Gudrun Wurm, Little Butterfly London
Can you please tell us how your business came about? How did it originate?
My inspiration came with the birth of my son Lucas. I tried to find - and failed - to find products which I felt were good enough to use on his sensitive skin which were organic, gentle yet highly effective and beautifully packaged. I really wanted to create something to support that unique emotional experience which goes with having a newborn and those precious moments that go with it
Has this been your dream for a longer period of time or rather a spontaneous decision?
I have been passionate about skincare ever since I was a young girl, but I never thought about developing my own range until I discovered that there weren’t really any premium British baby skincare brands on the market. I felt sure that there were other like-minded parents with equally high standards for their themselves and their little ones and felt that it could be an interesting and niche concept to create a range, which was certified-organic, absolutely safe, gentle and beautifully effective, designed to care for even new-born and highly sensitive, irritation-prone skin. And with that, my original dream was born: to create Britain’s first luxury, organic-certified baby skincare range.
What do you think are the main ingredients of success?
A good idea with passion behind it, perseverance and a constant desire to improve the status quo.
What has been the most challenging aspect of your business until now?
To get the brand known to a wider audience, which typically can only be achieved with strong marketing efforts, which sadly also come with a high price tag. Smaller brands need to be creative as they can’t afford what the bigger or more established brands can.
What makes your brand unique?
We never compromise on quality, efficacy or safety for both mother and baby, while considering the planet we live on. We work with the most carefully selected ingredients and blend them to ultra-safe, highly effective formulas. Our philosophy has always been to aim for the highest quality using precious ingredients. Our entire range is certified organic by Ecocert, as well as being Vegetarian Society Approved. It has also been dermatologist-tested and approved for newborn, reactive and eczema-prone skin.
As a working mum having to balance different aspects of life, how do you make sure your family and your business occupy the right amount of space in your life?
For all parents, this is an ongoing challenge. I felt I never accomplished enough at work and even less so for my son, so I certainly haven't mastered the balance. Last year I told myself that I have to change my stressed mindset, so I started meditating and it has changed my life entirely. When things get overwhelming, I simply sit back and let things calm down. There is only so much we can do and sometimes we have to let go, and then somehow, things fall back into place.
One thing people don't know about you?
I am fascinated with the supernatural and mystical.
Would you agree if I told you that "Life is found in the dance between your deepest desire and your greatest fear" How does it apply to you?
I am a very passionate person and when I am captivated by something or truly want to do something, I will always go for it, whatever it takes. This however has also put me often in a situations which involved me taking bites that were then a bit too big to swallow at some point. That said, I always manged through them (undoubtedly with many feathers lost and several grey hairs acquired), but I think it made me a stronger, more well-rounded person. There's a proverb that always stuck with me, which is "Feel the fear, but do it anyway!" Not always comfortable, but definitely rewarding once all the dust has settled.
Your successful business is such an inspiration for many of new mums out there who are yet not sure how to reinvent themselves and are still looking… What advice would you give to them?
Maybe do some visualisation exercises. Imagine yourself being fully engaged in life, happy and passionate. Once your brain has integrated these emotions it might just be a matter of time for something new to materialise in your life that gives you eventually that positive fulfilled feeling and sense of purpose.
What is your most important source of happiness? Where do you derive your strength from?
My source of happiness and strength comes from my spiritual practices. I meditate twice a day, after I wake up and most times in the evenings. I have learnt through my own personal challenges that as long as you maintain a spiritual practice to get back to an inner balance, ultimately reality will reflect that. This has never let me down even through some of my darkest hours.
What is in the pipeline for Little Butterfly?
Anything exciting coming soon? We are working on smaller product sizes which are perfect for travelling and for customers who don't yet know our range and who can try it out in an affordable way as well as a discovery baby gift set, which also features smaller sized products.
How are you managing the personal aspect of Coronavirus era? How do you protect your mental state?
There are many people who are suffering at this time and I deeply feel for them and we help with donations where we can. However I try not to watch the news too much as it can be quite negative, so instead I try to focus on the positive this period has brought upon us. London life is so busy, and one can get very caught up and stressed simply by social obligations and the wide range of activities that are available all the time. Now with life being focused on just a few things, which in my case is work, my son and our home and maybe some daily exercise in the park, I feel much more relaxed than before and allowed me to prioritise.
In a year's time, when hopefully Covid19 is only a memory, what more permanent changes, if any, do you think the experience will have had on the way we lead our lives, on the way we do businesses, on the way we interact with each other, on the way we shop etc?
I can't talk generally since everyone will have a different view on this depending on how they got affected personally and on a business level. I hope that we will also keep valuing community and the key workers who gave their all during this period. Hopefully we will have stopped taking everything for granted and finally realised what really matters in our lives and focus more on these aspects rather than be on the constant quest for having 'more' which rarely leads to true happiness anyway.
