Forever Postpartum
A reflective series exploring the tender, transformative seasons of motherhood, nourishment, and what it means to care for ourselves and others.
This month we feature Krissy Derrick, mother to Marlow (1) and co-founder of Modeletto - a creative business she started in 2020 alongside her mother, Amanda. What began as a shared love of making has grown into a thoughtfully curated brand centred on slow, tactile rituals that quiet the mind. Krissy encourages her community to embrace the beauty of imperfect, handmade pieces and the calm that comes from creating with your hands.
In her own postpartum season, Krissy found joy in briefly stepping back from work to savour the tender newborn bubble. She currently balances motherhood and the demands of a thriving e-commerce brand from her Auckland home studio.
Your work with Modeletto invites people to slow down- to reconnect through simple, tactile rituals. Where did this philosophy first begin for you?
My mum and I have always been really creative — growing up, Mum always had a craft on the go, which taught me this amazing passion for art. She loved sewing, painting, pottery and baking — the list goes on. My childhood is filled with memories of craft, not screens, and I feel so very rich for that upbringing. I will be exactly the same with my kids.
When lockdown hit, I found myself — like so many people — suddenly very aware of how much time we were spending on screens. It felt like the whole world was scrolling, and I craved that same grounded, tactile feeling I had growing up. Making things with your hands has this almost meditative quality to it — it pulls you into the present moment in a way that no phone ever could. That's really where the seed of Modeletto was planted. Mum and I wanted to create something that gave people an easy way back to that feeling — no experience needed, everything included, just the joy of making something beautiful and switching off for a while.
Before becoming a mother, did you imagine what this season might feel like? In what ways has reality surprised you?
I've always wanted to be a mum and have a maternal personality, but I never thought how much joy and love it would bring me. I am obsessed with my son — he is the best thing ever, has the best personality and is so caring and loving. It's definitely been super hard though, and every phase and milestone brings its new challenges, but we have taught each other so much and I'm so proud of us as a family for navigating all the situations we have been through so far. I've always struggled with my mental health, and Marlow has definitely played a role in teaching me so many amazing things that have changed me in such a positive way. His laughter is the best cure for anxiety in the world (along with craft of course).
Have you found a rhythm between motherhood, creativity, and work- or is it something that continues to shift and evolve?
In terms of juggling motherhood and a business, I was wildly humbled! My baby was terribly sick with reflux, which meant he spent a lot of time very upset, spilling most of his feeds, and not sleeping much unless on my chest in an upright position. This meant that my partner and I got very little sleep for six months or more, and there were at least six outfits and sets of bedding to wash every day. We had about six different professional opinions, which made it so hard to follow my mum gut and was exhausting on my mental load. Before he was born, I honestly thought I'd be able to get so much work done whilst he slept, but that was not often possible. On the other hand, being my own boss is so flexible, so I was able to spend more time with him, and when he started daycare I was able to start slow — three short days a week — and I would just make up work when he went to bed in the evenings. He is only just starting full-time daycare next week, which makes my mum-heart hurt, but I need to work less in the evenings and have a better balance so that I can be a better mum and director.
During our busiest periods — around Christmas — it's very tough, often working most nights until 11pm. Even with Marlow at daycare four days a week, I often think, can I do this anymore? But then I'll receive a direct message from a customer sharing an amazing experience they've had, telling me how making something with their hands has helped them slow down and reconnect with their creative self — and that's exactly why mum and I started Modeletto. It makes all the hard work worth it and keeps us going. The feeling of helping people feels so amazing.
Creatively, it's often a challenge — I did give up throwing on the wheel at the studio out in Ellerslie, as it just takes up too much time, and I miss it so much. It's such a balance, because on the weekends I just want to spend all my time with Marlow and my family. I am super lucky though that a lot of my job is creative — hand-building pieces doesn't feel like work most of the time, and I'm enjoying making pieces for my family at the moment, often during naptime on the weekend.
How has stepping into motherhood shaped the way you now see your work with Modeletto and the message you hope it carries?
Motherhood has completely reframed what matters to me. Before Marlow, I was driven by the business — but becoming a mum cracked my heart wide open and made me realise that connection, mental health, and quality time with the people you love are everything. Everything else is just noise.
That shift has deeply shaped how I think about Modeletto. It's such a balance between making the business sustainable and not hustling so hard that it stops being aligned with my own wellbeing — and Mum's. We reached a point of real exhaustion last year, and it was a wake-up call. We've since made space to bring in some help — for Mum, that's support for making the kits by hand, and for me, that's a content creator — because we can't pour from an empty cup.
What I hope Modeletto carries is this: that slowing down isn't selfish, it's necessary. That investing in a quiet creative moment — whether that's alone with a cup of tea or sitting across from someone you love — is one of the most valuable things you can do. We want every person who opens one of our kits to feel exactly how we want to feel ourselves — calm, creative, present, and connected.
That's the message motherhood gave me, and it's the one I want Modeletto to carry forward.
If you could pass one ritual, practice, or piece of wisdom to a mother entering postpartum for the first time, what might it be?
I know what I wouldn't say… "sleep when your baby sleeps" — that would always annoy me so much! For some, that just isn't possible. I had to mainly walk Marlow to sleep strapped to me, so I just had to get on with things.
Something else I wish someone had told me… I was too scared to leave the house with Marlow for months because of his reflux, and that felt so isolating (not having my family in Auckland made it harder too). My partner was always the one to push us to go out and would say, "It's okay if he screams — we can always just come home." So I guess my advice would be: reach out to other mums and do more catch-ups. I really wish I had done more of that in the early days. If you don't have any friends with babies, make friends by going to music groups — I did this later when he was a bit older and made so many amazing friends.
Lastly, what does the idea of “forever postpartum” mean to you?
My body holds stretch marks, an emergency C-section scar, and it definitely isn't as tight as it used to be. It took me so long to feel somewhat like myself again after giving birth, but I think that's the beauty in it — you change so much as a person. Now I am so much less worried about the silly things that used to bother me. My body is amazing and has been through so much, and it continues to evolve and show me what it's capable of. I think that's something Modeletto quietly speaks to as well — the idea that creating something with your hands, however imperfect, is something to be proud of. There's real power in making.