Hi there, it’s such a pleasure to meet you. Please tell us a little about who you are, what your business is all about and most importantly what’s your favourite chip flavour? 

Haha… I'll start with the most Important part, salt & vinegar for sure (or corn chips If they count?). 

My name's Eliza, I'm a Mum of 3 originally from the Northern Beaches In Sydney but moved to Currumbin, Queensland (via Bali where Nu Natives began) just over 3 years ago. 

If you flip the tag over on any of our pieces you'll see the words "STAY YOU" & I think those 2 words are at the core of what this business is about. It's more than ok to be different, to be real & do your own thing & I hope people see that in what I share on social media & the clothes I create. 

What’s the meaning behind the name Nu Natives? 

I played around with a few names I thought would be a good fit for the brand & also had to find one that was actually available. 

It's kind of a synonym for young originals, new & old, modern vintage… My take on old school style for new humans, if that makes any sense!? Haha. 

What drove you to start Nu Natives? 

My kids, 100%! I think that’s probably the same for a lot of Mama run small businesses. I actually never really wanted to be my own boss but more than anything I wanted to be able to soak up every bit of them while I could. Now 2 out of 3 are at school I can still pick them up every day, go watch them get an award at assembly, cheer them on at cross country (I'm about to head down to do that now)…all that cheesy Mum stuff. 

Had you always been in the fashion industry or was this a completely new adventure for you? 

I'd dabbled In jewellery design & my other half has a degree In Industrial design but basically this was a completely new venture! 

Before starting Nu Natives I was actually working for the NRL as the South Sydney Rabbitohs National Development Officer & am a Primary School teacher by trade so a little different to running my own business designing kids clothes!

Nu Natives has a very unique look in the market of kids clothing, where do you draw your inspiration from to create your designs? 

Thank you, that's actually the best compliment you could give! The kids clothing market Is flooded with so much of the same stuff so It can be a struggle to try to be a little different. 

My Inspiration Is mostly drawn from clothes from my childhood. Anything from the 70s, 80s or 90s really.  

Mostly I just create things I like & that I'd like my kids to wear & hope that resonates with people. Sometimes it does & things sell really well & I'm like cool I can stick with this & other times things flop & I roll with it & move onto the next idea. It's a huge learning process & I'm always stuffing up but as long as I get a few things right in between it's all good. 

Running your own business can be tricky at the best of times, what are some of the things you do to manage a healthy work/ life balance?  

Hmmm, I'm probably not the best at this but I'm working on It! One of the hardest things I find with running a small business Is switching off. In the beginning I was pretty bad at It but I've learnt more to just put down the phone & be more present. 

If I'm going to the beach, the markets, the park with the kids I'll just leave my phone at home now. I've come to realise I'm not running an emergency service & DMs & emails don't need to be answered within 2 minutes of receiving them. Taking a break Is ok! 

It’s been so lovely to get to know the the lady, the Mumma, the person you are behind the brand. On closing, what’s your daily mantra or favourite moto?  

"Everything's gonna be alright" - Bob Marley 

If you're not already, you can follow the Nu Natives magic on their website or over on their instagram page.