Krissy Derrick on Motherhood & Building Business
Krissy Derrick on founding Modeletto, surviving the hard seasons, and why getting outside every single day changes everything.
There is something infectious about Krissy Derrick. She is funny and warm and refreshingly unfiltered, the kind of person who will tell you that this year has basically been about survival and mean it as a badge of honour rather than a complaint. She is also the founder of Modeletto, a creative pottery and painting kit ecommerce business that she has built, in large part, from a café table with a coffee in hand.
Right now, Krissy is also pregnant with her second, navigating hyperemesis that has been, by her own description, ten times worse than the first time around. She spent two months in bed recently. She kept going anyway. That, in many ways, is the whole story.
The business she built from creativity
Modeletto was built with her Mum, Amanda and began with a simple idea: make the joy of pottery and painting accessible, packable, giftable. The kind of creative experience you could bring home. Krissy has grown it into a thriving ecommerce brand, driven by sharp marketing instincts, a genuine love for what she does, and the kind of daily hustle that does not clock off on weekends.
"The daily hustle is intense," she says. "Marketing and relationship building is non-stop, even on weekends. I never stop thinking about the business, and with social media, customers can reach out 24/7, so there's never really a break." She does not say this as a complaint. She says it as a condition of loving what you do. "You definitely have to be passionate about what you do, otherwise you'll start to resent it and let things slip."
She has not let things slip.
On becoming Marlow's mother
Marlow arrived and brought with him a resilience Krissy did not know she had. Her first pregnancy was hard. Her second has been harder. Hyperemesis, two months in bed, mum guilt that she describes as the worst she has ever felt. And through it all, something shifted.
"I've had to be so resilient," she says. "Being a mum has made me see everything so differently, and for the better. I'm so incredibly grateful."
What surprised her most was not the difficulty but the growth on the other side of it. Before Marlow, she says, a season like this one might have sent her into a spiral. It did not. That is not a small thing.
The mornings are her favourite part of the day now. Up at 5.30am, Marlow calling from his room, a shared breakfast bowl and toast, a fluffy for him and a coffee for her, then a walk to see the diggers on the way to daycare. "It's my favourite part of the day." You believe her completely.
Moving through it
The one ritual Krissy has held onto through everything is simple: get outside every single day, no matter what. "Daily movement makes me a better person, 100%." On the days when cooking feels impossible and the to-do list is relentless, that walk is the thing that stays.
Nutrition has loosened up too, in the best way. She still loves cooking nourishing food for her family when she is feeling well enough. But she also enjoys the croissant, the fluffy date, the daily bread without guilt. And when hunger hits hard, as it does when you are growing a person, she reaches for a Betty Bar. "I'm so hungry at the moment and it absolutely hits the spot." Honest, direct, exactly the kind of endorsement that means something.
The myth of balance
Krissy does not dress up the reality of juggling a business and a baby. "It's relentless, I'm not going to lie." But relentless is not the whole picture. Some days are hard. Other days she feels genuinely lucky, dropping Marlow off late, picking him up early, working after bedtime if that is what it takes to get more hours with her family.
"I'd rather work later at night or on weekends and get that extra time with my family." Balance, for Krissy, is not equal parts of everything. It is knowing what matters most and building the rest around it.
This year, with a second pregnancy that has demanded almost everything, her intention has been simple: survive it well, and get back to Pilates when her body lets her.
On building something that lasts
Krissy's best business advice is practical and hard-won. She credits the Ecommerce Equation, a coaching programme built around the Attract, Convert, Operate framework, with helping Modeletto grow and giving her the confidence to actually understand her finances. "It doesn't just sell generic templates or courses. It guides you through a system that helps you generate consistent sales and scale efficiently."
The other thing she comes back to is community. Talk to other founders. Find the people who are in the trenches doing the same thing. The daily access to that kind of advice, she says, has made all the difference.
Quickfire Round
Morning person or night owl (pre-baby vs now)? Always a morning person.
Current situationship with coffee? After three months off in my first trimester, I'm back to two a day and completely obsessed. Sometimes decaf, depending on my anxiety levels.
The one wellness habit you refuse to give up, no matter how chaotic life gets? Daily movement. It makes me a better person, 100%.
A product, book, or podcast you have been loving lately? Betty Bar. I'm so hungry at the moment and it absolutely hits the spot.
Finish this sentence: "The best thing about being Marlow's mum is..." Everything. Watching my son's funny, amazing personality grow is honestly the best thing in the world. The giggles and new conversations are the light of every single day.
Krissy is the founder of Modeletto. Betty Bars are available online and at select stockists nationwide.
