Bubbalino

Today we'd love to introduce you to our newest sponsor 'Bubbalino', I first meet Vanessa the face behind the brand at our annual blogger's conference last year, a super sweet and stylish Mumma whom I'm sure all of you are going to come to love just as much as I do!

Bubbalino was born in 2009 about three months after my daughter arrived. Her little spills, followed by nonstop teething dribble made it very hard to keep a pretty outfit pretty for too long. Conventional bibs, traditionally made for feeding, were too cumbersome and bulky and always crowded her ensemble, while other available dribble bibs still looked like a bib. And so I set out to design and make a more stylish option.

From the airport lounge to the supermarket checkout, the playground to coffee group gatherings, I repeatedly received compliments and comments on the 'Bibette' I'd created and I saw an opportunity for a wee run-from-home business.

Now, replicas of the dribble bib are a dime a dozen and I see them all over the place, but Bubbalino has been around for over five years now which makes me pretty proud. I have a fantastic number of repeat customers which tells me that the product does the job it was intended to do: look great and be functional all at the same time. For those customers I am grateful. Most of my business comes from word of mouth which is how I find all of the baby products I love myself, it's an organic process and recommendations are the best form of advertising, and because I don't have a lot of money to throw into traditional forms of advertising or PR, this for me is satisfying.

What does an average day look like to you? At the moment, I spend most of my free time staring at my beautiful nine week old baby boy – that is after I’ve breakfasted the older two and dropped them at school and Kindy, hung out several loads of washing, tidied up the kitchen, made the beds and found time for a shower. Orders are packaged up, a call placed to the courier and a few admin details are taken care of.  Because I also have my blog, I try to edit photos, write up recipes and plan posts, as well as updating social media sites on a regular basis.

We see your bibettes all over town, who or where is the most fabulous place you've seen your bibettes? Seeing a little one wearing my Bibette at the park for the first time was a huge thrill, I got such a kick out of it. I also love getting calls or texts from friends telling me that they’ve seen kids at different places around the country rocking a Bibette.

We love following your blog - who inspired you in the kitchen? I spent a lot of time in the kitchen while growing up. I am the eldest of four kids and Saturdays were baking day – something that as I got older became my responsibility. My earliest memories in the kitchen however are with my Nan. A mother of five with a keen love of food and the passion to create everything from scratch, she taught me well. Being in the kitchen was always fun, apart from getting to lick the wooden spoon, I just remember being happy there with her, wearing my own little pinny and being given jobs to do which made me feel a part of the process. Eating the finished product was always a highlight of course! 

What do you enjoy most about blogging and sharing your recipes? I love the creative outlet that blogging gives me. I have always loved to write, and to cook, and being able to marry these passions together and in turn receive the comments I do from people who have tried recipes and loved them too is pretty encouraging. There is also something magical about the community that lives in Social Media and the friendships I’ve formed with readers (which on occasion have become real life friendships too) is so lovely.

Who would be your top five ultimate dinner party attendees? Jennifer Lopez (because she’s just gorgeous and seems really fun), Michael Jackson (because I think he was one of the most talented humans to walk the planet), Jamie Oliver (for his fun and casual approach to dining), and Beyonce & Jay-Z (I want to know what really happened in that elevator!)

What is the best piece of creative advice you've learnt on your creative journey? To be true to myself. It’s advice I think best applied to everything.

Where to next? Where do you see Bubbalino heading in the future? With three little ones life is pretty hectic, so I don’t see much opportunity for expansion for Bubbalino at this point. I have a few ideas in the pipeline and time will see those come to fruition I hope, but for now, I am enjoying the relaxed pace at home with my family and soaking up the magic of each day with my babies whilst they’re young. I am all too aware that these days are rushing by and I want to enjoy them in their entirety. There will be plenty of time for business and development in the future I’m sure.

Photos courtesy of Bubbalino.