YDGM Ep 019: Samina Courtin

“I think subconsciously I was looking for an outlet. I think I wanted a way out, and I wanted something more in my life, a creative outlet because I knew I wasn’t getting that from my career. So I was happy to take that time away, and then I had Noah and then it was just me at home with Noah and Yasmin. And I look back at that time and oh my gosh, it was so special.”

Samina Courtin is the creator and owner of Mon Dessert, a London-based patisserie company. She specializes in beautiful and delicious macarons, and she has also designed cooking kits which she sells in Fortnum and Mason, Harrods, and other high-end specialty shops.

Samina is a mother of two adorable happy children, a girl and a boy, in primary school in Southwest London. Her husband is French and they met through mutual friends.

Her career started in a very male-centered in an e-commerce digital marketing company, using her interests in math and science. But she felt that something was missing. Working in the marketing industry wasn’t allowing her to explore her creative side.

“It was strange. I was the first person to become pregnant in my company. It was a very young industry. You know, you’re thinking, it was 2009 and that’s when I first went on maternity leave. The internet world and how to monetize that and how to create e-commerce platform, it was just exploding. It was still a very young industry and I was one of the oldest there and I wasn’t even 30. And when I came back (from maternity leave), I think it was the financial crisis, literally I walked into the office and I didn’t recognize anyone. I felt like I was being given shoddy work, the stuff that nobody didn’t want to do. When I became pregnant with Noah, and I took my second maternity leave, obviously one after the other during a financial crisis, and they were like, ‘uh, we really would like you NOT (to do that) …”

Motherhood is what opened her natural artistic and creative side. Being at home with her two small children inspired her to start exploring her home skills, especially baking and cooking. She shares about how she started her company Mon Dessert and how she is living her multi-passionate and amazing life with her husband and two children.

Check out my episode with Samina listen to her fabulous and interesting story. It’s so amazing and colorful and ‘tasty’. Oui Oui!

Visit Samina’s website http://www.mondessert.co.uk/. Connect with her on Instagram @mondessert and Twitter @mondessert