How Victorian mom earned $ 100,000 in 10 weeks with a weird baby product

This is true. Because babies spend so much time lying down, the friction caused by rubbing their head against the bedding often causes hair loss.

Nikki Bardis came up with the solution – a silk crib – and moms love it. "Ask everyone who has a child, they have noticed bald spots," said the 34-year-old Mount Eliza player on the Mornington Peninsula.

"When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I went shopping to buy everything I could buy better, organic cotton sheets. But every time I took her to her cradle, I saw a small tuft of hair and she was starting to have a bald spot.

Mrs. Bardis, a native of Scotland, recalled that her grandmother swore with silk pillowcases. So she bought an adult and slipped it into the cradle as an experiment.

Even if it solved the problem of hair loss, she said: "It was not very practical, it would move."

Silk pillowcases were becoming more popular – an Australian manufacturer expects sales of $ 50 million in the next few years – but Ms. Bardis realized that there was a gap in the market for a range intended only for babies and toddlers.

"Then I thought I should do something about it," she said. "But life bothers me, I was busy with my first baby and was learning to become a mom."

But the idea came back to him constantly.

After the arrival of her second baby, she began to seriously consider the product. The 34-year-old had already been successful with her Beach Candy business, a range of Turkish beach towels, so she had textile experience.

She sold Beach Candy last year and used that money to launch her new business, SilkyTots. "It took me a long time to master everything, a lot of samples to make sure everything was absolutely perfect," she said.

"Silk is an expensive product, so we wanted to make sure everything was done very well. I wanted to design it so that it complies with the SIDS safety guidelines, which does not consist of a loose fabric in the bed. It was therefore necessary to secure it. "

Ms. Bardis began by playing with samples of her local Spotlight before testing prototypes with Chinese factories.

"I have about 10 different factories. It took a lot of time, because each one lasted about six weeks, "she said. "My advice for everyone is to get your perfect prototype in Australia, then send it to him for copying. When trying to communicate (with changes), they would say, "Yes, yes, I understand," but that would be a mistake. "

SilkyTots was finally launched in May of this year. In August, 10 weeks later, she had 5,000 followers on Instagram and was completely out of stock. Orders pending for $ 85 bed slips were accumulating now.

Ms. Bardis has a turnover of more than $ 120,000 and is expected to reach just over $ 500,000 in the first 12 months. This does not take into account US and UK expansion.

"It has just exploded," she said. "It's still gaining momentum. We have a lot of regular clients, a lot of references, a lot of moms who buy for their babies, then come back for their toddlers, then come back for themselves.

She attributes word of mouth to the "mothers market".

"Everyone wants what everyone has and they all trust everyone's opinion," she said.

SilkyTots also manufactures silk pillowcases for infants and children who "scrub like bird's nest hair".

"This is not just for bald places," Ms. Bardis said. "Silk is very good for skin, eczema and asthma because silk is uninhabitable against mites, molds and fungi. It's much healthier. It's crazy that nobody has done it before.

Ms. Bardis said that her message to all parents with an idea that they thought might solve a problem was simply "you need to be confident, be vigilant and do something about it".

"I had so many ups and downs along the way, but I just remembered to trust the process and keep pushing," she said. "It's possible.Even if you have little experience, the hardest part is deciding to engage yourself.

She does not know if it will be a $ 50 million business. "But why not?" She says. "People have babies every day."

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