mother+ meets… Jen Fuller, CEO and founder of Etta Loves

1. Tell us a little about you and what led you to where you are now.

I’m Jen, mum to Etta and the accidental inventor of a brand I wish had existed when she was born. Before Etta Loves, I worked in advertising, but becoming a mum flipped my world in the best and hardest ways. I became fascinated by what babies can actually see, and once I learnt that newborn vision is so specific, I couldn’t understand why nothing in a baby’s world reflected that.

That, paired with a very real need to help her focus during feeds and reduce some of the overwhelm I felt in those early weeks, became the spark for Etta Loves.

2. Etta Loves started from a small idea inspired by your daughter Etta and has grown into a full sensory baby essentials brand. What was the journey like in those early months?

There were really two early stages. First, the months of ideation, which were a mix of fascination and self-doubt. I was learning how to set up a business from scratch, watching webinars on protecting IP, emailing our orthoptist with endless questions, sketching ideas at the kitchen table and trying to work out what this idea could become.

Those messages from our orthoptist saying things like “I’ve been awake all night thinking about what a great idea this is” were the fuel I needed.

Then there were the early months post-launch, when I realised it was resonating far beyond my own instincts. Seeing real parents respond to the concept was the moment it shifted from a personal project to something genuinely meaningful.

3. What’s been your proudest moment so far, and your biggest “what now?” moment?

One of my proudest moments has been partnering with Liberty. A brand I’ve adored for decades wanting to be reimagined through our visual science still feels mind-blowing. It made people in the nursery industry sit up and pay attention in a new way.

The “what now?” moments tend to come when something unpredictable happens. A production error, a delay, a customs hold. Those are the times we have to lean on our agility as a very small team and remember that we run on our own timeline. We get to make the right decisions for the brand without answering to anyone else, which is empowering but also demanding.

4. How has motherhood shaped the way you design your products and run your business?

Motherhood makes me obsessive about practicality. If something doesn’t genuinely support a parent in a real moment, it doesn’t make it past sampling.

I design for tired, stretched, brilliant parents who need things that work. It’s also made me more empathetic in how I run the business. I operate with agility because parenting, much like running a small business, rarely sticks to the plan.

5. What do you wish more people understood about building a product-driven business from scratch, especially in the baby industry?

That it takes time. There’s pressure to grow overnight, but in the baby space trust is everything. Parents don’t hand over their confidence easily, and I take that responsibility seriously. Every detail, from the science to the materials to how we speak to families, has to earn that trust. It’s a marathon of consistency, not a sprint.

6. Where do you find your energy, and what drains it most?

I get my energy from my girls and from the people who champion what we’re building. Parents who message to say our products helped them through a tricky moment, customers leaving thoughtful reviews, retailers reordering, the overall momentum of the business. Those signals of support feel like a little chorus of cheerleaders when I need it most.

What drains me is the fatigue that comes from never truly switching off. When it’s your own business, you wear every hat and hold every responsibility, and that can be overwhelming. You move so quickly from one challenge to the next that you rarely stop to celebrate the wins.

I can be too focused on what could go wrong or what has gone wrong, and that’s draining. I’m trying to get better at pausing, reflecting and recognising what’s gone right.

7. What’s one decision that changed everything?

Finding our orthoptist, Laura. I believe that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well so I reached out to friends and my wider community to see if anyone knew a specialist in infant vision, and that’s how I found Laura.

That decision shaped everything as from day one, we’ve had a unique point of difference, and even now we remain the only brand working directly with an orthoptist and with leading science in infant vision. It gives the brand its depth and purpose.

8. Collaborations like Keith Haring and Camille Walala bring art into everyday baby life. How do you see this side of the brand growing, and what do you look for in a new partnership while keeping your science-led approach intact?

Collaborations let us bring creativity and culture into a baby’s world right from the start, but they also give parents a way to express their own style. We are not a cute brand. I never wanted to add more bows and bears into the nursery landscape, because that’s not what I wanted as a parent.

The baby industry often assumes babies like cute things, but the truth is babies like what they can actually see. Beyond that, they don’t mind at all.

So we encourage parents to choose what they love. We’ll ensure their baby will be captivated and supported by the visual science, but the aesthetic can and should feel like them. That’s why contemporary art partnerships feel so right for us.

When I look for a new collaboration, I look for artists whose work has movement, contrast and storytelling that can translate beautifully through the lens of infant vision. Science always leads the adaptation, but the art brings self-expression and joy.

9. What does balance mean to you right now?

It means accepting that I can’t give 100 percent to every part of life every day. Some days I’m a brilliant founder and an average parent, and other days it’s the opposite. Balance is giving myself permission to prioritise what matters most in the moment and letting go of the guilt.

10. And finally, what’s one thing you’d tell other women trying to do both: raise a family and build a business?

Give yourself softness. Some seasons are for growth, some are for survival. You don’t need to do it all at once. Focus on the thing that makes the biggest difference to you and your family today, and let the rest follow.

For more information visit ettaloves.com | Instagram: @ettaloves

QUICK FIRE ROUND

Current bedside book?
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, for a second time, but admittedly very slowly.

Go-to podcast or playlist when you need a boost?
RedHanded because I’m mildly obsessed with true crime, or my upbeat “Jen Skips” playlist from lockdown when I got into skipping – it’s full of my favourite house and garage classics and always raises a smile.

Favourite place to eat with kids and without?
With kids: The Giggling Squid – Etta’s little sister Uma is bizarrely obsessed with crispy squid.
Without: anywhere that does really good tapas with a nice bottle of red wine.

A mantra, quote or reminder you come back to?
“There’s no such thing as work-life balance, just life.” It reminds me that work is a big part of who I am right now, so I check in with myself to make sure I’m still enjoying it and that it’s fulfilling me.