An Interview with Mom Boss Chronicles
When Julia Au co-founded Tempaper, she didn’t just launch a product — she reimagined an entire industry. From a family brainstorm to major retail shelves, Julia’s story is one of creativity, perseverance, and redefining what it means to balance business and motherhood.
When she joined Mom Boss Chronicles, the conversation was part entrepreneurial masterclass, part heart-to-heart about grit, growth, and belief in your vision.
Innovation Born from Necessity
The idea that launched Tempaper — the original peel-and-stick wallpaper — began not in a boardroom, but on a production set.
Julia’s aunt, a set designer in New York, was frustrated watching crews spend hours scraping wallpaper between shoots. She called Julia and her twin sister, Jennifer, with an idea: why not create wallpaper that’s beautiful and removable?
That single call sparked the creation of an entirely new product category. As Julia said, “It came from a need.”
What started as one inspired idea became a revolutionary way for people to decorate their homes — with design that’s both accessible and expressive.
Building Something from the Ground Up
Julia and Jennifer bootstrapped their business from scratch — working multiple jobs, bartending at night, and funding everything themselves.
“We worked three different jobs… collectively funding the business for the first few years,” Julia shared.
Their success didn’t happen overnight. Julia described those early days as “organized chaos,” but filled with passion and persistence.
“You have to believe,” she said. “Even when it’s hard, you just keep going.”
Pioneering a Forgotten Industry
When Tempaper launched in 2008, wallpaper wasn’t exactly trending. Designers weren’t interested, and consumers still associated it with messy glue and frustrating removal.
Julia and Jennifer saw things differently. They wanted to modernize wallpaper while honoring its artistry.
They studied the craft, learned the manufacturing process inside out, and built a supply chain that kept production domestic. The result was something truly new: artisan-quality wallpaper that anyone could apply, remove, and love.
“We wanted to keep the integrity of wallpaper,” Julia explained, “but make it modern.”
The Big Break: A Call from Target
Every entrepreneur has a defining moment, and for Julia, it came one Friday afternoon.
A representative from a national repping firm called. Target wanted to carry their product.
“It went from a couple hundred stores to all 1,800,” she recalled. “I was still working a night shift at the bar when I got the call.”
That partnership didn’t just validate their idea , it catapulted Tempaper into homes across America and changed the wallpaper industry forever.
Staying True to Values
Even with national success, Julia emphasized the importance of integrity in business. Tempaper remains committed to U.S. manufacturing, sustainable materials, and ethical production.
“We never cut corners,” she said. “We know what’s in our product, and we know it works well.”
That commitment to quality and transparency has earned Tempaper partnerships with major retailers and collaborations with top designers, all while maintaining its original mission to make beautiful design accessible.
The Mom Factor: Balancing Business and Family
As a mom of two young children, Julia’s story resonated deeply with the Mom Boss Chronicles audience.
“Tempaper was my first baby,” she laughed. “But then I had to figure out how to give 150% to both.”
Motherhood didn’t slow Julia’s ambition, it reshaped it. It gave her purpose, perspective, and a new kind of strength that no business book could teach.
“There’s this pressure to do it all,” she said. “But over time, I realized that balance isn’t a daily achievement, it’s a lifelong rhythm. Some days my business needs more of me, other days my kids do. And that’s okay.”
Julia spoke candidly about the early years, when she was navigating sleepless nights, teething babies, and product launches all at once. There were times she’d step out of meetings to take a call from home, or find herself answering emails during a nap window.
“In the beginning, I thought being successful meant doing everything perfectly,” she said. “Now I know success means being fully present where I am, even if that looks different every day.”
For Julia, being a mom and an entrepreneur are deeply intertwined. Her children are woven into the fabric of her work, the reason she keeps pushing forward, even when things get messy or uncertain.
“I want my kids to grow up seeing that hard work and creativity can build something real,” she said. “I want them to know that dreams take work, but they’re worth it.”
As her business evolved, so did her definition of success. It wasn’t just about scaling a brand anymore, it was about building a life that reflected her values. She found small rituals that helped her feel grounded in both roles: waking up at 5 a.m. for a quiet workout before the day begins, sharing breakfast with her kids before school, and carving out device-free evenings when possible.
“Those small pockets of peace,” she said, “that’s where I recharge. That’s how I find balance, not in the big gestures, but in the moments I protect.”
Julia also talked about the importance of community, leaning on her husband, family, and team. “I used to think I could do it all,” she admitted, “but now I see it differently. You are only as good as the talented people around you. Support is part of success and the growth process.”
She hopes to model that mindset for other women who are building businesses while raising families, reminding them that there’s no single “right” way to do it.
It’s a reminder that entrepreneurship rarely fits neatly into a schedule, but with passion, purpose, and flexibility, it can thrive alongside motherhood. Julia’s journey is proof that you don’t have to choose between being a devoted parent and a driven founder, you can be both, on your own terms.
Julia Au’s story is more than a business success: It’s a story of creativity, resilience, and belief. From a single phone call with her sister to revolutionizing an entire category, she embodies what it means to be a “mom boss.” balancing ambition, authenticity, and motherhood with grace.
“You have to believe, even when it’s hard. That’s what keeps you going. My daughter once said, ‘Mom, you make the walls pretty.”' And that’s when I realized — they’re watching, learning, absorbing everything. That’s the legacy I want to leave them — not just a company, but the courage to create something of their own one day.”
