Behind the scenes with founder of The Mother of All Baby Showers, Interview with Amy Lundy

                                       

Last week I had the pleasure of joining an old friend on an amazing work trip (#abckids14) with whom I've been working with over the past year on her unique event concept, The Mother of All Baby Showers. If you haven’t heard about the event, you will. But you likely won’t hear about her, Amy Lundy, because she puts her brand (commonly and fondly called MOABS to those who know about the growing event/brand) in the forefront and leaves her name out of it. She doesn’t push for press for herself, rather she puts her event partners in the spotlight. She’s a native South Floridian who has lived in various cities around the country, traveling extensively for her work and building relationships seems to be her forte. She genuinely cares about people and loves her work and her event partners and colleagues whom she calls “friends.” She doesn’t promote herself, her extensive marketing and events background (ever heard of American Express, um yeah, she managed their events marketing department in NYC for years before deciding to start her own business), her success or the charitable pieces of her events. She’s a wife, stay-at-home working mom and she created a business for all of us—other mom and dad entrepreneurs, bloggers, product and service providers and parents. She’s a force, but she’s humble; she’s a CEO, but she’s also a swag bag stuffer (you won’t believe what you’ll find in this year’s bags—in a word, WOW!); she means business, but she takes it all in stride and will make you laugh in an instant. Following the trip I asked her if she’d let me ask her 10 questions and she agreed and asked that we try to forgive her if her answers aren’t “perfect” because she’s answering after 4 days of no sleep (Vegas baby…for work) and she has a sick infant at the moment

So here goes…

Amy G: What made you want to create MOABS?

Amy L: I’m a mom, I’ve been pregnant, and I was overwhelmed by the choices and yet excited by everything on the market. To this day, and probably forever, I’ll love bringing together awesome traditional products (strollers, car seats) and new and innovative products (have you seen Zippyz?). I’ve been in/I’m in your shoes and I truly mean it when I say I love connecting top notch products and services with top notch parents (that’s you, in case you forgot, you’re awesome!).

Amy G: How do you choose your venues?

Amy L: Location, size of space, their excitement for the event and audience, and I try to imagine myself in the space as an eager event partner and a nervous and excited attendee. Some places just feel right to you, my instincts lead the way.

Amy G: What are the shirts about? 

Amy L: This is a good one. Our first year I had them made simply to help event partners and attendees find the staff at the event. We had so many requests to buy them that we decided to have a lot more made and at every event we work with one non-profit who sells them and keeps 100% of the revenue. In the case of the South Florida event, the non-profit is Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Foundation, which ensures the ongoing availability of safe, quality, cost-effective, patient- and family-centered care, regardless of one’s ability to pay. Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital is the only children’s hospital that performs cardiac catheterization, open heart surgery, pediatric heart transplantation and pediatric dialysis in Broward County. 

Amy G: Where to next?

Amy L: Wouldn’t you like to know…MOABS is adding Orlando and North Jersey, now it’s public! Whoa

Amy G: When do you sleep?

Amy L: zzzzzzz that’s me napping, 15 min naps are THE BEST. I sleep 6 hours per night if I’m lucky, but I will tell you that my amazing husband lets me sleep just a tad more on the weekends. He essentially forces me to go to bed every night and sleep a bit more on the weekends. #thankful

Amy G: What is one product you can’t live without? What product can’t your kids live without?

Amy L: I can’t live without my phone, and you know, it’s a Blackberry—how bad is that? And surprisingly, it’s not for the phone or email, it’s for the pictures. It’s a great camera and since I travel often I need to see my family photos whenever I start feeling homesick. If we’re talking baby products then I’m going with a new product I just discovered at #abckids14, shout out to Boogies Be Gone who makes nasal aspirators for babies and young kids. It’s that time of year, kids are constantly getting colds and this product offers A LOT of relief for our kids and us. Check it out, they’re a Miami-based company. My kids cannot live without Oogaa, they make the absolute cutest feeding products—making eating fun, making clean up easier for me. You can’t go wrong. And also based in Florida. That, and technology, let’s be honest. 

Amy G: What is your favorite service because it isn’t just products you feature, right?

Amy L: The usual suspects, hospitals, OBGYN’s and pediatricians are a must for my education-based events, but I particularly appreciate the fitness services out there. I hate working out, but when I can fit it in, it gives me energy and makes me that much happier. They keep getting more fun. Check out Mommycise—it’s a workout you can do with the baby and will you actually enjoy it!

Amy G: What can we expect from your event vs. other events?

Amy L: I’m excited for the other moms creating events to serve the millions of expectant and new parents looking for information around the country. I hope they find their unique spin to make their events stick out and valuable to attendees. MOABS is all about education and celebration, adults only at night at a family-friendly venue (museums) and with something for everyone, whether you’re planning, pregnant or have a newborn, infant or toddler. We appeal to EVERYONE who wants to learn and have fun. The swag bags, $20K in giveaways, food, drinks (yes, wine and beer for the non-preggers) and celebs are just icing on the cake (yes, cupcakes too). We’re into our second year, expect fabulous resources at your fingertips and LOT of surprises. From an event partner standout, I treat my partnerships seriously, as I treat my friendships—loyalty, trust, there in good times and bad, I am there year round to support the brands I work with on every event. There is no better event in the tri-county area for you as an attendee or an event partner!

Amy G: Should people go with girlfriends or hubby?

Amy L: Why choose? Bring them all. Dads will get tons of swag and education specific to them, as will moms. What’s important is that whomever goes is supportive of one another, open-minded, and ready to learn and party!

Amy G: Why a children’s museum? I thought kids weren’t invited.

Amy L: That’s true, but that’s the point. We can learn a lot and have fun at the museum with adults only, which is a different experience for us all. Young At Art especially has phenomenal exhibits that people of any age can appreciate. And I am thankful to have built such a great relationship with YAA. Don’t forget that ALL, meaning 100% of ticket proceeds go to the museum. Those ticket sales will support Classroom & Community Outreach programs in art, world culture, the environment and math delivered by museum educators at classrooms and community sites throughout South Florida, including resources for hundreds of pre-k students, their families and early childhood educators in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The museum also awards financial aid for families enrolling their children in art studio classes and art camps in the Young At Art Institute.

Amy G: Tell us a secret. 

Amy L: Okay so a secret now no longer a secret. I still have a baby blanket I sleep with every night. Embarrassing, right?

Amy G: Tell us your greatness weakness when it comes to MOABS.

Amy L: Delegating. I’m a 24-7 kind of person (don’t freak when you see emails at midnight from me please). I’ve built every relationship, whether answering simple emails from attendees or creating complex national event partnerships. It’s hard to trust others to do things my way, but I’ve also learned that sometimes others have great ideas to contribute and know things I don’t know. I’m lucky to have an excellent team at my side.

Amy G: Most embarrassing moment?

Amy L: Easy. One week after having baby #1 I left the house for the first time post c-section, got out of the car to run into a store and immediately realized I had baby poop on my hand. #mommoment

Amy G. Anything else we should know about you?

Amy L.: I desperately need a manicure and I’ve been saying that in my head for month? Oh you mean about MOABS. Yes, come say hi at the event, I want to meet you, congratulate you, thank you and be a resource for you. We’re all in this parenting journey together, I hope I can bring some laughter, learning and maybe even libations to your life. 

To learn more about this fabulous event, please visit www.sflmotherofallbabyshowers.com. Advanced admission is limited to 150 people and includes four tickets to Young At Art Museum, early admission to the event at 5:30 p.m., and a special swag bag.100 percent of ticket proceeds benefit Young At Art Museum.

Leave a blog comment telling us why you want to attend MOABS and you will be entered to win 2 VIP tickets!!!