How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
I have one 3 year-old daughter (Alice).
What do you love about living in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Corridor?
I love North Liberty and the fact that it is a small city. As a big city girl, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro-Brazil and then living in Houston-TX for 5 1/2 years, I’ve always wanted to experience life in a small town. And the snow, of course!
What’s your favorite restaurant and/or place to shop in the area?
My favorite restaurant so far is 30hop and I love shopping at Stuff etc, both in Coralville.
Tell us about your career.
I’m originally a Chemist and worked in the Oil & Gas Industry for years in Brazil until we moved to Houston, TX when my husband was transferred in 2015. I’ve worked in a few different jobs since then, including in Oil & Gas, but after I had my daughter, I decided I didn’t want to go back to a job that didn’t make me happy instead of being with her as much as I could. She was little and needed me as much as I needed her. During that time, I started making teething toys and necklaces and thinking about starting a blog, so I could write again. When she was nine months old, I decided it was time to get back to work and tried a few things, but it was only on her first birthday (December of 2017) that I really decided it was time to start my own business.
Why did you decide to start your own business?
Motherhood brings so many more changes than only a big belly. A whole new woman was born when my baby was born and I just didn’t fit life as I knew before her. So, I had to reinvent myself. I started making custom items, such as teething toys, baby accessories in general, paper crafts, and party supplies. A few months after I started that, a friend suggested I should not only make the supplies but also decorate the party. At first, I thought it was too much for me, but decided to give it a try and it paid off. Ma Petite Alice specializes in the infantile universe and offers a variety of products in Décor, Paper Crafts & Party Supplies. I also started blogging about motherhood, children’s parties and crafts, which fulfilled part of my desire to write again.
I am proud that I had the courage to start this business in a moment of so many changes in my life. It has not been easy, but God gives me the strength to keep on going. I am proud to offer great quality services and products, to listen to customers’ wishes and needs, and to put love in everything I do. The year of 2020 was surprisingly good for the business, but then we had to move here and I had to pause it for a while. Since I can’t just sit and be still, I thought it would be great to bring The Local Moms Network to the area, and so I did. Starting life in a new city is never easy, specially when you were settled elsewhere, but God works in mysterious ways and I can only trust he has greater plans for us. Hopefully, I’ll help others in the same situation while being a good resource to our community.
The past two years have been a bit overwhelming with all that is going on in my life, plus being a mother of a toddler during a world pandemic, but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of what I’ve done so far and the path my life and business are taking. I have decided to focus my business on motherhood and children because my little girl is the reason I’m doing all of this.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Bringing to life my customers’ requests doing something I love! Watching the little ones smile when they see their party decoration fills my heart with gratitude, specially this year!
How do you juggle work with mommyhood?
Honestly, I could do better and be more dedicated, give her more of my time and attention. I have trouble organizing and prioritizing things, and having her at home with me all the time made it even harder because I’m never 100% dedicated to anything, neither her or work. I’m still working on this whole dynamics.
How has your job changed during COVID-19?
I had to transform most of my party decoration service into “party boxes”, since we were on quarantine. I was really surprised with customers’ response to that. Actually, I had an increase in revenue and I was working less hours because I didn’t have to go and set up the party. Online sales worked really well!
What’s your advice to moms in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis?
Don’t create expectations about anything, specially regarding your children. We already deal with a lot of pressure just by being a mom, we don’t need the extra load. That is not only during this pandemic, that is something to take for life.
