Beautiful, Sustainable, Handmade Baby Items

Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family? 

I schedule everything and outsource the things that detract from what I’m trying to achieve in our home life to allow me to focus on the business. I’ve got set plans around when each business task will be outsourced as we grow, but will also keep everything made in New Zealand. I use my diary a lot to plan out my weeks, kids/family commitments, then time blocks for work and self-education. Once I have those planned out, I set a to-do list in each time block to make sure there are no days wasted.

The drive: What challenges have you overcome? 

I haven’t had too many so far but there’s definitely things like losing days because of kids being sick, going into lockdowns, etc. In those times, I just work out the absolute essential things that need to be done and adapt that way.

For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business? 

The pros are definitely being able to channel ideas into the end product, seeing kids and families wearing our goods and knowing that they’re completely natural. Also, seeing little ones smiling away in our bibs, and décor items in people’s homes. But more than anything, being present for my own kids exactly when they need me instead of in a traditional job is the biggest pro. The cons of running a business are pretty simple: with every element of reward there comes an element of risk. What if it doesn’t work? What if no-one likes my product? What if we go into lockdown? So, when I’m planning anything, I am always factoring in the risks, not to let them put me off but to be aware and have a plan B.

Hopes and dreams: What next? 

Growth and scale. I want to have the brand stocked in stores across the country, internationally, as well as open our own bricks and mortar store. I want to grow our product lines, employ New Zealanders and keep jobs here with manufacturing. Eventually, it will be time to give back. I had amazing mentors when I first started working in the fashion industry. My goal here is to open a mentoring workspace for new designers and creators to operate out of, providing support and skills training to nurture their talent.


Head to the Boston and Forest website to view their range of beautiful handmade items. You can also keep up to date on their Facebook and Instagram pages. 

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