Young mother converts pain to profit

‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ goes the saying, and little did Julia Christie know, that when she accidentally cut her first-born’s finger while trimming his nails, it would lead to her designing the Nail Snail and ultimately to transforming her life.

Wanting to find a solution to her problem, determined mother Julia, searched high and low for safe baby nail clippers that would eliminate the risk of further harming her little one. Discouraged and devastated by the quality and design of existing products on the market, she thought there had to be a better and safer nail care tool.

“Most available products on the market were focussed on cutting and clipping. When it comes to tiny fingernails and toenails, it makes sense to trim and file rather than cut and clip” said Julia Christie.

That is when Julia took it upon herself to create a tool that would do just that. After conceptualising the prototype and launching a successful Kickstarter Campaign back in February 2017, she came up with the winning design – the Nail Snail.

Two more babies later, the business-minded mother has sold over 15,000 Nail Snails catapulting the safer baby nail tool into countless homes across Australia and internationally.  

Christie has regularly sold out of Nail Snails while attending baby-related expos, confirming that there are many parents out there facing similar baby nail care troubles. Julia’s Nail Snail has been featured in numerous publications, gained thousands of social media followers and has earned award-winning success. Christie says she is especially grateful to the mums’ community who has raved about the Nail Snail on social media.

“Mums love the Nail Snail because it is a product they can relate to.  Just like me, these mums are thrilled to have found a solution for safe baby nail care” said Julia.

“It has been an amazing journey so far. And, I never actually intended to start a business, I was literally just looking to solve the nail trimming problem for my family,” Julia shares.

Barely two years since its launch, and after winning the prestigious Australian Good Design & the Big Innovation Award in May this year,  Julia’s Nail Snail has recently won the national AusMumpreneur Product Innovation Award. Just recently, she was featured on Channel 10’s Australia By Design: Innovation, a series dedicated to showcasing Australian-made products and their designers. It wasn’t until she viewed  the episode with friends and family that, Julia, completely unaware but overjoyed discovered that she had just been announced top 10 finalist for best product innovation of the year across Australia. 

With the Nail Snail having already found its way into most leading pharmacies, chemists and baby stores around Australia, interest from retailers in Europe, Asia and the US are coming in.

Julia Christie’s Nail Snail journey proves just how a mother’s intuition can create a ripple effect and lead to entrepreneurial success. She now shares her story and business insights with other mums and budding entrepreneurs. She is also writing a children’s book and loves being able to operate her business around the demands and joys of motherhood.

For more information log onto www.nail-snail.com.