I have been dreaming up all all these witty and creative titles and ideas for blog posts from the day Chekoh was born. I’m going to ‘share this’ and ‘how amazing that is’ and ‘how gorgeous those are’ and ‘this one time when went here’, et al. And now that our new website is online and live and I can finally write…. yep, mental blank… full stop... question mark? (and its only my first attempt).
But I’m not a quitter, so here goes, buckle your seat belts and leave your grammar and spell check at the door please, because its 2pm on a Sunday afternoon, we’re working on 4 hrs sleep, 3 cups of coffee and I just noticed my 10mth old is devouring some sort of crusty morsel he’s found on my unmopped floors, #mumlife.
Woohoo, can you hear the applause, the loud gasps of excitement and me popping bottles! We are live again and this time in style!!
Welcome to Chekoh, if you are new to the scene, we design modern baby carriers for stylish mums and dads.
I love all the gorgeousness that is baby wearing, the benefits for both the wearer and baby, the age old tradition, the kangaroo care closeness as well as the ease and simplicity it offers to parents and families. But we are a little different, our Chekoh wraps also offer stylish new designs to enhance your outfit, not just cover it up, and my main aim in doing so is to help encourage more new and modern parents to participate in this fantastic lifestyle that I love.
I have been an avid 'baby wearer’ with all of my beautiful boys - and with three babes in three years, I certainly loved the ease of being hands free; as life right now is non stop, chaos, crazy town. I swear childbirth releases this inner ‘I am woman’ vibe and the rush of hormones and wild energy get together and provide this oomph and suddenly, ‘I can do it’!
In the beginning Chekoh was a little label of homemade ring slings, made by me, on my machine, built on late nights and fuelled by green tea. As the orders started rushing in and my nights became longer and my maternity leave became shorter, I decided to pack up shop an pop it all on the shelf, ready for the right moment. I knew my product and range would be a winner (humble I know right), but I wanted more, I wanted to do it right.
So two babies later, (now with three boys under three, yes it’s crazy) of course.. now is that right time.
I set about a marketing plan and a direction for my carriers, I wanted to focus more on Mums and Dads and less on the baby designs and colours, because after all, we are the ones ‘wearing’ our baby, so we may as well look great doing it, right? I also spend most of my time with my boys in the outdoors, sun, surf and sand, playing in the park, catching kids from trees etc so the standard bulky carrier styles just weren’t for me or my family’s lifestyle.
I set about designing our carriers with ease, simplicity and comfort in mind, so all of our fabrics are ultra-lightweight to keep both baby and wearer cooler in summer, when most of our time is spent outside. I also designed our wraps to be shorter in length then any on the market. Many people find wrapping their baby a little daunting enough as it is, without all that unnecessary extra fabric to deal with, so Chekoh Wraps contain 5% spandex in all our blends to enable a shorter length and more comfortable carry. Of course safety is a priority and I know my product is more than capable of keeping little ones close and comfortable, I use them daily with my own.
Since relaunching in October, 2014 we have achieved a record amount of sales and a dedicated band of followers across all social media platforms, with our numbers continuing to grow daily. It still blows me away every time I post, the amazing support we have from some pretty special mamas out there.
This year we were also lucky enough to attend the Australian Babywearing Conference down in beautiful Adelaide, where we met some other amazing Australian labels and gained a plethora of invaluable knowledge into this gorgeous lifestyle. Another huge highlight for me was manning the stand at my home town’s Parents, Babies and Children's Expo in Brisbane, I remember heading to one of these when I was first pregnant and gaining some awesome insights into motherhood and finding some new and helpful products for my journey. We have two more Expos scheduled for 2015 and believe me when I say I can’t wait to get out there and meet some of you again. It’s probably my most favourite part of this trip so far, I’m definitely more a people person than keyboard (but I’ll get there).
So what more for 2015? Well, we have some exciting collaborations in the works and some incredible designs and styles all ready for our new collection debuting right in time for Spring.
Another new direction for Chekoh is a whole new range of carriers, (well not new for Chekoh but definitely something a little fresh for our relaunch). We are so excited to be incorporating our original ring slings into the mix, which are also designed for older children, 0-2 years.
So this is all me, designer, marketing manager, accounts, distribution, stock control, sometimes photographer, sometimes model, mummy, now blogger and owner of Chekoh Baby Carriers, the fresh new face of stylish baby wearing.
Stay a while, take a look around! Please feel free to send us any feedback via our Contact page or shoot us a message on Facebook or Instagram!
xx
