For years, I’ve been building KAEIU quietly. Four years, to be exact. Late nights, early mornings. Packing orders from my apartment floor, sketching designs during nap time, troubleshooting production issues from across the world. So much of it happens behind the scenes, the kind of work that’s invisible unless you’re in it.
As a solopreneur, especially one juggling motherhood alongside entrepreneurship, the journey often feels solitary. Even when I share snippets on Instagram or through emails, it’s still me choosing what to show. The lens is mine, the story is mine to tell. But recently, two things happened that shifted something deep inside me.
I was featured by Mixed by Nasrin, a vibrant clothing line that also highlights creative women and their stories. Nasrin and her team came to my home, met my children, saw the bags stacked around my workspace, and captured the reality of what this looks like in motion not just the polished version, but the real, lived-in one.
Then I had the honor of being interviewed on The Freq Show podcast, where I opened up about my journey, from navigating infertility to building KAEIU as an outlet to move through a season of feeling stuck and hopeless. We talked about entrepreneurship, motherhood, and learning to listen to our gut — even when the path forward may not make sense.
To be seen through someone else’s eyes, not just for what I make, but for why I make it felt emotional in a way I didn’t expect. It reminded me that there’s power in reflection, and that sometimes, being witnessed is its own kind of nourishment.
With Love,
Maria