Are you starting to find yourself at more baby showers and in need of some quality gifts for your mama friends? Are you sick of searching through endless stores for practical, affordable, yet still stylish baby gear? The best friends and business partner duo from Anchor and Arrow have been there before, and it sparked their own gorgeous shop into being. There you will find their signature range of hand-designed organic bamboo cotton wraps (a must-have baby item!), plus gift sets for baby showers and first birthdays, and cute baby clothes and accessories. We spoke to Lorna and Jess from Anchor and Arrow to find out more. Photography: Bree Hulme Photography.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
We progressed into the next stage of life where 21st party invitations where being replaced by baby showers.
Being new to the baby world we looked around for gifts that were practical but more importantly, mum would love and be proud to use. Being time-poor and working full time, we couldn’t find the sort of gift we wanted to give our friends easily. We thought, there has to be an easier way to find gifts that are gorgeous and easy to access. It was that moment that Anchor & Arrow was born.
We wanted to create baby shower gifts and gifts for new mums that were not only useful but unique, enabling mum to express her own individual style in a sea of pastels and nursery animals.
We wanted to create baby shower gifts and gifts for new mums that were not only useful but unique, enabling mum to express her own individual style in a sea of pastels and nursery animals.
The Launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
In the beginning, we started speaking to mums and asking them what were the favorite items they were given, to create the ultimate baby shower gift. From there we starting sourcing individual products based on our own unique styles which were heavily influenced by nautical and Scandinavian themed designs. We got such positive feedback on the gift sets we put together that we realised we had found a gap in the market. Providing a solution for time-poor busy people who want gorgeous gift sets put together and delivered straight to their door gift wrapped.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Many of the people we had designed a gift set for actually became customers and the feedback was that they loved our style, which was different to the things you find in mainstream stores. We have a unique style and decided we wanted to start hand drawing and designing our own wraps and have them produced in gorgeous organic bamboo cotton, which is so much softer than normal cotton wraps. Designing and producing our own wraps came with its challenges and risks, especially financially, but we are so proud of the products we have now created for mums during the critical first months after their baby’s birth.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
You always hear “the struggle is real!” I am always saying, “the juggle is real!” Luckily we are a duo and one of us normally steps up if the other is having a crazy time outside of the business, either with work or baby. Allocating business time and family time separately really helped, as well as regular catch ups and forward planning – these have been monumental to the continued success of our brand.
