Merily Loss - a wonderful woman at her best.

Merily Loss is an entrepreneur, mother of two children, wife to her lovely husband, owner of a great dog and three homes, and on top of that, the owner of her own time and sleep! How does a young woman fit relationships with loved ones into all her endeavors, and what role does sleep play in her life? A wonderful woman at her best.

You are a beautiful, young woman. You have created two beautiful Estonian brands. Muuni and Little URBY. You have a husband, two children and a great dog. It seems like there could be more than 24 hours in your day. How does your entrepreneurial journey affect your relationship? Does the life of an entrepreneur give you more freedom, or do you primarily take it away from your partner?

To get everything done, you need to find a balance so that no one suffers, and I do this consciously. I am often asked if I have more hours in my day than others, and I will be honest, I need more, because so much remains undone. I prioritize different things on different days. If Monday is buried under work, then Tuesday belongs to the relationship and, for example, Wednesday is taken up by the children. The combination of a relationship, children and entrepreneurship has brought us dates when others do not. We lived together with our whole family for the last 2.5 years, because we first traveled the world and then in Estonia (because of my work). At that time, we did not reach each other, we were together all the time, but not alone in thought. Now we consciously pay attention to this and use the time when the children are in kindergarten for this. So you can find me at the cinema at 11:00 with evening makeup and heels, or at the SPA, or spontaneously skating in Haapsalu. At 4:00 PM, the date is simply over and it's time to be a homebody. I have to be honest, the biggest sufferer is the dog, because he just walks with us and gets special attention when I fit in a jog or a longer walk.

Do you have to cut back on a lot of sleep for your business ? If so, what kind of sleep quality is the most affected?

Oh no, I won't do anything at the expense of sleep. Sleep is the most important thing to me, it's always been that way. Even during school, when I felt sleepy, I went to bed, whatever happens on tomorrow's test. I tend to wake up before others and do it then, but in the evening I can't postpone sleep. Some mornings it's difficult to get up, but generally, if I still need to do something, I fall asleep due to excitement. And if it happens that I went to bed too late, I just don't get up earlier and don't do those things. There's a certain peace inside me that I can't get everything done anyway, things don't run out and they keep coming. Of course, as a young person, it's a bit complicated to be the one who goes to bed early and gets up before dawn, because I've been sleeping like a baby all the last few parties.

Tell me, how did you come up with these two ventures?

Entrepreneurship came to me on its own. I have never dreamed of it or moved towards it. I have grown up with the principle that a person should like their work, the environment in which they are and the people they work with are more important. Theatre came into my life in high school and so it was a logical move to go on to study lighting design and then work in theatre. I am a big fan of paid work, simple, carefree, you close the door at 5 pm and that's it. As an entrepreneur, you are forced to work 24/7. Entrepreneurship came to me through a friend who wanted help with marketing and that's where it all started to take shape. Little URBY was born. The co-founder of this company left the boat and I was left alone and at the same time MUUNI was born. I guess it's the way in my life that when something happens, everything happens at once and when there is nothing, there is silence. We had just come back from the world and were full of energy and ready to get things done, but then Estonia went into lockdown (covid-19). So my husband and I sat down and thought about where to direct our energy now, and that's how MUUNI was born - our corona baby. Completely by chance, without any preliminary work, just out of a desire to do something. Today I know that entrepreneurship is the right thing for me, because I can plan my own time and decide what to direct my energy to. I don't do anything that seems unpleasant or wrong, and I can say that life is much easier. Of course, there is a lot of responsibility, worry about whether I can still pay my salary this month, what the general economy is doing, price increases, etc., but that's a natural part of this world.

What does your typical day look like? You definitely start your day between the silky sheets of Muuni, but what next?

My days are very chaotic, I've tried to create a routine and rhythm, but it doesn't suit me, my body immediately fights back. I tried to get a very specific sleep rhythm, going to bed at 9pm, getting up at 5am, and now I'm struggling with the fact that I can't sleep anymore, my body doesn't go into a deep sleep phase, and I constantly wake up with every turn. Well, in short, no routine - progress is the key word. In the mornings, I still try to wake up before others, because I need that peace and quiet to get myself going. The dog gets the first attention, because I like to go for a walk when the world is still quiet - around 6.30am. I definitely need green tea with jasmine, because I don't drink coffee and I actually start working right away. There are also days when I open emails and social media straight from bed. My mind is fresh at that moment and it's so good to deal with clients, posts, and everything urgent. When these elves finally climb out of bed, I have of course achieved a good work wave and it is very difficult to leave it unfinished, but fortunately I do not take them to kindergarten - so a short 30-minute break is okay. Generally, I work in the mornings and the rest of the day goes as needed. There are moments when I need to work 10 hours because a new product has to go to print and there are also moments when I do nothing for several days because I have no energy and will. Thursdays have become my days, then I go to the gym in the morning and after the gym I no longer have the energy to work, so then I lie in the bath and read and just be a couch cushion. But I say - everything is constantly changing, as soon as someone gets sick, there is a completely different rhythm or when we change "homes" (we have several), the work also changes.

How does sleep affect your relationship? Do you and your partner have specific sleep rituals together and alone?

We are completely different people. I am a lark and he is an owl. He works in the evening and I take over in the morning. When we design the MUUNI website or add new products, it is the case that he starts something at night and I finish in the morning. When two people sleep in the same bed, partners have to adapt to each other. My husband is two meters tall, which means that he sleeps diagonally in the bed, because the bed is two meters long and otherwise his legs are over the edge. For me, however, this means that when I straighten my legs, I meet some other legs at the end - very disturbing. So my sleeping positions have probably adapted to his over time. It is difficult to create common rituals alongside children. We also have one child who is an owl and the other a lark, so we also work according to them in the evenings or mornings.

Since sleep is the foundation of almost everything , what is the secret to a good night's sleep for you?

The secret to good sleep is a supportive environment. For me, the room has to be dark and cool. The right bedding, duvet, SleepAngel pillow , a silk pillowcase (I didn't think it could make such a difference) and physical activity during the day. I sleep much worse if I've been working on a computer all day.

If you could share one, and in your opinion, most important message to people about sleep, what would it be?

Never do anything at the expense of sleep. Sleep is so fragile and if you disrupt your natural sleep rhythm, it can be a very long process to recover. From my own experience, I can say that if you don't sleep deeply for a whole month, you start to fear that it might never happen again. A lot changes in women's lives when they have children. I still wake up at night because my body got used to it, but it's actually not normal. I can do everything to support better sleep, but the body needs time. If you have sleep problems, you should seek help. It's like a toothache that won't heal on its own. And I'm not talking about medications here, but there are various techniques, devices, and other things that help you achieve full sleep.

You can follow Merily's activities on her Instagram account . We wish Merily wonderful dreams and the same kind of courage!