Content created in partnership with Saben

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to family. It’s as fluid and ever-changing as the communities that grow them, but Saben knows at its core are the values of nurturing, community and unconditional love.

Through the brand’s  annual portrait series called By Your Side, mothers and caregivers share stories of navigating parenthood, while cementing their own place in the world.

By Your Side brings together a diverse community, who - in their own words - highlight their unique situations, while paying tribute to the cultures and generations that helped shape their whānau.

From parenting solo to navigating a work-life balance, or blending a large family, Saben honours the sacrifice and triumphs of those taking the role of caregiver - a value embodied by their luxurious and stylish bags, designed to cater to the many facets of day-to-day life. 

This year, the campaign also includes Australian families – an idea brought to life by Saben’s Sydney-born founder Roanne Jacobson.

Take a look at the full series, and browse Saben’s Mother’s Day Edit at saben.co.nz.

K’Lee McNabb

From chasing pop dreams to finding her place on Mai FM Days, māmā of five (about to be six), Kaleena Renae McNabb insists having a family “is a strength to add to your kete of life”. Starting a family should never mean stopping dreaming or “pursuing that spark for your fire”.

Her Māori culture and her partner’s Samoan background are “super important” to the large family. She remembers her own mum, “filled our lives with culture, to appreciate others, and to learn our own”. 

Michiko Hylands

Stylist, makeup artist and writer Michiko Hylands is navigating the “wild ride” of being a mother to twins, while also crediting being mum to two dogs for teaching her about undying love.

Raising twins brings “good days” and “super challenging days”, but Michiko knows when those days end there is “always unconditional love there”.

Juggling a busy career and raising twins was a tough balancing act, which Michiko credits the help of her husband and her “wonderful parents” for the help and support needed to make it work.

Jasmine

Each year Saben ask their community to share stories of parenthood, selecting one to appear in the annual campaign. This year’s community member, Jasmine, lost her own mother at just 12-months-old, and always shared an incredible bond with her dad who instilled the importance of, “surround[ing] yourself and your child with a warm and loving environment, and people who will support you on your journey”.

After losing her mother, Jasmine grew up uncomfortable around the word “mum”. She credits her 10-month-old son Roman’s use of the word as being, “incredibly healing”.

Marcia Leone

Not so Mumsy founder, Marcia Leone knows that becoming a solo mother doesn’t have to mean losing your own sense of self or career.

Motherhood has also challenged her “to the core and helped me confront and heal parts of myself as well.”

Growing up with five biological siblings and five foster or adopted siblings, she credits her own mother for showing her the “true meaning of family and unconditional love”.

Read the full stories, plus others, and shop the Mother’s Day gift edit at saben.co.nz