the humongous vultures for some reason.
How do you network as a parent and a business person?
I feel super lucky to be part of a bunch of wonderful groups both personally and professionally. I made a lot of friends through a Mommy & Me program I did starting when my daughter was five weeks old and then made another group of parent friends at a preschool prep program. Professionally I am part of Hey Mama and Women in Entertainment and I highly recommend both organizations!
Where do you go for inspiration on the web and in real life?
A huge source of inspiration for me is books and movies. I try to go to the theater as often as I can (which isn’t nearly enough post-child) and I try to read every single night. I also listen to tons and tons of podcasts. Podcasts are basically my crash course in all topics I’m not an expert in. My favorites are: How I Built This, Second Life, Armchair Expert, Janet Lansbury’s Respectful Parenting, Raising the Bar and The Business. And if you want to laugh until you cry and you’re a fan of Bravo reality TV, listen to Bitch Sesh. I listen to this when I go on walks and sometimes I laugh uncontrollably as I pass by the local high school and I feel like all the teenagers think I’m a weirdo.
What is the first website you visit every morning?
CNN. Just kidding…Instagram.
What are you three favorite Instagram accounts to follow?
I know I wrote these questions so I should able to answer them, but it’s so hard to narrow it down, so I’m going to cheat and say here are my favorite LA accounts to follow - @barrettprendergast, @almostmakesperfect, @studoidiy. All three are cool moms who keep it real.
What is on your to do list for today?
Exercise, lots of emails, meeting with Christianne to go through our never-ending to-do list, running a few errands and maybe going to the Grove for dinner and a visit with the fish.
And finally, where can we find you?
o Website: Right here! www.milowekids .com
o Instagram: @milowekids
