The daunting task of starting out...

So here I am... a new mum to a 7mth old son, wife, part time employee and now crazy lady who doesn't have enough on her plate so she wants to start her own business!

Insane?

Probably!


Excited?

Totally!


Overwhelmed?

Yup!

I started Piccaninny Rugs only a couple of weeks ago after I identified a gaping hole in the babies and childrens market.  Where do you get a rug to use outside with your little one that is functional, light weight and cute?

Sure, you can buy a picnic rug from any camping store, but they are:

1. Ugly with blue or red tartan patterns;
2. Impractical because the fabric on the top collects stones, sticks, grass and leaves and;
3. Not comfortable for adults to sit on so how is a little one supposed to enjoy tummy time in the park when they can feel every stick and stone underneath them?

Hence the need for a new product!

I started by sketching what I would want as a mum and playing around with the sizing.  My first rug was sized to fit inside a playpen and they have only got bigger from there. 

So far the feedback I've received for the rugs I've made rugs has been overwhelmingly positive with my paying customers loving their rugs and sending me photos of their babies enjoying themselves on them.

My dilemma now is, how to expand my business without getting too far ahead of myself.  I'm only one person making these rugs and between working 2 days per week and caring for my son the other 5 days (Hubby helps out on the weekends) I estimate that I can make 2 rugs per week.  It's not really as many as I'd like but thems the breaks...

So now my mission is to try to source fabric in bulk quantities so that I can save on the materials cost of each rug... I have no idea where to start but through the magic of Google and Ebay, I've got a couple of leads...

Wish me luck!