A spark of INSPIRATION

Got a business idea? 2020 could be the year to make it happen – these three women show it can be done

- GILLIAN HARVEY

‘I had a lightbulb moment’

Julia Kelly, 49, lives in London

Any new mum will know that the nights can seem endless. A newborn baby needs to be fed, but the process of turning on the light, lifting them from their cot and sitting with them can mean they struggle to sleep afterwards. And when baby doesn’t sleep, no one does!

I have three daughters – Jade, now 17, Anna, 15, and Erin, 12 – and when I was breastfeeding, I found night feeds difficult.

By 2014, all my girls were at school and I had free time, so found my creativity kicking back in. Thinking back to their early days, I was suddenly struck with an idea. Mums need a light that’s small enough to attach to clothing or a cot, emitting just enough of a glow to care for the baby without waking them up too much.

As a former textile designer, I was used to pitching ideas to retailers, but my knowledge base was more arts than electrical. Thankfully, my brother is an electronics engineer and he thought it was a brilliant idea.

Together, we produced an initial design and came up with the Meelight – a small, wearable lamp containing no ‘blue light’, meaning it doesn’t suppress the body’s natural melatonin (the sleep hormone). I thought the process of having a prototype made and getting the idea to market would be straightforward. It wasn’t, but it finally came together in 2016, after two years of hard work.

It’s such a proud moment, seeing your idea become reality – and hearing how much it has helped new parents has been fantastic.

‘I make vegetarian sheepskin rugs’

Jill Walker, 49, lives in Haddington