Coastal
Path Creations – How it all started.
Commute,
study, commute, work and repeat. That was my life in a nutshell, until I saw
those two pink lines on that little white stick! I fell pregnant at the age of
20 whilst in my third year of my degree at Southampton University, studying for
my degree in Music. To say I was completely shocked would be an understatement.
I had my daughter, Madison, two weeks after I handed in my final dissertation
(I cut it a little close, and wouldn’t recommend it to anybody!).
For the first 10 months of my
daughter's life, I enjoyed not having to study or work. Maddy kept me on my
toes and I had met a fantastic group of friends who kept my schedule busy. When
she reached 10 months, I began to get what my partner called ‘itchy feet’. We
agreed that I needed to do something for myself and have a bit of ‘me’ back. Maddy
was still breastfeeding during the day and I didn’t want to put her into childcare,
so finding something to fit was never going to be easy.
The idea hit me at 2.00am one night
whilst I was feeding Maddy. One hand was pinching my waist, a leg was prodding
my arm, and there was a finger picking my nose! I needed a distraction for her...
on went my Grandma’s necklace - a big, chunky necklace that I had borrowed, and
it worked. Within seconds, her hands were out of my nose, her legs had calmed
down and she was discovering the different textures on the necklace. Much to my
amazement she fell straight back to sleep, holding the necklace. My venture was
set – baby-friendly nursing necklaces.
The first
products I designed for Coastal Path Creations were necklaces made from natural
wood products and beautiful crochet beads. I launched on Facebook and the response
was absolutely overwhelming. Before I knew it, necklaces and bracelets were
being sent to America and New Zealand. From there, I created the ‘Twiddler’. A
circular strung set of crochet beads with a clip, to allow the beads to be
attached to a sling or carrier whilst babywearing. I also made bracelets with
the wording ‘This Side Next’, which were (and still are) very popular gifts for
baby showers. I even had two large trade orders within my first 6 weeks. It was
all very exciting! The different textures and colours I selected for my product
range were well received by my littlest customers – some only a couple of weeks
old.
Recently, I released my ‘Gummy
Range’. These necklaces are made from BPA/PVC free silicone, the same material
used for dummies and teats. They are proving to be a big hit with teething
toddlers and toothless tots! There is even one for daddies to wear, in blacks
and greys, which is my first design aimed at dads.
Becoming a work at home mum has
allowed me to be myself again, as well as being able to spend every day with
Madison. I love working for myself and encourage other crafty mums in my
position, to give it a try.
**Save 10% until Christmas Eve on all orders with FREE shipping on orders over £15 (after discount)**
Coastal Path Creations have provided some lovely prizes for the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Advent Event 2013.
Enter for a chance to win these lovely prizes by using the Rafflecopter below. You can also enter by heading over to the
Coastal Path Creations Facebook Page, liking the page and commenting on the Giveaway image highlighted there.
Throughout
December there will be lots of lovely breastfeeding prizes up for grabs
from lots of lovely companies. Find out about all the prizes up for
grabs here and follow
Keep Britain Breastfeeding on Facebook for updates..
All competitions will end at Midday on December 24th and winners will be drawn within 14 days
a Rafflecopter giveaway