Inspired by her girls (Lola and Mae) and a love of tie dye in earthy tones, Abbie, the wonderfully talented Biz Babe behind Lae, chats with us about her passion for providing families with eco options to reduce plastic waste and make a better world for our future generations.
Tell us a bit about yourself:
Well my name’s Abbie, I’m 31 and I’m the creator of my little passion project Lae. I’m also a fiance to Luke (which still spins me out, a year or so later ;)) and a mother of two little babes, my oldest Lola is 5 years old in August and my youngest Mae turned one in May. I live in Arno Bay, South Australia, where I’m originally from. But 8 months ago our little fam moved here from Forster NSW (I moved to Port Macquarie when i was 14 and have since moved to most states in Oz for periods of time over the years), basically to spend some time with my parents and save some cash. So it’s lovely to be home for a while, in a peacefully quiet town and embark on creating for my soul and the earth.
How did you get started with your biz?
I’d previously experimented with tie dye when i had Lola, and still had all my stuff that moved with me from NSW to SA when i had Mae, so with this in mind and knowing I had my mother as a connection to bamboo baby linen suppliers I thought I could utilise all this and start my own little passion project while I’m in a time of my life where I can. In being pretty computer savvy, I thought I could start up my own little website and source some earth friendly products (which is also something my children’s futures made me passionate about) to add to Lae’s vibe. I also have a physical front in my mother’s gift shop Gifted At Cleve which I’m super happy to collaborate with her and get my products out into the community.
What (or who) are your biggest influences?
Originally when i had my first girl, Lola, i had just over a year off and my best friend also had some time off and had come to stay with me and we sort of just started experimenting with tie dye so that’s where the love affair with it started. Then real life kicked in, and it phased out. But when i had my second girl Mae, I thought whilst I’m having another year off to savour my baby, why not get back into it and focus on baby gear, where my interests lie. Also my mother owns her own gift shop in nearby Cleve and I thought, having her as inspiration (and also a connection ;)) and with having another baby it would be perfect timing to start creating from home and starting a little tie dye and eco business online. So i guess you could say all my favourite women in my life!
Do you experience mum guilt and how do you tackle that?
Alot! From what they eat, how they behave, how much time you spend with them and the quality of it.. I think its just natural when you have the responsibilty of raising kind, happy, healthy little humans to have mum guilt. Having children really put everything into perspective for me and made me realise that life is too short to do something you don’t enjoy and the kids are only babies once and I just want to enjoy and savour that. So running a little business from home, being able to spend time with my girls and doing something I enjoy helps me to tackle that main guilt in my mind. And just taking one day at a time for the rest!
If you could sum up your day in three words what would those words be?
Mm that’s a hard one.. Maybe food, chaos, creating!
What does your workstation look like?
Not glamorous enough for a picture 😉 Basically a laundry full of dye buckets, washing machine, clotheshorse. Then also storage in my room for all of my eco products. Literally handmade with love, from home!
Give me your best kid distraction strategy
For my youngest, food and mostly hip hop music can pull her out of a mood almost everytime. For my oldest, sweets and her own personalised spotify playlist, mainly consisting of Michael Jackson is usually a successful distraction. Being outdoors generally works as well..
Most embarrassing moment as a mum, or in your biz?
Most embarrassing moment as a mum would probably be times when my nearly 5 year old says things to teachers/friends/strangers in the street that I’ve said that I’ve not necessarily wanted to be repeated. That’s why I love kids, no filter and most of the time, can get away with it..
What are you most proud of achieving biz wise?
To be honest I’m just super happy that I’ve started this online business and am super grateful to my partner for backing me and supporting us and allowing me to be in a time of my life to be able to embark on a creative journey and allowing me to be able to do something I’m passion about everyday and give us the time to raise our kids and spend quality time as a family, to me, which is what life is about !! And I’m just proud of myself for getting this business out there and when receiving positive feedback makes it all worthwhile.
What are your big goals for the next 12 months?
To keep sourcing and providing eco friendly products for families and making the time to keep creating my tie dye tones for bamboo baby linen, something i reeeeally love doing, even if real life kicks in again. And to keep marketing Lae. & hoping for more people to discover my products and have more and more happy customers!!
Nestling Collective Offer
Abbie is offering Nestling Collective readers 10% off STOREWIDE for your first order! Just use code NICETOMEETYOU10 at the checkout. ALSO, if you are spending $150 or more, use code 150FREE for free shipping worldwide!
Thanks for getting to know me guys!!:)
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