The Carrier Diaries: Anchoring down on Motherhood & Entrepreneurship

Congratulations on the birth of sweet little Harvey! How is the family transitioning to having a newborn in the house again? We are loving having little Harvey in the family! His older brother is obsessed. Having 2 kids definitely brings another world of challenges, especially whilst trying to run a business but we wouldn't change it. He is gorgeous! 

From beautiful blooms, to sandy shells and sea turtles - we absolutely adore your signature prints. Tell us a little bit about your hand painted designs? The goal we work really closely towards is that we design prints that are unique and that we really love and fit with our own style. All our prints are hand painted to bring these visions to life. We go through trends of beachy and neutrals to limited edition bright colours like our watermelon and leopard prints. 

Curating and creating beautiful pieces for children seems like a dream job for a mum! How did Anchor & Arrow get started? In my previous life ( before kids) I worked in media and advertising. I was the last of my friends to be ready to have a baby but I always struggled to find them baby gifts that were practical and weren't so baby in the way that they looked. I remember thinking I would go nuts surrounded by dinosaurs and polka dots especially living on minimal sleep and that products didn't have to look so baby so i set out to design my own prints. I found the best quality fabrics I could find and worked with a local artist to bring my visions to life and launched 4 prints which people really loved. From there I just started designing things that I loved and people seemed to really resonate with the style. We also pride ourselves on working with Aussie artists for all of our designs, it brings a unique element to every one of our products.

Launching a business is a lot like having a baby! Do you have any advice for any mothers out there who have big dreams and want to take a leap of faith? Be passionate about what you are wanting to achieve, running a business is a lot of work and it can put a lot of stress on a young family. Make sure what you are wanting to build a business around solving a problem for your audience and find your point of difference. I would also be really clear on your own strengths so that you can outsource the other elements of the business to someone else. I tried to do it all for a while and it's just not possible. You need people around to support.

How babywearing has helped you transition back into work life? I couldn't have lived without my carrier. From a few weeks old I had Harvey strapped to me, he really didn't want to be put down so wearing him made it possible to work and do every day tasks. Many of our customers will have seen me wearing the Sia carrier with Harvey in it in store. It gave me my hands back to serve customers, respond to emails and we even designed a whole new range with him pretty much strapped to me the whole time. At home I would use the carrier just to do basic things like hang the washing out. The carrier is my most important baby item.

What is your number one mum hack? Arggggghhhh I feel like there are heaps but they change with every baby. Always have your carrier in your pram, car or nappy bag. I often grocery shop now with baby strapped to the front of me and toddler in pram. It's the only way to multi task.

Anchor & Arrow exclusively stocks Bermuda, Coral and Sand in their Freshwater Boutique.

Boutique Location: Shop 24, Lawrence St, Freshwater, 2096