As a mother herself, Karina Hill understands how painful teething can be for little ones, and how much this time can disrupt the household during the worst of days. She created The Teething Co to be a one-stop shop for teething toys, doing the research for you and carefully selecting a range of products that are safe, hygienic, effective and add a bit of fun and joy during the teething phase. Their products are made from non-toxic, BPA-Free, food-grade silicone or eco-friendly natural rubber and come in a range of cute designs. Here, Karina talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind her business, how she balances work and family life, and her plans for the future.
What inspired you to set up the business?
During Covid lockdown in Melbourne, we received a teether in the bag we got from the government when we had our first daughter Eleanor in April 2021. Everybody was raving about teethers. Being my first baby, I didn’t know anything. Over time, Eleanor loved the teether. It would not only help her sore gums, but it also helped with her development as she loved playing with it. I started looking around where I could buy more and found I could not go to one place with a whole range of different teethers. I spent so long going to so many sites. I also found many stores focus mainly on beaded teethers, pendants, and bracelets. I wanted to steer away from that, focus on character, and make teething fun, as hard as that sounds.
What was it like being a first-time mother?
I moved to Melbourne to be with my now husband in 2019, so I live away from my leading support group, based in New South Wales, so it was difficult, and to top it off, we were stuck at home due to lockdowns. However, it was good in a sense as we had a lot of together time, and at times I loved being a new first-time mum.
As a new mother, what did The Teething Co do for you?
It gave me something to focus on when the days were the same and a break from just changing bums, feeding a baby, and watching too much Grey’s Anatomy. It gave me a sense of achievement and something else to focus on that I could learn and research while breastfeeding or when putting Eleanor to sleep.
How did you start in the beginning?
I just dove right in. I researched and looked for different reputable suppliers and a whole range of other products with which The Teething Co can grow. I chose a starting point and put some money aside from our savings. I did everything by myself and learned heaps about social media, marketing and e-commerce. I loved it being so hands-on.
What do you think was the most significant breakthrough you had in business?
We have done the markets, which have been an excellent avenue to get feedback from our customers. It has made it easier to talk about the product, get more ideas and go from there, and customer feedback has been good. We have the newsletter that we are constantly revamping, trialling different things, so The Teething Co becomes a resource for mothers about early childhood, not just a destination about teething. We want people to grow with the brand as we grow and to know that The Teething Co is on the same journey as them, learning, developing, trying and testing all of our products. We are all in this together!
Tell me about the interaction between mothers. What have you found?
There is always a sense of appreciation, and everyone supports each other. You can have a bad day, and you don’t know the person, although you can relate to them. It comes across in socials and all of our interactions. I love it.
