Following the breakdown of her marriage, Nina Daniels moved to Altrincham with her young son in search of a fresh start.
But as the family settled into life in Greater Manchester, a sudden and unexpected tragedy would leave them shocked to their core – changing the course of their lives forever.
Nina first moved to London from Stockholm in Sweden in 1996 to study theatre design at university. Once she graduated, the mum-of-one began working in luxury retail designing window displays.
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Keen for a quieter life, the now 48-year-old relocated to Worcestershire in 2008 where she got married and began working as a medical secretary.
Sadly, problems arose in her marriage and the couple decided to separate, with the divorce completing in 2016.
With her future now a blank canvas, Nina decided to move to Altrincham with her son Lukas, now 10, for a fresh start in 2017.
Nina and her ex-husband co-parented well and the future appeared to look bright. But in a tragic twist of fate, Lukas' father died unexpectedly from heart failure while out jogging in 2019.
“It was an enormous shock,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “He was out jogging. He was a very fit and healthy man; he had no health conditions.
“It was very tragic. Despite the divorce, when it finalised, we came together really well and we were really good at sharing care with Lukas. I lost the childcare with my son. We have no family where we live so I couldn’t continue with part-time employment.”
Realising she could no longer balance her work and childcare, Nina knew she needed to make a further change to support her son’s bereavement through such a devastating time.
It wasn’t until she was shopping at her favourite boutique store back in Sweden that she had her ‘lightbulb moment’ - realising she could create homeware items instead of buying them.
“I took six months out to support my son and I thought, ‘How can I make a change and solve this situation?’
“I was visiting my favourite boutique in Stockholm to replenish my placemats. I suddenly thought, ‘I can make a business creating these myself!’”
On her return to England, Nina set up her business – called NINA D – selling a range of luxurious Scandinavian-inspired table mats and placemats, coasters, serving trays, table runners and napkins.
She launched the business right before lockdown in 2020 and it quickly became a success – even going on to become named one of the UK’s most inspirational female entrepreneurs by the F:Entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign.
Nina now stocks her unique tableware in independent homeware stores across the UK, Ireland and the USA.
“Running my own business as a full-time single mum means I juggle business, household and childcare duties,” she added. “I could care for my son, do all the school runs, have him in the school holidays and work flexibly. It all worked out well.
“A few months after I started my business, I realised that my parents were the true inspiration behind NINA D.
“Having lived in England for 25 years, I recognised that setting the table for celebrations and everyday mealtimes was a comforting ritual. Mirroring my own childhood and family traditions, one of my designs is inspired by my mother to celebrate the essence of joyful occasions.
“Today our daily lives have become increasingly lead by technology. It feels even more important to share mealtimes around a table together for good communication and to improve mental wellbeing.”
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