I am a ninja mum. My skill set is unique to mothers everywhere. Carrying sleeping children from the car, precariously balancing them on your leg so you can undress them, whilst simultaneously pulling bed covers back, grabbing PJs, redressing them, and tucking them up in to bed without waking them. It’s black belt parenting. And it takes practice.
The best part of being a ninja mum is when you can transfer those skills to everyday life.
My interview with Mister Maker was one such occasion.
Given he’s coming back to Australia with a brilliant, fun and interactive live show, which my kids are SO EXCITED ABOUT, it seems fitting that my ninja mum skills, which I learnt from managing said small humans, were about to be put to use.
Picture this if you will. In true mum form, I thought squeezing in some end of season sales shopping at Westfield would be a great idea, just before I was due to make the phone call to Phil Gallagher aka Mister Maker, who had just arrived in Melbourne ahead of his Australian Tour.
I’ll just pop out to my car, I thought, and take the call there, using my phone recording app to tape the interview. No problem. Except when I left the mall with 5 minutes to spare, it was hurricaning with wind and rain. Sitting rather soddenly in my car, with the metal roof projecting the sound of rain, my quiet interview location seemed like a rather dimwitted idea. I then realised my phone couldn’t make a call AND record at the same time.
Enter ninja mum mode.
I ransacked the car and managed to find a discarded take away container (complete with yesterday’s soggy chips) which when flipped over become a makeshift desk. Old party invitation envelopes, whilst covered in glitter, become my notepad, and an IKEA pencil from my handbag, my scribe. I was ready with not a moment to spare.
When Phil answered the phone, I’m not sure if he could hear the incredible rain storm happening on my end, but he didn’t miss a beat, chatting away happily like we’d known each other for years. I can see why the kids like him. What a fabulous personality. Then there’s the fact that Mister Maker also has a mummy fan club, with tired mothers everywhere, appreciating his dashing good looks whilst they sit through the 14th episode of Mister Maker for the day. What is it with kids watching show after show after show?
For those of you who are new to Mister Maker, or parenthood, or both, Mister Maker is an incredibly popular kids TV show, which focuses on teaching kids how to make fabulous arts and crafts projects. Drawing them in to a world of imagination and creativity, it’s the breath of fresh air our little ones need, in a world filled with technology. My 5 year old even has Mister Maker craft books, so she can create puppets, jewelled boxes, and more whilst visiting her grandparents. It’s brilliant.
This Australian Tour follows on from shows in Singapore and Hong Kong – countries where Mister Maker performed with his team for the first time. It’s also rolling on, straight off the back of their UK tour. It seems the world is catching on to the joys of turning ordinary materials into something extraordinary.
When I asked Phil if he could use his MacGuyver-like skills around the home, it turns out he can, but not without practice. Phil spends a lot of time practicing his crafts before delivering them on screen or stage. His favourite show growing up was Art Attack (as it was for many of us too!), and his love for art and its importance in the lives of kids, and adults for that matter, is evident in his work.
Mister Maker even has an app, which has been relaunched this year with new features. Phil was quite humble when he explained it actually topped the iTunes charts in the UK! The app, whilst being digital, still encourages kids to do something in real life, so it reflects the ethos of the show.
As for that incredible set of craft drawers on the show that Mister Maker selects his supplies from? We asked the big question. Are they real? Phil assured me they are, and they’re fully loaded. So now we want them.
My other pressing question when interviewing this down-to-earth, children’s super-celebrity, was if he hung out with other similar stars, like the Wiggles. You know, the question we were all wondering. Well it turns out he was actually working for a UK studio back in the day, when the Wiggles came to perform. He met the original 4, found them marmite sandwiches to help them feel at home (well it’s as close to Vegemite as he had), and enjoyed how down to earth they all were too. Add that to his close friendship with Giggle & Hoot’s Jimmy Giggle, and yes, it seems that Phil is IN with the other stars we all know and love. Now if only the kids recognised their idols, out of costume and in the street…
You can catch Mister Maker and his new show at the Adelaide Festival Theatre on July 21st at 10am and 1pm. Buy your tickets here.
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