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]]>Juggling Family life and a business........Sheree talks all.
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You can even see pen marks to change the tab shape and I played around with what felt like 100’s of variations!!
I am so proud of what I have designed, something I planned to just use with my boys. A passion to leave the world a better place for our children’s children’s, that turned into a business.
Those who do not know my story can check it out here.
Business is hard though, really hard. I am still yet to pay off the family loan or turn a profit, but who cares when you are doing something you’re so passionate about….right?
It seems to be a common impression that if you have a business you must have heaps of money. It could not be farther from the truth for us, and others I am sure, especially in the early days. We still live off one wage in this house (my husbands), we have to budget every spend so I can still keep working on the business.
I’m also a mum of two (very) busy toddlers, I only have 2 days a week to work on the business child free and even on those days I am often running around doing tasks that I can’t do with kids in tow. As hard as it is to balance everything and all the late nights, I would not want to miss my boys growing up, this time is so precious, and I am so lucky and grateful we make it work.
I want to thank you all, for all the support, I literally do a wee happy dance every time an order is placed & I cannot see that ever changing. It seriously means the world that you support our small business.
Hopefully, next year I will be able to pay myself a small wage 🤞🏼🤞🏼
Sheree x
Have a read of our other blogs.......here
]]>So it doesn’t get lost on a post I am going to keep this up as a blog for you all 😊
In all honestly, I did think about selling our nappies cheaper without the inserts, which would be available to buy separately (and probably would have made better business sense). But for me, it was about giving you the best bang for your buck, making it really easy with our ‘this is all you need’ approach.
If you don’t know already, our nappies come with everything you need from birth to toilet training, meaning you won’t need to buy different inserts along the way (unless you older toddler needs a booster for overnight found here). They come with two super thirsty 6 layer bamboo towelling inserts…..one smaller one for the early days while using the small setting on the nappy, moving to the longer insert once bubs gets bigger, and it is likely you will stay with the longer one until around 12 months. After 12 months you can boost with the smaller insert using both until toilet training. Liam is now just over 2 and both inserts last us 4hrs easily, he’s a moderate wetter.
So here comes the money part, while $32.50 for our solo nappy might seem like a lot on the face of it, if you actually compare with like for like bamboo inserts they are very comparable to what is available, if not cheaper. Not only this but when you buy in bulk our nappies come right down to $25.00, making them a really affordable premium brand. For those of your who do better with a visual breakdown, I have priced per nappy with each of the value pack
Total Cost | Cost per Nappy | Cost using Voucher | |
Solo | $32.95 | $32.95 | |
Trial Pack | $60.00 | $30.00 | |
6 Pack | $177.93 | $29.65 | $26.00 |
12 Pack | $336.09 | $28.00 | $26.00 |
20 Pack | $527.20 | $26.36 | $25.00 |
*Trial pack includes a $30 voucher, one per customer*
If you want to know how much you’ll save overall on your cloth nappy journey check out Show me the goodies
This deals with how I priced them as a business, but I also want to address the supplier. As you all know from our where it all began blog, you will know it took a long ass time to find a supplier. The reason we cannot sell our nappies for $13 or so is because it costs more than that just have them made, let alone shipped here & all the other costs associated. Yes, the lovely people who hand sew your nappies are paid well, and are in good working conditions. Now this might not be an issue for some, but it is for me, handing over my design to someone was no easy task and I had a lot of boxes they needed to tick, paying their staff well was high on the list.
I hope this provides some clarity around pricing and as always any questions feel free to email me at info@fluffyducks.co.nz.
Sheree x
]]>Tackling overnight can be a right pickle…..there are so many factors to consider, heavy wetters, age, how they sleep, how much milk they drink…..the list goes on…..
I am all for saving money and so my first point of call for overnight is adding a wool cover….usually under 12months maybe older for a light wetter. Saving you a heap of cash.
Next I would be looking to use a hemp insert, which is the most absorbent you’ll find, I would start with mixing a bamboo insert with hemp to begin with and as bubs grows use both hemp and possible add a wool cover. You can even boost our double hemp inserts by folding over one, so you have more absorbency at the front – where most babies need it for sleeping. Or simply add one to your existing combination for the ultimate boost. Just remember that hemp is the slowest at absorption, so you may want to top the combination with bamboo if your wee ones flood.
That’s just a few ideas for you…..
And so…….here are our Plush hemp inserts
Launching May 8th 8pm 2020
]]>Mama’s and Papa’s……
As with all businesses there are times when things do not go as planned…..and when it is your small business that you have worked so hard on, it’s a tuff blow.
As you all know we create our own prints and it is with a VERY heavy heart that I have to tell you there is a slight error on the file, which has subsequently been printed on the material for the nappy ☹
Our beautiful Northern Lights is perfectly imperfect, with one of the winter deer’s having a slight misalignment. On some nappies it might not be obvious while others it might be.
While this is just aesthetics and by no means affects the function of our amazing nappy, I wanted to let you all know as this print is launching Friday for pre-sale and there will be no re-stocking of this print.
The important information:
As a solo nappy this print will be discounted.
If you choose to add this print to a value pack please note there will be no further discounts since our packs are already heavily discounted.
Thank you for your continued support, especially during these difficult times. It really means to world to me and my family.
Sheree @ Fluffy Ducks
Launching May 8th 8pm 2020
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Cloth wipes……..shall we or shall we not?
I have had a bit of an issue with wipes…….I tried to make my own using paper towels, a solution…even spent hours meticulously folding them into a tuppaware box so they pulled through like a box of tissues. It was, in my opinion, a waste of my precious time. I moved on to using cheap face wipes, but they would shrink after a couple of washes and ended too small and too rough and went too thin, and then there were the ones that just seemed to move the poo around the bum rather than just cleaning it off…..anyone relate…..? I mean really, what is that all about!?
And so, after months of trial and error I have come up with some amazing wipes. I have been through lots in the planning and testing stages, different material, sizes, layers…. you name it, I tried it. Until, I ended up with 3 that I liked and eventually decided on ‘the one’. Now you must have all gathered by now that I am a bit of a perfectionist, it actually drives me a little nuts, but at least you know I’ve put in the yards to get you a fantastic product.
So here we have it……the no poo smearing, super soft, super absorbent Fluffy Ducks wipe 😊
The funny story is, after going through every material known to man I ended up with the same material as our inserts!! So as you will know they are super soft, highly absorbent and you can throw them in the wash with your nappies! I am so impressed with these wipes, I hope you are too.
Launching soon.....
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My name is Sheree, I am the designer, creator and owner of Fluffy Ducks.
My husband and I are English. We moved to New Zealand after we married in 2014 and our love affair with the Country was instant, we knew this is where we wanted to live and raise a family.
We have always been an environmentally conscious family so using reusable nappies was always going to be a thing we did. After using a range of styles with our first born, we really struggled to find anything that was working well enough, in terms of fit and function. I have always been creative, I crochet & sew amongst other things, so I decided to make my own MCN. I wanted it to be trim, stylish and above all functional. I went through about 4/5 designs until I settled on ‘the one’. Hubby loved it so much he suggested that I put it out there as others may be struggling the same as we did.
We named the business so, because our son was born with a lock of hair that stuck up and earned his nickname, fluffy duck.
I’ve been asked why we do not have a larger selection of prints, especially in the early days. Simply put……we didn’t have much money to start a business, in fact we had nothing! I had been on maternity leave for the best part of 2 years with a mortgage and two babies starting a business seemed impossible. Not only this but I wanted to design all our prints which takes time & money. We shared our vision with family and close friends and a very kind family member loaned the money to get us started, for which we will be forever grateful.
Fluffy Ducks is 100% New Zealand designed and owned by me, a mum of two beautiful busy little boys. And with the help of a local mama who has a small graphic design business, together we create all our prints.
Now, about the nappies;
Re-usable/cloth nappies have such a stigma about them, too hard, too bulky, too ugly, cloths don’t fit, or I’ve even heard, too expensive. But I promise you, it isn’t any of these with Fluffy Ducks, we have created a truly beautiful nappy that will fit newborn right through to toddler, they are trim enough that you will not have to size up in clothes and yet absolutely bomb proof with our 6 layer bamboo inserts. They also give you the option of using as an all in two (snap in the insert next to bubs skins) or pocket stuff (stuff the insert in the pocket). This means you can maximise the use of the cover, especially when bubs is young and immobile, then pocket stuff when they become a death rolling crocodile! There are lots of tips and tricks with use for skinny legs, chunky thighs, heavy wetters & flooders.
Rest assured when it comes to choosing Fluffy Ducks, you're in great hands as Our cloth nappy fabrics are OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certified and contain no harmful chemicals.
Check out our facebook page for all these.
As for saving money, well, I wanted to make Fluffy Ducks affordable. We use premium material and each one comes with two super soft pure bamboo inserts as standard, which means you won’t have to upgrade your inserts at all. We were also pretty choosy when it came to our manufacturer in China. I wanted to be assured of fair wage and good working conditions, it took what seemed like forever to choose them, but I am grateful we did as I know how wonderful they are to us and to all of their workers.
Using our nappies full time, you will save around $3000. Use them on a second child and you save even more. That’s a holiday to Raro right there!
I wrote a detailed blog just on the savings of cloth vs disposable – if you want to share with your partner or you love numbers and just want to check it out. https://fluffyducks.co.nz/blogs/news/how-much
I know money is a huge part, but for me it’s not all about the savings, its about how much better cloth is for your wee ones toosh, and even more importantly how we leave our beautiful land for generations to come.
One final note…….
Fluffy Ducks was born with a mission to bring back cloth (modern cloth nappies aka MCN). Making it easy while bringing joy, style and a little sass into the chaos that is known as parenthood.
From me, Sheree, and the Fluffy Ducks Family
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The first question people ask when they know you use cloth nappies is 'do you really save money'? So it felt pretty appropriate for my very first blog to answer this question as best as I can.
There is a lot of information out there but this is based on my own research and my own experience with two babies, I'll try to keep it short and sweet as no-one needs an essay.
The maths
Ages Changes/day Total Nappies
0 – 3 months 10/day 900
3 – 12 months 8/day 2,160
12 - 24 months 6/day 2,160
24–30 months 5/day 900
Approximately 6120 nappies
Using an average of 65 cents* per nappy you could spend $3,978 on disposables, assuming they are potty trained by 2.5, which is still relatively early.
Now multiply that by the number of children you want and it soon turns into a rather large sum......when I think $8,000 on nappies I am in total shock, that's a bloody good holiday for the family and I know how I'd rather spend the money.
Now lets be real, you don't have to be using cloth 100% of the time to make a difference, start small and see how you get on, that's how we did it. People ask what's the point in using 1 cloth nappy a day, well by using one a day saves 1 million disposables going to landfill, each week! That certainly seems worth it to me.
Whatever you decide, be it 1 a day, sometimes, part time or full time, whatever is right for your family, you will find its better for your pocket, better for baby and better for our land.
*Prices updated 2023
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