Now who doesn’t love a bit of macramé? It’s the epitome of boho chic, a style that many of us aspire to and decorate our homes with. The crafty folks at Son + Dune have combined the iconic look of macramé with the usefulness of a natural teething ring, all handmade from cotton and beechwood in Australia. We spoke to Alycia Peacock to learn more about how they got started.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
As the name suggests, the brand idea arose while I was pregnant with my son. I have always been one to use my hands in a creative way, and often made things for my daughter Atlas when she was a baby (bibs, play mats, swaddles, etc). It was around the time we found out our family was about to be complete that we had started to adopt a cleaner and simpler way of living, and I really wanted that to show in the way we raised our babies. In what they wore, how we styled their living environments and most importantly how we educated them and played with them.
Natural wood teething rings are not anything new, they are actually one of the oldest forms of teething toys, but nothing seemed to catch my eye so I figured, as I had done in the past, why not make something I love? With macramé and string art flooding my Instagram and my Pinterest pages, I thought that would make the most beautiful, simple and captivating teething toy decorations for my baby boy Fox.
The Launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I have had other teeny tiny online businesses, selling other things that I had created, but nothing that I loved with my heart and soul like I did the macramé teethers I had made for Fox. If I am recalling correctly (that is hard now days with a two-year-old and a four-month-old), I posted some pictures to my brand page with the teethers just sort of “there” as an image filler for my other products, and they caught the eye of many of my followers. Mums started asking where I got them and I just sort of said, “I made them.” It was then that I realized that the one thing I put my heart into, was the thing that other mums loved and wanted for their babies too.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Having little ones at home meant that the best way for me to sell my products was online, but I had a passing thought one day that the parents who love our macramé teethers wouldn’t get a chance to really touch and feel the product, which is something that is important to me as a parent buying toys for my children. This is when I applied to attend a number of markets in our local area, Camden NSW, thinking that would be a great way for parents to get a touch and feel of the product. I was pleasantly surprised when many of the market organisers came back to me saying that they loved my products, that they were beautifully unique and they had never seen anything like them before. It really touched my heart and made me feel as though my macramé teethers meant something to others, which is one of my main goals when creating each and every piece.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Balance. What a word. Each and every day starts with a different weight at the end of the scale and it takes a lot of preparation and multitasking to equal that weight. One thing I try to keep in mind is that every day is different, and as long as you get a great nights rest, you can challenge whatever weight the scale gives you the next day.
We don’t have a routine. That’s what has worked for us, especially with two little ones who will throw a curvball just as you think you have one in place.
Atlas, my two-year-old, attends daycare, which gave me the time to work on the business as well as spend quality time with the baby. I got to spend a lot of quality time with her when she was new to this world, and I didn’t want Fox to be left by the wayside upon his arrival.
The multitasking begins the moment I wake up. I connect my breast pump and spend the first 20 minutes of my day making list after list of things that need to be done by bedtime. All work is completed during baby nap times so when he is awake, and Atlas is at home, all the focus is on them.
