#6 Emma Is Doing It All
Between nursery runs and nap times, Emma built a brand that mothers can see themselves in.
When I asked Emma what she wanted to be when she was younger, she said “I remember at one point saying that I would love to have a different job every day of the week.” As the founder of Next of Kin, a baby clothing and accessories website, she is living her dream. In a way, at least.
Next of Kin’s products and the indie brands Emma now curates on her site are intentionally mum-made: double zips, poppers where you actually need them, breathable cottons, and unfussy shapes. Her inspiration for designing, manufacturing and curating brands for moms and babies alike? Her adorable two year old, Bonnie. And possibly, her dad who sparked her interest in fashion and shopping when she was younger. At the age of three, Emma was a pretty chic toddler wearing only black so it is possible that her career in fashion was imminent.
Her Story
She was born in Birmingham, with parents who raised her to express herself very early on. “I was particular about what I wore and I would go to school with these crazy hairstyles. Luckily, my mum was very much like, you do you, wear whatever you want.” She turned her childhood obsession into a dream career, working in Fashion Buying for luxury retail giant, Harrods.
But a global pandemic brought everything to a halt.
Somewhere deep in the middle of the lockdown, a “just for something to do” recruiter call turned into a move to Dubai, a city she once thought she’d never live in but now can’t imagine leaving. “I moved to Dubai saying the same expat thing that everyone says, which is, I’ll come for a year or two, make a bit of money, but then I’ll move back,” Emma said. That move never came. A year and half after moving to Dubai, Emma welcomed a daughter of her own in Dubai with her partner.
“I did actually try to go back to my job after having Bonnie. I managed to really string out my maternity leave to about four months, but she was a koala baby. She didn’t even want to be put down, and there was no chance she was going to be drinking out of a bottle,” Emma said. This made going back to a full-time office job impossible, a reality for most mothers who have little to no support from family or other caregivers. It also made leaving for sudden business trips and late-evening meetings impossible to attend.
In the midst of raising a mini fashionista, a quiet storm was brewing in Emma’s mind. She found herself dissatisfied with clothing options for babies in Dubai. What would baby Bonnie wear to the beach? Certainly nothing that could be found on the racks at popular retailers in malls. “I’m going to go to the mall and just see a load of coats, and what I need is a romper for her to wear at the beach,” Emma said.
And so began the first embers of what would become Next of Kin.
On a Friday she left her job and by Monday she was at the Dubai World Trade Centre textile show with her baby and nanny in tow. Emma met suppliers and sketched a brand around easy, functional, climate-sensible pieces. Then, she hit publish on a basic website that would adapt to growing needs. Alongside the shop she launched a podcast and recorded from her bedroom. The episodes are honest voice-notes for mums who needed company during long, lonely days.
Her Impact
“I think one of the times of a woman’s life where you feel most intuitive is probably around having a baby, isn’t it?” Emma asks. It was part logistical needs, part intuitive push that she just had to do this and there was no time like the present.
Today, Emma curates over 15+ brands along with her own that speak to the needs of mums in Dubai. “If your baby is in a pram, their legs are out, but you can’t put sun cream on them under six months. And so I wanted jumpsuits with nice breathable fabrics,” she adds. Emma did what any motivated mum would do - she designed her own solution and created a space for others to do the same.
The deeper impact of Next of Kin is visibility. On the website, Emma has created a friendlier route to market for small, mum-run labels - a single destination where customers discover thoughtful babywear without the usual stockist squeeze.
Through her podcast and candid posts, Emma says out loud what most new mothers whisper. There’s lots to discuss after all - the work–baby whiplash, visa and trade-license hurdles, the market days where nothing sells, the shame spiral of screens and unfinished emails. Emma was also one of the first among her friends to have a baby, and intentionally hid her podcasts from the group at first, cringing at her vulnerability but also wanting to put her voice out there hoping it would reach other moms. By pushing past the ‘cringe’ beginning, Emma got to the other side where the community welcomed her unvarnished thoughts on everything motherhood, fashion and building a business in Dubai. Since then, Emma has improved production on podcast episodes but keeps the old episodes around for a marker of progress.
From a girl who kept her Instagram account private and shied away from sharing her life in public, this is indeed a huge marker of progress. By showing the messy middle, she has helped other mums try their own thing. Whether that means a part-time pivot, a small shop, or simply choosing presence over perfection on a given day.
Often, Emma is reminded of the reason she started Next of Kin - to be truly present for her daughter, Bonnie. Balancing work and motherhood is never perfect, and there are moments when she feels torn between the two. She might be typing an important email when Bonnie climbs into her lap, wanting her full attention. “It’s so easy to get frustrated,” she says. “In the moment, the work feels so important. But a toddler doesn’t understand that this email really needs to go out.” More often than not, she pauses, closes the laptop, and chooses to be present with her daughter, reminding herself that this was always the goal.
Her Plans
Emma’s next chapter is about deepening, not speeding up.
She’s expanding Next of Kin into a discovery hub for small, mum-made labels, believing in strength in numbers and collaboration over competition. After a short pause, her podcast will return with the same warmth it began with: a voice note from a friend, honest and unpolished. Offline, she hopes to host more pop-ups and community events, creating real spaces for mums and makers to meet. Through it all, she’s determined to grow at a sustainable pace, with mornings spent learning the unglamorous bits of business and afternoons reserved for nursery pick-ups and playgrounds.
It’s a business built on balance, the kind that leaves room for life.
Her Advice
Push through the cringe.
The first version of anything will feel awkward: your voice, your brand, your photos, your reels. Do it anyway. Emma once said, “On the other side of cringe is everything you’ve wanted,” and she’s right. The only way to find your rhythm is to start before you feel ready. Publish the rough drafts. Refine in public. Let people grow with you.
Design from life, not trend.
Forget aesthetics for a second. Babies hate clothes that go over their heads. Dubai is hot. Mums are tired. Design for real needs, not for a mood board. Emma’s bestsellers weren’t the “on-trend” pieces; they were the ones she made for her daughter out of necessity. Sometimes the most practical ideas end up being the most beautiful.
Learn the boring stuff.
Every creative dream has a spreadsheet behind it. There are licences, taxes, margins, shipping costs and they matter more than we’d like to admit. But you can learn as you go. One short course, one government form, one mistake at a time. Emma jokes that she’s mastered the unglamorous parts of entrepreneurship from her kitchen table and it is proof that you can too.
Pivot without drama.
Motherhood, money, and motivation all move in seasons. When childcare falls through or budgets get tight, pivot. Freelance to fund your dream. Pause a collection if you need to. Try a new channel when the old one stalls. Growth isn’t always linear; sometimes it’s just staying steady while life shifts around you.
Remember your why.
If your reason for building something is to be more present with your child, let that guide your calendar, not your Instagram analytics. Success can look like a sell-out launch, but it can also look like making nursery pick-up on time.
Editor’s note:
Emma didn’t launch to instant sell-outs, and that’s exactly the point. Next of Kin is what happens when a mother trusts her intuition, builds for her real life, and lets her community grow alongside her.
For Common Good
Every story feels more complete with a glimpse into the little things that shape someone’s world. Here are Emma’s forever favorites.
Best place for Mums to make friends: Mama Hub Playgroups
Buy baby bits secondhand, they use it for such a short span of time. Reloved and Retykle are some great local businesses for this run by Mums
Finding cafes and restaurants with play areas, for when you’re fed up of soft play. I have a whole blog post of recommendations.
I’m biased, but of course I think this is the best place to find small, local, baby and kids brands, I whole-heartedly recommend all of the items over at Next of Kin!
Random one, but my favourite eye brow pencil and gel is by a small, local company Brow Balance