Motherhood has a way of reshaping everything, and for Danielle Read, it sparked far more than she ever expected. What began as a teary wish for “just one shower alone” became the seed of RORY Face Stuff – a lovingly crafted, time-saving skincare range made for mums in the thick of it. After a demanding birth and the beautiful chaos that followed, she found herself navigating massive change with a baby on her hip and almost no moments to call her own. In this honest interview, she opens up about how those early postpartum days inspired her business, the lessons she’s learned, and the joy she’s found in creating something that supports other mothers.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I had always imagined new motherhood to look like singing by a window. Cradling my baby and cooing gently. Smiling. A tiny human asleep in a cradle while I read a magazine – what a fool I was! Motherhood rocked me, both in its beauty and its ruthlessness – and in all the things it helped me birth beyond the baby himself..
After a 42-hour labour, an emergency caesarean and the chaos that is coming home to a house that is yours but feels entirely different now, with this glorious tiny creature you can’t quite believe is here. Time for myself became a finite, near non-existent resource.
So, I suppose what inspired me to set up my business was when I was in the trenches of postpartum. Sleep-deprived and leaking. Baby spew in my hair and aching shoulders from constant feeding. I realised how profoundly life had shifted. My husband’s four weeks of leave was over, my mum’s two-week stay has ended, and suddenly, it was just the baby and me. Alone. And busy.
All the time I didn’t have before now doubled down. Come nighttime, when my husband would return from work, we’d hardly manage to eat dinner at the table together (now with a 14-month-old, I do giggle at this – the pressures we put on ourselves as new mothers!). At some point, I had a teary moment where something like, “Can I just have a shower alone!?” spilled from my mouth and into the air. From the moment my eyes opened to when they closed (momentarily) at night, it was go-go-go. I’m sure many new mothers can relate to this!!
Until then, I’d shower holding the baby, and the moment my husband took him to get dressed, I’d hear the crying and dart out to soothe him. I kept wondering: How can I make the most of these seconds in the shower?
That question is what ultimately sparked RORY Face Stuff.
RORY Face Stuff is a three-step, 60-second face routine formulated for postpartum skin and motherhood’s rapid pace. It’s pregnancy-safe, breastfeeding-safe, natural, vegan, cruelty-free and made in Queensland using wild-harvested Australian ingredients. We ship Australia-wide!
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
At around five months, my baby began taking more predictable naps and – wait for it – even in his own cot! Before maternity leave, I ran a copywriting business, Readcity Writing. Throughout those seven or so years as a copywriter, I had seen over a hundred businesses launch – it helped me decide where I would spend money, save money and DIY with this second business venture.
During nap times, I researched. I interviewed other new mums about their skin struggles. I researched postpartum hormone levels, the effects of these on the skin, what ingredients could help combat these, and the best types of products to combat common skin concerns in the postpartum period – like melasma (also known as pregnancy mask), dark spots, uneven skin tone, breakouts, fine lines… I was shocked to discover that postpartum skin faces essentially rapid ageing – from the sleep-deprivation, plummeting oestrogen and progesterone and dehydration. Slowly but surely, I landed on the final three products.
I worked with Mon Hope Designs for the branding, built the website myself and had photos taken. I recorded the launch of the business in a 23-part series on Instagram. Suddenly, it was live on Valentine’s Day 2025! Which was wonderful, as we went through many months of no long naps in the day, so I was pleased the heavy-lifting was complete by then!
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Other mother-run businesses have jumped on board to stock RORY Face Stuff!. I am incredibly grateful for the support of these businesses getting behind ours (I say ours, as my husband is in charge of packaging!).
You can now find us in a kidswear store, a wellness space, and hopefully soon in an acupuncture clinic and a pelvic health physio clinic. All on the Gold Coast so far, but I hope to expand across Australia!
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I am no master at balance – I treasure 60 seconds in the shower with RORY, after all!
Because I worked from home before having my baby, I’d already developed some habits that help. I have a dedicated workspace in our home that’s separate from our living spaces. I close the door on work and return to my other roles where I can! I keep my phone in a separate room as much as possible – it’s a good way to not ‘just check’ if an email has come through. I check for those notifications intermittently during nap time!
My husband is with our baby one day a week, which really helps with the balance and allows me to get out of the house and get in the zone at a cafe. He also does the bedtime routine, giving me an hour at the desk. I also take my laptop with me wherever possible, in case I get nap trapped in the car!
Becoming a mother has made me acutely aware of the patriarchal conditions placed around mothering, work and ‘balancing’ the two. I had inklings beforehand, though now it’s in high definition, even with an active partner. The ideology where you must work like you’re not a mum, mother like you don’t work, and do both perfectly. I hope to navigate this chapter by uncovering new revelations, new ways of being and new structures within our family to make for a more equal, fair and balanced household. I hope to lead by example for our son and his views on family dynamics.
