It’s hard to believe it’s been an entire year since we launched Sonnie - like having a newborn, it’s quite shocking really how quickly time flies, and how much changes in such a short space of time.
It seems like only yesterday we were enjoying a girls’ dinner out - really only friends of friends at this stage - when the conversation eventually turned to kids clothing (naturally, with a group of mums at the table). What started as a bugbear over the lack of cool, quality threads to dress our boys sparked a convo about something much bigger - a business venture, a clothing brand and a passion project to really throw ourselves into after years of being stay at home mums. It was exciting, energising and terrifying all rolled into one.
When we decided to take the plunge, our youngest boys, Marlo and Rocky, were only a few months old, so our ‘office’ looked like anywhere we could comfortably drag the baby capsules - our kitchen tables, cafes or from the garage, which doubled as our warehouse. There've been so many pinch-me moments since then - a lot of highs, hard work, stress and uncertainty along the way, but damn it feels so good to see Sonnie in the wild on our gorgeous wee fans - the thrill of receiving orders from our incredible customers never gets old.
Each collection is a true labour of love. As two picky parents who are now the best of friends we know exactly what we want in our kids' wardrobes, meaning we finesse and fuss (probably too much at times) over every piece and every detail for our customers. And with six busy young boys between us, you know the quality of our garments are put to the ultimate test - boy mums will know!
Sonnie has certainly hit the spot in our households, and we can’t wait to bring you more. We’re constantly motivated to help all parents shop sustainably, ethically and conveniently for their little ones - while still looking sharp, of course.
With the launch of our AW22 collection marking 12 months of Sonnie, we’ve reflected on some key takeaways from a milestone year - from business highs, the balancing act and mum guilt, no doubt there’s a little something all parents can relate to.
Find your why: Starting Sonnie has given us a greater sense of fulfilment than ever before. We were both stay at home mums before launching the brand, and while those years with our kids were beyond wonderful, they could also be very lonely and monotonous at times. We were looking for something to scratch an itch to get back out into the world. Starting Sonnie was our way of fulfilling this desire - by finding a new purpose while also being flexible for our families.
Quality over quantity: Work-life balance will probably always be a work in progress. While we love working, it's certainly a shift from spending 24/7 with the kids - and we’ve probably experienced more mum guilt in the past year than ever before! Learning to juggle it all has been tough, but we know we’ll look back and be grateful we took the risk. With new priorities in the mix, we now really appreciate our downtime with the kids - quality over quantity - and always make the effort to be present in their company.
Naivety can take you places: If we’d waited for the right time to push play on Sonnie, we’d still be waiting. With next to no business experience between us, it would’ve been easy to throw our pipe dream into the too hard basket - but naivety can really take you places! The days can be long and the work demanding, but we try not to let it consume us. We’ll often exercise together during the working week to unwind and spend time together as a family - it has to be enjoyable, otherwise what’s the point!
The company we keep: In growing Sonnie we’ve been able to connect with a wonderful community - from our incredible customers to the BTS creatives who help bring our vision to life, many of whom have children, too. The great thing is we all just get each other. When the pressure’s on, parents are the first ones to cut each other some slack and that’s just the kind of working environment we all deserve.
Speaking of community, look out for Friends of Sonnie coming to the blog soon - a regular showcase of Sonnie mums, dads, creators and curators doing cool things in the industry.
Here’s to another year in biz!
Ally and Elo
x
April 2022