Maria Nilsson Atmosea
Atmosea is a surfwear and lifestyle brand built around women’s connection to the ocean—designing clothing that feels good, moves with the body, and celebrates everyone in the lineup.
Founder Maria Nilsson launched Atmosea in 2016, growing the brand out of a desire to empower women to own their strength, freedom and connection to the sea.
After starting out in Byron Bay, Atmosea opened its first store in Brunswick Heads in October 2024—a move that has quickly come to feel like home, with the Brunswick River visible from the shopfront and a slower, tide-bound rhythm to the days.
We speak with Maria about the pull of the waves, the community that keeps her in Brunswick Heads, and the milestone year ahead as Atmosea celebrates a decade in business.
(Photos from Atmosea)
Mosey Guide (mg): What is your connection to Brunswick Heads?
Maria Nilsson (mn): We began in Byron Bay, but Brunswick Heads quickly started to feel like home. Everyone who visits says the same thing, there’s a slower, more cruisy rhythm here. From our store we can see the river, which really feels like the heart of the town. Life moves with the tides, and that creates a deeper connection to the place. You notice it in the pace of the days and in the energy of the people.
(mg) What makes the Northern Rivers different from other places you've lived or worked?
(mn) Our community (and the abundance of fun waves at our doorstep of course!).
Everyone who visits [Bruns] says the same thing, there’s a slower, more cruisey rhythm here.
(mg) What are you working on right now that excites you?
(mn) This year marks 10 years of Atmosea! So we have LOTS of very fun and exciting things in the works.
Our upcoming collections are a big celebration of the past 10 years of building our brand, and everything that we embody; inclusivity, play and fun, comfort, and sustainability. There are lots of colour, fun and some very cool artist collaborations in the works, as well as plenty of art shows with some very talented local artists. Keep an eye on it all, 2026 is going to be a big one, and we can’t wait to share everything that we’ve been working on.
Our upcoming collections are a big celebration of the past 10 years of building our brand, and everything that we embody; inclusivity, play and fun, comfort, and sustainability.
Local knowledge
Favourite local ingredient or product:
Go to any farmers market and they’ll be flowing in abundance of all the local fresh produce from our region. Bunches of greens, herbs, honey, fresh local caught fish, etc etc. Our friends who run Bush Ice-Creamery (usually a pop up at Daily Counter on Friday’s and Saturday’s) specialise in using local ingredients in innovative ways—and it’s not something you’ll want to miss!
Best swim spot?
Christmas Beach in Brunswick Heads—the walk there is beautiful, it feels like you’ve gone off grid driving there through a gravel road through the bush. And a nice 10 minute bush walk track to get to the beach. Then it opens up and you are looking across the river.
What to do beyond the beach?
Plenty of beautiful bush walks and mountain hikes. Get coffee with a friend. Try a new cafe. The Byron Industrial estate is a hub of creativity, food and arts—worth spending a morning wandering around here, and seeing what you find.
Best coffee in the region?
Round the corner from us, our top picks are Daily Counter in Bruns, and Salty Mangrove in New Brighton.
Go-to spot to reset or find inspiration:
Straight to the surf.
Favourite time of day in the Northern Rivers:
Any time when the Bruns River is at high tide. Perfection.
Northern Rivers must-eats?
Roco Ramen. Kouzina. Highlife Cafe. The Mullum Continental. Eltham Pub. Bush Ice-Creamery.
24 hours in the Northern Rivers:
An early surf at New Brighton, then post surf coffee or matcha at Salty Mangrove afterwards. Pop into Brunswick for a picnic by the river on High Tide, browse around town, enjoy the sunshine.
