Women In Business: Acorn & Leaf {Give Away!}

Today on the blog I am interviewing Linda

of Acorn and Leaf! 

I first heard about Acorn and Leaf when I 

was browsing the local children's boutique

and saw her bibs on display.

The first thing I noticed was the adorable fabrics,

and that they were smaller than the average gigantic bibs I've often seen.

When I picked one up, I felt the soft fabric on the underside 

and noticed the two snaps on the back.

I loved that it was 'one size fits all'

and that she used snaps instead of Velcro.

Babies just rip Velcro bibs off! 

(Photo belongs to Modern Nest. Do not copy.) 

My second experience with Acorn and Leaf

was with Ali of Bella Photo.

She used my then 6 month old daughter

for a photo shoot for some product;

One of the products being Acorn and Leaf! 

The bright, vibrant bib looked amazing.

I now have Acorn and Leaf bibs for my girls, 

and I don't hesitate to tell people about how awesome they are.

When Jane wears them, people notice.

(Photos belong to Bellaphoto. Do not copy.)

You can buy Acorn and Leaf bibs at a number of retailers.

Click here to find a list of their stockists.

You can also shop online! 

Just An Ordinary Family: Acorn and Leaf, love that name. How did you come up with the name for your company?
Acorn & Leaf: Acorn & Leaf came to me very organically. Living in Calgary, Alberta and always having a love for the outdoors and anything nature, I wanted that to be my inspiration. I loved how it sounded and went with it. 

JAOF: How did Acorn and Leaf come to be? 

A&L: When my first wee man began to drool I was in need of bibs. At the time there was nothing on the market that I liked. We were given so many gorgeous outfits and every bib that we had over powered it or took over. I wanted something simple, functional and trendy. So I began to sew my own. Soon I had so many mums asking me to make their wee babes bibs and it took off from there. 

JAOF: Do you make the product yourself? 

A&L: I started off making our bibs all by myself. I became so busy I was literally buying fabric, washing it, cutting, sewing, packaging and shipping at every spare moment I had. This began to impact my time with my family (with a toddler and a baby on the way) I knew something had to change. I didn't want to give up a business that I loved, and didn't want to sacrifice anymore family time. At this time we were also selling our bibs in retail stores across Canada, as well as online. This had me sewing the majority of my day. My mom would come down on occasion to help me out, but it wasn't enough. 

     My husband suggested that we get the sewing outsourced as I could no longer keep up with the demand. We found a company here in North America to do this for us and built a wonderful working relationship with the sewers directly. This was the answer as I could now focus on my family, run a business and maintain our quality, customer service, and of course shop for more amazing prints and design new products!

JAOF: Do you work from home, or have a studio/office space? How does this work for you?

A&L: I do all of my work from home. We built a home office where everything is run out of. It is great as I can work from our home office packaging, emailing and even ship directly from during nap time and at my kids bedtime.

JAOF: At what point did Acorn and Leaf become your full time job?

A&L:  Acorn & Leaf became a full time job pretty much from the get go. I never would have thought that our little bib business would do so well. We are so grateful for all of the support our customers and independent retailers have shown us. It is amazing! We are truly blessed by the support and I am always overcome with emotion when I think about it. It was always a dream of mine to be a stay at home mom and yet use my creative side to do so. Without my husbands support and push I would have given up when it became too much. However he was the one to think outside the box and navigate the change for us. 

JAOF: Tell me about Changing the Face of Beauty campaign and how you got involved. 

A&L: It is a unique story actually. One day I had a random Facebook message from a wonderful woman named Krista. She simply asked, "Is Acorn & Leaf ready to change the face of beauty and be one of 15 companies to do so?" I asked to her to call me so we could chat. During that phone conversation I met a beautiful mom who's daughter Adele has down syndrome. I was so excited when she told me about the campaign and their drive to support inclusion. 

    Previous to becoming a mom I worked with individuals with varying abilities as a Residential Coordinator here in Calgary. I worked in the field for almost 8 years in various positions. The best part of my role was to advocate for inclusion. When I left my position there to stay at home with our first born, I knew I wanted to stay involved. When I started Acorn & Leaf, I knew there would be an avenue here to pursue.So it was simply magical when Krista emailed me. I was so excited that the opportunity found me.

JAOF: Tell us about the creative process of making bibs, choosing the best fabrics for absorbency and fabric pattern choices. 

A&L: This is my favorite part! Picking prints, and choosing styles is all done in my dreams. I long for nothing more then finding great prints and touching fabrics. I know this must sound silly, but it is true. When new prints come out I am like a kid in the candy store. I pick prints that I love really. And prints that are trendy and would look delightful on wee babes.

JAOF: What are some pros and cons of owning your own business? 

A&L: I love having our own business. I am constantly meeting people, building relationships and getting to work with the most inspiring people I know. I have built lasting relationships with the best independent retailers across Canada and couldn't be happier. Honestly, they're the reason why we are here today. We have learned so much from these relationships and are amazed at their willingness to support and teach other. I really can't think of any cons. It is great getting to stay at home with the wee ones and run our little company from home as well. 

JAOF: What advice would you give to someone who has a product they would like to make and sell? Then ultimately hoping to make the leap of creating a business from it? 

A&L: My advice is to give it a 110%. It will be tough at times, and it will not be a smooth ride. However, focus and surround yourself with positive people who believe in you. I couldn't have done it without my husband,family and friends.

(The above two photos belong to Modern Nest. Do not copy.)

Thanks, Linda, for sharing all about your business.

It is so great to hear about women who are 

able to take their passions and turn them into a career.

I especially love how you are able to incorporate

your past career and mold it together with your new business

through Changing the Face of Beauty. 

Trust me,

you're going to want to keep in touch with

Acorn & Leaf and keep updated on all their 

newest styles and patterns! 

To do so,

check out their website, 

like their Facebook page

 and follow them on Instagram.

Linda would like to gift one lucky reader 

a pack of 3 bibs! 

All you have to do is comment on this 

blog post or the Instagram photo,

telling us which bib is your favourite!

One comment per person.

If you leave a comment on the blog post,

please be sure to include 

the email address you wish to be contacted through.

Contest closes on Friday, September 18th at 9:00 AM PST.

Contest is open to anyone who is 18 and older,

and open to all residents of Canada and the United States.

This is in no way sponsored or affiliated with
Blogger, Facebook or Instagram. 

Also, 

please check out Changing the Face of Beauty 

and read what they're all about. 

Their are plenty of ways to be involved! 

website: changingthefaceofbeauty.org

Instagram: @5boysand1girlmake6

Twitter: @5boysand1girl6