Mama Designs turns 12!
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Mama Designs has just celebrated its twelfth birthday. From a mum with an idea to a retail portal, Keira O’Mara has had a busy time. We had a chat with her to find out more about what drives her and the business…
You’ve just celebrated your 12th anniversary. Congratulations! Tell us a bit about you and your brand – who are you, what do you do and why did you get started?
Thank you! I launched Mama Designs 12 years ago whilst on maternity leave with my eldest (now 13!) I had been made redundant and had an idea for a discreet breastfeeding cover but was unable to find one to buy. I decided to create one myself. This led to being featured in five national newspapers and being live on ITV’s This Morning. Fast forward 12 years and we have a range of award winning products, all designed by me, covering sleep, breastfeeding and nursery accessories. We are still very much a small business. We’re a team of three with everything else outsourced.
How did you celebrate your birthday?
We had an amazing cake made for us and of course we had some fizz!
What’s special about Mama Designs?
Mama Designs products are all designed by me as a result of my experiences as a mum of three (my youngest is one).
They all have clever design features, eg our multi tog Babasac baby sleeping bags with removable inner layers or twists on a classic such as our cotton cellular blankets with contrasting colour trims.
As a small team we get close to our customers and retailers and listen to what they want. Before launching any new products we road test them with some of our customers and followers to make sure they are perfect.
As a small business owner I get involved with all aspects of running the business. I am passionate about my business and hopefully the love and care that goes into it is clear to our customers and followers.
What do you love about being in the baby business?
I love the people. I have met some amazing friends since I launched my business, other business owners, some of our retailers. I love the excitement of people having babies. It is a happy time and to be part of that is so lovely. When I see that someone has chosen our products for their newborn, it makes me so happy. Their most precious tiny baby and they choose us. Nothing beats that!
How did you get started?
I started whilst on maternity leave, with no experience and having designed my first product Mamascarf, a discreet breastfeeding scarf. Within a year I had 80 independent retailers and I was able to leave my job and focus on the business.
How do you find the right products to feature on your website?
I design all of our products myself. New additions might be a new product but in one of our signature prints. Some things are because customers have asked for something and then we research whether it is right fit for us.
What is your best selling product and why?
Babasac and our cellular blankets are our best selling products. Babasac is a multi tog baby sleeping bag. It easily converts from 2.5 tog to 1 tog by removing the inner layers. It saves time, it saves space and it means whatever the weather, nursery temperature or if baby is sick parents always have the right tog on hand. For retailers, it saves stocking multiple togs and means they always have a light tog bag even in mid-winter (someone will always want one!) .
Our cellular blankets are another favourite, they are a perfect newborn gift and the scandi colourways with contrasting trims make them stand out (one shelf and in the nursery or pram!).
What exciting plans do you have for the next 12 years?
Haha, the next 12 years! Well I would like to still be here in 12 years time. Feeling grateful that we are still here at the moment. I’d like to continue with what we are doing, making more products that make parents lives easier.
Is there anything you’d like to say to brands and/or retailers?
We love working with other small businesses so if you are interested in stocking our products, please get in touch. We are pretty flexible with order quantities as we want to support other small businesses!
Find out more about Mama Design
Contact Keira and her team by email at info@mamadesigns.co.uk or visit their website.
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