Mojo Mamas empowering women

A group connecting mothers across Bribie Island has attracted hundreds of followers since its launch in March.

The brainchild of Miranda Murray and Eileen Tiller, Mojo Mama Events Bribie aims to build deeper, more meaningful relationships within the community by hosting regular brunches, markets and mum-only nights.

Having moved to Bribie Island from Sydney, Miranda was keen to make connections with other mums.

“I’d been having conversations with local mums at swimming and the playground and some were going to North Lakes to connect with other mums and if people weren’t particularly extroverted, they might not engage in conversation,” Miranda explains.

Miranda had connected with Eileen through a community Facebook page before the move but they’d yet to meet in person until fate intervened.

Boosting confidence

Eileen’s family was having dinner at the Bribie Hotel one night when she spotted a familiar face – Miranda was dining there too, with her family.

They found they had more in common than just having children – both had endured long IVF journeys and Eileen had moved from North Lakes to the island and was looking to meet other mums.

“We were wanting to create something to bring a little social mojo to Bribie Island for mums, and organically it’s turned into not only that, but family friendly events for the whole community,” Eileen says.

“It’s when you lose your social mojo and you lose yourself – you start wanting to connect and you’ve lost your confidence.

“Talking to mums who had babies during the pandemic - they didn’t even get to go to mum’s groups – many have a lot of social anxiety.

“I have a five-year-old and when I had him, I was in North Lakes and there was a really strong social scene.

“We moved here when I was pregnant again and there were no playgroups. I found it a lonely time not having those connections.”

Brunch a winner

A women’s empowerment coach, Miranda is used to boosting people’s confidence and she and Eileen hatched the idea for Mojo Mama Events.

“We wanted it to not be specifically for babies, we wanted to focus on mums’ mental health - but it is child-friendly,” Miranda explains.

After tossing the idea around for a few months, the pair decided to launch in time for International Women’s Day in March – with just four weeks until the day itself.

“The brunch sold out a week before with only two weeks of advertising – I had people messaging me as I got out of the car asking if they could come along,” Miranda says.

Eileen says they were conscious women attending the first brunch alone could be daunted by walking into the room solo and wanted them to feel comfortable and confident.

“So we connected them beforehand and arranged for them to meet outside so they could all walk in together,” she says.

“We had table talk conversation starters and the women would start engaging with each other and telling jokes.

“It was important to make everyone feel welcome.”

Time out for mums

While children are welcome at the brunches, Mojo Mama recently hosted a mums-only margarita night at El Pigface.

“People loved it – it was great to focus on ourselves,” Eileen says.

Miranda says Mojo Mama’s grateful for the support of the Bribie RSL, which provides space for the group’s brunches and which also agreed to host twilight markets.

“I am so grateful to the RSL. We said: ‘this is what we want to do’ and right from the beginning they said: ‘what do you need and how can we help?’.

“At the same time as launching Mojo Mama Events, we had started a business group for mums.

“Once the ladies from the business group heard about the social event, they donated door prizes.

Supporting small business

Image: Samantha Jane Cox I Dear Tilly Photography

“There was a cross-over between the business and the mums’ groups and that’s how we came to start our twilight markets – we’re very passionate about supporting small business.”

The markets are now held every three months and go for two hours to allow mumpreneurs to take part without taking too much time away from family.

As well as the brunches, mums-only nights and markets, Mojo Mama Events is planning a slow fashion activation in the RSL’s auditorium for November 18.

“I was cleaning out my wardrobe one day and I thought ‘why don’t we do a market where we sell our dresses?’,” Eileen says.

“It will be sustainable slow fashion in the auditorium and open to the public.

“Women can hire a stall space and we’ll provide the rack and they can sell from their wardrobe.”

The next Mojo Mama Events brunch is on Wednesday, October 18 and the next Twilight Market is on December 22.

Find out more here.