Amie Kurian: Combine your passions & change the world

Often the term “dream job” is attached to an occupation that combines a couple of passions. Someone who loves photography and nature would be giddy to earn a paycheck as a wildlife photographer … while somebody who loves people and art would thrive as a gallery docent.

If your job isn’t ideal, close your eyes and think of what that might look like for you.

For Amie Kurian, her dream job is sharing her love of design and passion for running (not to mention decades of experience in both!) through her online shop, Third Monday in April.

Starting a small business is inspiring alone, but Amie chose to use her first two collections as vehicles for promoting equity and equality across two different issues.

Her debut collection, “TIL WE ALL RUN FREE: BLACK LIVES MATTER” promotes awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, donating proceeds to groups working to combat social injustices. Amie believes “running should be a path open to all” and knows there’s much work to be done for equity and equality.

Her second collection, “THE YEAR WOMEN COULD: AN EQUALITY COLLECTION” celebrates women’s rightful place in the running world. Did you know women could not run the marathon event in the Olympics until 1984? That is not a typo—just a few short decades ago. Amie shares other surprising facts on the topic on her website. And Third Monday in April also donates a portion of the proceeds of this collection to Girls on the Run, a program that promotes empowerment and teaches life skills through lessons and running.

Setting up a business, creating concepts, following through on ideas and sourcing actual products—all while navigating social media and fulfillment—are not easy tasks. And in addition to these things, Amie is sharing stories, statistics, and honest and thoughtful content to promote education. While many people don’t know how to spring into action during times of crisis, Amie immediately used and continues to use her skills and voice to promote social justice, inclusion, and equal rights—a dream job with incredible benefits.

Pictured: Amie and her older daughter, Ali. Both Ali and her younger sis, Evi, work with their mom at Third Monday in April.

Q & A with Amie Kurian

Where do you get your energy/what motivates you?

“Creating motivates me. Sometimes it’s rearranging furniture in my house. Sometimes it’s a new line for my shop. I feel best when I’m creating something that wasn’t there before. That’s so powerful to me. I first realized how exciting that was to me at my first job at an ad agency when I was 23. Starting with a creative brief (words on paper) and turning that into a full ad campaign felt like magic to me. I’ve been craving that feeling ever since.”

What other women inspire you?

“Women who’ve broken the mold and challenged the world they live in inspire me. There are so many powerful women who’ve come before us and faced unspeakable things as they’ve fought for equality. Women fighting to free themselves and their families from slavery, women fighting for the right to vote, women fighting for the right to run. I am so proud to be a woman.”

What’s your pie-in-the-sky dream or ambition?

“To create a world in which my daughters don’t feel like there are certain roles they need to play just because they are female.”

What’s your go-to recipe?

“Call Thai restaurant.
Pick up food.
Enjoy.

Why does my desire to create stop in the kitchen?!?! Why oh why???”

[Editor’s note: I’ve actually eaten at Amie’s table, and she does know how to cook. I’m still working on her to give me a ‘go-to.’ It’s not always easy to think of the things that come easy to us or that we whip up in a pinch when we’re asked on the spot, so I understand and have extended her deadline accordingly.]

How do you break up your days/what’s a day-in-the-life look like?

“I start the day with either a spin session with my husband or an early morning run with a friend. If I don’t workout first thing in the morning, I feel like I have something hanging over my head, and it bugs me until I do it. Unless I’m planning to take the day off from working out, then it’s straight to some chai tea.

“After the workout, my days can look so different. I work from home and my daughters are home from school because of the pandemic. So, there’s almost always a combination of work, parenting, and household managing going on. One of those things usually rises to the top out of necessity and becomes the focus for the day. I love that flexibility, but also fantasize about the days of having eight hours at a desk to immerse myself in a project. It can be hard to get in a creative mindset while also answering questions about fifth grade math and switching loads of laundry. If I’m really into a work project, I put in my noise-blocking headphones and tell my kids not to talk to me unless they are bleeding or have already thrown up. Usually works!

“There are a couple things that make me happy and I always make time for during my day. FaceTime chats with my mom. She has terminal cancer and I feel so lucky every time I hear her voice. Another pick-me-up during the day is a walk with my neighbor. We’re both wearing lots of hats during the day, so we don’t have a set time we walk. Rather, one of us will simply text the other ‘W’ and know the invitation has been sent. We exercise our dogs, escape our children, and joke that we are providing each other free therapy.”

How do you stay organized or what strategies do you have for accomplishing goals?

“I have to prioritize my goals or I’ve realized they just don’t happen. Especially with everyone home right now. So if the goal is to get a certain work project done, I let the other stuff go. I don’t run errands on those days. I don’t make my kids lunches. I pay my daughter to help out. Order carry-out for dinner. I’ve realized I really can’t do it all, and if I want to create something great and devote the time to it, other areas have to give.”

Name three positives that came out of 2020 for you personally.

“Third Monday in April. I’ve had the dream to start this little shop for years, but the pandemic really gave me the gift of time and a mental mind-shift to make it happen.

“Hope for equality. In many ways it seems crazy to say this, but I’m thankful for the spotlight that 2020 put on so many broken parts of our society. We can’t change things if we pretend they don’t exist.

“Time to chill. Maybe I took the stay-at-home mandate too seriously, but 2020 has given me permission to feel content at home. Going for a long run and reading a book now feels like a complete Saturday. I don’t ever want to lose that.”