Meet Sam Burns, Owner of Ollie and Max

A wonderful chat with a wonderful woman, mother and business owner.

In The lead up to Mother's Day, Sunday May 5 2024, Orange360 spotlight remarkable Modern Mothers who epitomise the essence of multitasking, entrepreneurship, and style.

In this edition, we had the pleasure of chatting with the gorgeous Sam Burns, a mother and business owner of Ollie and Max whose journey serves as an inspiration to many. Through candid conversations and insightful reflections, Sam generously shares her wisdom, experiences, and the art of navigating the multifaceted roles of modern motherhood.

Q: Sam, What inspires your fashion sense? 

A: It used to be more fun, now it's comfort and speed. Being a parent, and even just not having to run to the city all the time, I don’t dress up like I used to. I’ve always been a comfort person- I’ve never really worn heels, only just now starting to wear lipstick- I’ll go for classic with twist any day.

Q: Did you find fashion hard to navigate when you became a mum? 

A: Yes, I think many mums go through the same struggle- it takes a while to adjust to that new body. You’re also juggling exhaustion, health and life. It never stops. My typical go-to clothes like t-shirts/pants changed out to dresses, and more functionable items… and lots of trainers. 

Q: What are you favourite things about being a mum?

A: It’s quite surreal when you think about- also so funny, as half the time I have no idea what I am doing and look at this little person in wonder. They are funny, interesting, their own people. It adds a whole other dimension to your life, enriches it all the way from the incredible love that enters your life, to this amazing practical aspect of all the new people/places that come into your mum/kid world. 

Q: What have you found the most challenging in your motherhood journey so far? 

A: We’re sold a story that we can find balance and do everything. The reality is we have small human beings we are solely responsible for, and the job of being a parent is immense. There is no way I can be this full time driven career women pursuing my own dreams, a full-time mum attending to the emotional and practical needs of a child, and do everything else I need to to keep a family and life functioning. I really find it frustrating that we have so far to go in helping women find a workable way to live without pushing many of us beyond the reasonable parameters of our sanity!

Q: Tell me about your business, its inception – what made you start it? 

A: Ollie and Max has been going for nearly 20 years, manufacturing women’s clothing size 8-24 largely in linen and cotton. I started it out of a curiosity about the business process, with no fashion training except uni jobs at Collette Dinnigan, Leona Edmiston, etc. Then I cracked onto a formula that worked and we ended up with a showroom in Surry Hills, a shop on Queen St Woollahra, and national and international stockists. I put it into maintenance mode and its clocked along for a few years whilst I was doing motherhood and shifting gears into business consulting. However its now actually gaining momentum again and we’re very excited to launch our new range of linen dresses and shirts in September 2024, and lean into those classic styles for women of all ages that we’ve been known for. 

Q: What is your go to mum uniform? 

A: I am so low maintenance- I wear lots of my own Ollie and Max dresses because I can just grab them. They are easy for every day, or throw on with a velvet jacket or some lipstick for an event. In Sydney, when I got into the routine of my new body post baby, I used to wear lots of t-shirts and shorts as we walked everywhere. Here in Orange I bought my first pair of tracksuit/lounge pants with my first winter, they were two sizes too big but I was so cold I didn’t return them. I still wear them with a velvet jacket and wool jumper, sometimes loafers or sneakers- really easy to run around town. I am sure everyone at pickup is wondering why I don’t buy a smaller size! 

Q: Who is your style inspo? 

A: I wish I paid more attention to it but whoever wears the classics with a twist eg Lauren Hutton, Tea Leoni, red carpet Zendaya, and anyone wearing Italian and Scandinavian style well.   

Q: What is one piece of advice that a Woman, mother figure, aunt, friend etc. has given you that you wish to share with others? 

 A: 'The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time’, which I think applies to the reality of the chaos of life and motherhood.