Amie Nilsson - CEO and Mum

Amie Nilsson - CEO and Founder of Merino Kids

At the age of 22 Amie Nilson left her native New Zealand to travel the world.  First stop was Spain minding a villa in return for painting the spare room. She created a design matching the curtains and soon many other villas sported her hand painted walls.  Her creations ended up in a three page spread in a British lifestyle magazine and she promptly landed a job in London working as a textile designer.

Finding the UK winter depressing, she headed off to work as a chef in the ski fields in France then at a lodge in Zambia, Africa. In her spare time she painted and sold her works to the tourists from the USA and Europe.

Returning to New Zealand she realised she needed another income when she fell pregnant with her first child. Daughter Lily was born, and so was the 'Go Go Bag', which went on to win a suite of international product awards. Amie has since expanded and created the highly successful business Merino Kids.

She chats to Melina Cruickshank about time zones, lack of sleep, and her mission to inspire positive change.
 
Amie, how many children do you have? What age/sex are they?
Scarlett, 2, George, 4 and Lilybelle, 5

What has surprised you the most about becoming a mother?
Watching each of our children grow and develop everyday. The huge amount of love we have for them and the love they give in return.

What do you miss about your life prior to having children?
I wish I had more time for just about everything!

How has your relationship with your partner changed since becoming parents?
I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband whom is not only my best friend but also my rock.

Becoming parents has brought us closer together and has allowed us the opportunity to start an exciting, fun adventure together as a family.

We have created an environment that supports each other and our family is on this journey together.

What do you think about 'me time'?  Do you practice it?
I think it?s important for mums to set some time aside for themselves and I really do try to practice it.

I aim to prioritise the five most important tasks each day and set goals. I make time for the children, and also time for me, even if it?s a just a quiet catch up with a friend for a coffee.

I like fresh air ? the chance to get outside and re-energise. I walk the kids to school when I can. I love going for a quick run or walk out in the countryside - it allows time to think and process all that is going on, or allows you to completely switch off.

What do you find ?drops through the cracks? no matter how hard you try?
Two things:

1. Managing around time zones. Being a global company this is very important and difficult to co-ordinate.

2. Sleep! Between a hectic mix of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, school drop offs and pick ups, work? it's hard to get to bed early!

How do you manage running the demands of your business ?Merino Kids? alongside being a mum?  Do you have help?
I have a wonderful husband whom I work with and a brilliant and dedicated team. Without these very important people it would be difficult to meet the pressures of being a mother as well as manage the demands of a business.  I also have amazing support from great friends and family.

"Merino Kids" is a fun, exciting and family friendly environment that allows the team the opportunity to have flexibility with their own families, as we do with ours.

You have had a varied career and travelled the world. What was the core motivator to move into children?s sleep ware?
I tried to source natural, alternative sleepwear, and when I was unable to source anything, I decided to create my own.

I realised that merino wool, with its amazing abilities to regulate temperature was going to be the best for keeping children safe, warm and comfortable. This lead to the creation of the Go Go Bag in 2003! 

The Go Go Bag name came about by the fact that I added the unique vent function, allowing ease of transport between the car, pram and cot, for mums on the "go"! 

What inspires and motivates you?
I look for people and companies that inspire change.

I believe this is important to help fuel the vision of what we can do as a company to make a difference.

The question I always ask is: how do we help reduce our environmental impact and do less harm, but at the same time encourage others to do the best they can to help.

The path towards positive change is what drives and inspires me and also challenges the creative and personal motivation behind what we do.
 
Do you have a public figure that inspires you, as a mother or business-woman?
There are many amazing people who inspire me. J K Rowling is one such person. I think she is incredible. I love her imagination. Hers is a very special talent.

What is happening with 'Merino Kids' this year?
We always spend a lot of time on R&D and this approach has allowed us to create and develop some of the world?s best natural baby products. 

This year we have focused on sustainable development as well as getting more involved on a local community level. 

Have there been times when you?ve considered giving up your work to become a full time mum?
No. Being a mother is the hardest job in the world and whether you are working full time or not, your children always come first.

I believe if you have a vision to make a difference then you should strive to achieve that goal, both as a family and a business. The challenge is to remember that you can only do your best and if you achieve that then you are true to yourself.

What do you most enjoy about your work?
Inspiring change. Making a real difference to people's lives - providing natural sleep solutions that not only help babies and infants, but also provides their parents with peace of mind and a good nights sleep as well.

What do you consider to be the most challenging aspects of running your business?
Merino Kids is now global, meaning that many of my meetings are with people in different time zones.

Even though I adapt my day, I would say 'time' is not only a challenge, but that it is very precious in both business and in family life.
 
What is one value you want to pass onto your children?
"Be true to yourself"
 
How do you want your children to describe their childhood?
Exciting, fun and an adventure!
 
Amie, finally a question all mums must face - what are you feeding your children for dinner tonight?
Broccoli, courgettes, baked potato and homemade crumbed fish.

It?s George?s special job to crumb the fish ? but I?m not sure who ends up with the most crumbs! It?s always a battle between George and the fish!

Read more Essential Baby Mum-in-Profiles articles.