Introducing Mini Marley

One thing we've come to recognise is the mass of choice when it comes to clothing and gifts for babies, yet we're not quite sure if we want to dress our mini me's in all those pinks and blues. 

For this reason, we're excited to add baby wear to The UNDONE, for the mini minimalist in your life. 

Being about to offer an edited collection of neutral, not always generic specific range of baby clothes that fits in seamlessly with your own personal style is exactly what The UNDONE is striving to achieve. 

Mini Marley, based in Perth, Western Australia is our ideal choice to launch this new, exciting collection. Mum to Bella, designer Rebecca Jobson talked us through her journey creating Mini Marley, and how she juggles being a mum and business owner. 

How soon after having you daughter Bella did you decide to start Mini Marley, what made you decide to start a children's label and did you have any prior background in design?

I pretty much didn't think about anything apart from eating, sleeping and obsessing over my newborn for the first 6 months of her life. I think you get so wrapped up in the newborn love bubble and your so fascinated with this new little being that you have created that you don't think about much else.

Also, I am so unbelievably lucky that I had such an amazing support team around me that I didn't have to worry about anything else and I could let myself relish in that love. I think it was around 12 months where I started to get a little stir crazy and couldn't handle talking to a baby all day long and needed to start using my brain letting my creative side flare again so thats when I started Mini Marley.

Now days (which is so weird to say because it was only a couple of years ago when I started) there are so many cute kids brands but I found at the time when Bella was born there was a big hole in the market for gender neutral basic childrens clothing. A lot of the clothing tended to be very gender specific and I was finding that a lot of the clothes for the girls were covered in glitter or fuchsia tule and that was just not my cup of tea.

It started as simply as that and although I don't have a direct background in design, I have been around the fashion industry since I was 15 and my best friend who is also Bella's godmother has a really successful womens label and she has been my saving grace helping me with lots of my rookie designing questions. I'm learning so much every day and I love it so much.

We’re so inspired by working mums and even more so ones that have created their own business. How did you manage this process of being a new mum and business owner, and what advice would you give to others who are trying to find this balance?

It's been a huge learning curve to say the least. I still feel like I'm trying to figure out the perfect balance because I am a bit of a workaholic and I find it hard to shut off.

Being able to work and do things from your phone makes it so hard to put it down and not work all the time especially when its something I am so passionate about.

I am also the sole employee of Mini Marley so I do every single thing. From designing, to packing and sending, to creating look books, to accounts and filling out line sheets and processing orders, you name it, I do it, so it really is hard to find the time in the day to do all of that plus spending quality time with my family.

I think its taught me to work smarter. You waste so many hours in a day by getting sidetracked by things but when I know that these things keep me away from spending time with Bella then you're less likely to do them.

I'm very list orientated and that helps me get through my day. My advice would be, don't be afraid to ask for help. I think women take on a huge load. We often seem to feel like we're not the perfect mum if we are having someone else help care with the kids but I think its really important for our kids to see their mums as a strong independent female figure that is following their passion and making their dreams become a reality.

You came from a modelling background (full disclosure, we’re long time fans from ANTM) and your partner is a pro surfer, how do think these two worlds have impacted the Mini Marley brand and the life you live now?

Wow, I thought I shook that embarrassing title and no one remembered that I was once on that show, but I am flattered you were fans. My friends tease me about it all the time because I was a silly little 18 year old bogan in the bright lights without a filter between my brain and my mouth.

I still don't regret doing it because it opened so many doors for me, not necessarily for modelling but I met so many of the amazing contacts I have in the fashion and PR world that have become friends that i'll have forever and that I still find myself working with today.

Taj being a surfer has definitely had an impact on the brand too because we travel a lot with him for work and it inspires me so much.

Also the ocean is such an important part of our life so conservation and making sure it stays as pure as we can is aligned with our brand beliefs.

We (obviously) love the minimal, and muted tones of Mini Marley and that they’re all created with sustainable, natural fibres. Is this ethical approach to fashion something you were always passionate about?

To be honest I wasn't always aware about it and I feel like a bit of a fool for being so uneducated. We live in a world now with so many beautiful brands but also so much fast fashion and I think its very scary.

Having a child immediately makes you re-think a lot of things. You're no longer as carefree and risky as you used to be and all you want is the best life for your child, grandchildren and every generation after that.

Having a brand that is run from an artesian factory and using sustainable and natural fibres is a small impact that we can make to try and push for a happier earth.

We hope that our garments get passed down from generation to generation to avoid ending up in landfill and to be re-used and re-loved by others.

Also, working with little kids you have to worry about what you're putting onto their pure delicate skin and sourcing natural fibres helps with protecting that beautiful fragile skin.

What’s Bella’s favourite piece from the new collection and what’s yours?

My favourite piece changes every second day, its like picking a favourite child it can't be done. Right now I'd say the Rose jumpsuit is my favourite and Bella's is the Sawyer Overall.