If you’ve felt the pain of juggling multiple bags as you switch out sweaty gym gear for workwear, then it’s time you met Amie Fitt. Amie is from Melburnian-via-Chicago and she switched out a corporate gig for the entrepreneurial life when she founded Sparro Designs, a carry-all that helps you manage busy days. We’re pretty pleased this go-getter is a Squizer.

How and where do you Squiz?
Over a (mid-afternoon) cuppa, and again in my ears while walking our pup just before dinner. My Squiz habits are upside down on this side of the world.

You’re the creator of Sparro Designs carry-alls. Did the concept come from experience? Are you someone with some bag baggage? 
Yes and Yes! However, I take great comfort knowing I am among friends on the bag baggage front. Over the years of being a morning exerciser, I have shared bathrooms with many other like-minded women. Every busy, fitness-focused working woman I know carries her life, in multiple bags, every day. I wanted to eliminate the #bagtangle, and was frustrated that no bag had been designed with all the things we need to carry in mind.

Changing jobs and moving countries is quite a lot. Was it all a smooth transition?
Ha. Absolutely not – there have been many bumps along the way. That said, we’ve done the relocation thing a couple of times, and each city comes with a bunch of new restaurants to explore. The joy of eating our way around a new town certainly outweighs the pain of unavoidable and endless paperwork.

What’s your advice to someone looking to buy a good bag? 
There is zero need to compromise. Functional fashion does exist!

You straddle multiple timezones, operating between Chicago and Melbourne. What do you miss most about home/like most about the States?
I miss my early morning running mates and the refuel that follows. While a dime a dozen in Melbourne, a good hipster breakfast is almost impossible to find in the Midwest. Wholefoods and Amazon are gold. How one would survive a Chicago winter without them is beyond me.

Name four people – living or dead – you’d kill to sit down to dinner with.
Jane Kennedy, Celia Pacquola, Denise Scott and Magda Szubanski – what a hoot!

Your favourite book/writer?
Hmm… that’s a tough one. Of my more recent reads, I’d say Any Ordinary Day* by Leigh Sales has had the biggest impact. What an incredible and moving read, one that offers excellent perspective.

The best piece of advice your mother/father/good friend gave you?
“One (teaspoon) for each person and one for the pot.” The essential equation for a good pot of tea. Thanks, Dad.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Patience.

What’s your worst and best habit?
Best, I only ever hit ‘snooze’ the once. Worst, procrastinating.

What would you say is the most currently overlooked news story Australians should know about but don’t?
The increase in the number of older women seeking financial assistance and becoming the new ‘face’ of poverty in Australia. This is a shocking and extremely sad state of affairs.

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