Interview with Diane Lai, business owner and mother of 2
UrbanMoms: How do you do it? (Juggling family life with career)
Diane Lai: I never feel like I do it well. There is always a certain amount of guilt no matter what I do and there is no sleep. I really don’t get tons of sleep and there always seems to never be enough hours in the day. The one rule I have is to be home for dinner bath and bed with my kids. I also make a conscious effort to make weekend family time and do not do any work when they are awake.
UrbanMoms: How did you get involved with the SWAG Lounges? And which ones have you participated in?
Diane Lai: I got involved with swag lounges purely by chance when meeting Natasha Koifman founder of NKPR last summer and she asked if I had any interest in participating in the IT Lounge for TIFF. It was the perfect place to launch my products and my company. I was very happy with the exposure and press coverage we received. From that initial exposure we participated in the Golden Globes and Oscars after that. Once again the exposure was awesome however much more costly.
UrbanMoms: How many (#of products) would you go through with these events?
Diane Lai: The IT Lounge was roughly 500 units times 2 products (soothe & rejuvenate) the most we have ever gifted in a lounge. The Oscars and Golden Globes was roughly 120 units times Soothe & Rejuvenate.
UrbanMoms: Who are some of the celebrities that have picked up your products?
UrbanMoms: You’re a mom with young kids and obviously a supportive husband…what do you do to “keep calm and carry on” at events like this?
Diane Lai: For the Oscars my husband James came along to help out and it was our first break since we had kids. it was great mini honeymoon and I would have only wanted to share that experience with him. We had a blast in LA together.
Survival Tips: 1. Expect no sleep 2.Don’t go to all the parties. 3.Try to make time to rest. 4. Sensible shoes. 5.Loads of Coffee.
About Diane Lai
Canadian entrepreneur Diane Lai, mother of two, is president of Diane Lai ™ for Soft Skin is an independent skin care company. She began her company out of necessity for her son who developed severe eczema. Being aware of the harsh chemicals in products already in the market, Diane did extensive research to create her own lotions to ease her son’s condition. Her company standards are also socially and environmentally responsible. With two lotions, a body wash and soon to be released lip balm, Diane Lai ™ for Soft Skin is available online at www.dianelai.com and visit her Facebook page for all the celebrity photos!
Diane Lai has been invited to participate in this year’s “Made in Canada Lounge” hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos (CBC).
What is a Swag Lounge?
This is where celebrities are invited to attend to select some “gifts” of their choice. Product & service companies are invited (and pay) to participate in hopes to gain some endorsements, testimonials and awareness. There are often several swag lounges during big events like TIFF. Stay tuned as UrbanMoms.ca gains access during TIFF and we’ll report what is in this year’s lounges!
Follow Sonya as the Toronto International Film Festival 2011 (TIFF) mayhem collides with back to school. This mom of two boys dubs herself as “the right place, right time gal” and will be hitting the circuit running from movie screenings to events for our readers. Sonya will get chatty with tweeps and peeps in the industry and report on celebrity sightings. Who knows…she may be able to swing some swag for our readers! Follow us on twitter and facebook to find out! @sdhypertweets @urbanmomsca #TIFFmoms
Katya looks exactly like Jaime Pressly.
I’d like to look into these products further. This time of year my psoriasis flares up terribly and I am always looking for natural products to keep the areas hydrated with non-rritating lotions.
Looking forward to more TIFF news and interviews!