High Achiever: Maria-Fe Rohrlach

High achiever: Maria-Fe Rohrlach, co-owner of Nestling, North Island winner of the Enterprising Rural Women Award 2011

Maria-Fe Rohrlach will know by now whether she and her sister have won the national Enterprising Rural Women 2011 title.
But speaking to her before the announcement, Maria-Fe already feels as if she has won after picking up the North Island title.
"To be recognised as a brand with potential to represent such an important piece of New Zealand is amazing."
She and her sister and business partner Bernadine Gilleux now have the support of Rural Women New Zealand behind them and Nestling, the business they started to meet their own needs as first-time mothers.
"I was 22 and wanted a baby carrier that was not only practical, but which also looked nice enough to wear out if I wanted. There was nothing on the market and, having worked for myself before, I decided to start my own brand."
Maria-Fe trained as a graphic designer and went straight into freelance work from university. This quickly taught her to see "the bigger picture" and take responsibility for all aspects of a business operation.
"This included my own business and also the companies I was contracted to."
She went on to work in marketing for an events company in Auckland before moving to a Mamaku dairy farm with her husband.
When she was expecting her first child, she always imagined herself keeping active and not allowing a baby to limit her lifestyle. In fact, she turned it into a whole new business.
Her sister Bernadine had just arrived back from living in Europe and they and their three other sisters were young mothers looking for "beautiful, yet practical" products.
The first Nestling product in 2008 was a baby sling made from organic merino and cotton fabrics.
"We recently launched our second product, the First Breath Swaddle range and we have more products in the pipeline, expanding on the Nestling family concept."
The business is evolving as their children grow and the sisters find new gaps in the products available.
"I truly love what I do and everything about it - except maybe the bookwork. Hopefully one day Nestling will be in a position to allow overseas working holidays!"
That is no pipe dream - Nestling's main market is currently domestic, but Maria-Fe and Bernadine have secured retailers in Australia and Japan and are developing contacts in Hong Kong and Germany.
Running a small but growing business from Mamaku is ideal for Maria-Fe.
"There are no disadvantages. As a mum, my interests have shifted from going to cafes and shopping to saving money and making simple fun with the kids on the farm and in the beautiful surrounding bush around Mamaku.
"With high-speed internet available here, everything I might need for business is either a phone call or email away."
Whether she picks up the overall Enterprising Rural Women award tomorrow night or not, Maria-Fe is positive about the future of the Nestling business.
"If you are genuine, passionate and confident in your work and understand the power of word of mouth, it will only be a matter of time before people know who you are and what services you provide."
 
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Contact business editor Julie Taylor on (07) 348 6199 ext 57015 or at business@dailypost.co.nz