“I didn't intend to start a business” with Emma Cattell
Do your thing · Season 2, episode 4 · Hosted by Fliss Lee
Accidentally starting a product business, learning as you go and taking your creativity seriously
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Emma never planned to start a business. She was supposed to be a nurse.
When I first met Emma Cattell and heard the story of how she started Bobbin & Bumble, I was struck by how matter-of-fact she was about the whole thing.
Because it’s a pretty incredible story.
Emma didn’t set out to start a business. She needed a more practical cover for her IKEA high chair, so she bought a £5 sewing machine and taught herself how to make one.
Then she realised she wasn’t the only parent looking for more practical accessories for IKEA baby equipment – and what started as something she made for herself gradually became Bobbin & Bumble.
All while Emma was balancing work and motherhood.
In this episode, we talk about how she went from making products herself at home to building a baby and children’s brand and moving into manufacturing, without ever really having a grand plan for where the business would take her.
We also get into something I found really interesting: despite everything she’d built, Emma spent a long time downplaying her creativity and what she’d achieved. We talk about learning to take your creativity seriously, the assumptions we make about what ‘hard work’ is supposed to look like, and why doing something you enjoy doesn’t make it any less valuable.
And Emma is really honest about the harder parts too – building a business alongside motherhood, having no maternity leave and struggling with postnatal depression.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
How Emma turned a problem she wanted to solve for herself into a product business
Why it took her so long to take her creativity and the business she’d built seriously
What Emma has learned from building a business without a grand plan and seeing where it takes her
Listen to the episode
Find it on your chosen podcast player here.
About Emma Cattell
Emma Cattell is the founder of Bobbin & Bumble, a colourful baby and children's brand she accidentally started in 2016 after searching for a product that didn't exist.
Armed with a £5 sewing machine and no idea how to sew, she taught herself and began making products from home. What started with one product has since grown into a much bigger brand, with products stocked by retailers and in family homes around the world.
Connect with, and follow Emma
Follow Bobbin & Bumble on Instagram
Follow Emma on Instagram
Connect with Emma on Linkedin
Visit Bobbin & Bumble’s website
You might also like
If Emma's experience of trying things and allowing her business to evolve resonates, listen to my conversation with Lucy Critchley about building a business around what works for you and letting your brand change as you do.
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Want to be a guest?
Got a story or experience that could help other founders, freelancers or creative folk do things their own way? You can pitch to be a guest on Do your thing here.
Chapters
00:00:00 – From Art Lover to Accidental Entrepreneur: Emma Cattell's Unplanned Path
00:02:21 – How a £5 Sewing Machine Led to an IKEA High Chair Hack Trend
00:05:36 – From Handmade Cushions to Global Sales: Funding a Business with Three Jobs
00:10:28 – When a Hobby Becomes a Business: The Shift to Entrepreneurship
00:15:21 – Overcoming Stigma: Proving the Value of a Creative Business
00:21:48 – From Hand-Making to Manufacturing: Scaling Up During a Pandemic
00:26:46 – The Hard Graft: Balancing Motherhood and a Rapidly Growing Business
00:39:03 – Beyond Physical Graft: Embracing Flexibility and Overcoming Entrepreneurial Guilt
00:43:43 – Staying True to Values: Why Bobbin & Bumble Embraces Colour and Community
00:55:01 – Emma's Key Lessons: Overcoming Barriers and the Power of No Expectations
Transcript
Fliss Lee (00:00)
Hey Emma, thanks so much for joining me on Do Your Thing. It's great to have you here. Please can you introduce yourself and what you do.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (00:08)
Well, yeah, thank you for having me, Flirce. I'll be really excited to talk with you. So my name's Emma, as you just said, and if you have children, there's a good chance that you probably already know me or my business, because in 2016, I actually accidentally started the infamous IKEA high chair glow up trend. And since 2016, it's actually evolved into what it is now. And I'm now the owner of
bobbin and bumble. So along with the IKEA high chair accessories, I also specialize in functional practical baby items like changing mats, but I put a little spin on them and we make them beautiful. Because I believe that childhood isn't muted and neither are we. yeah.
Fliss Lee (00:56)
I love that, what a great intro. So you just said it was accidental. Please can you tell us more, how was it accidental? What's your background and how did you actually fall into doing it?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (01:11)
Okay, so yeah, it's completely accidental. And I think this is where I'll be different to some of other people, actually all the other people that you spoke to, because I never set out for this. Like it was never intended. I've sort of just ridden the wave. So we have to go all the way back to 2015 when I was pregnant with my daughter.
And I've always worked in hotels, my degrees in hospitality, business management. Uh, in 2015, we'd actually just moved back from America. was working in a British pub in California and my husband and myself moved back from America and I'd got a job in a hotel. And, um, I actually went home and cried the first night that I worked in that hotel because I just felt like, Oh my God, like I've, you know, come from living in California. I've come back to my.
childhood home, and that's it now. I've done it, so my life's just over. And I just felt really miserable. What am I gonna do with myself now? I've already peaked, and I was 27. was still really young and felt like my life
Fliss Lee (02:14)
Yeah!
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (02:18)
was over. And I was sort of scrambling in myself internally, thinking, oh, what am I gonna do? What am gonna do? And I decided actually that I was gonna
go to uni again and do a masters in nursing. And so I did, I went off to college to do the route to get into nursing. I got accepted into Leeds University. And actually on the day that I went for the interview for masters in nursing, I'd felt really ill that day, like really sick. And everyone was like saying, it's your nerves, it's your nerves. And I was like, well, no, what nerves feel like? It's not bloody nerves.
turned out that I was pregnant with my first child.
Fliss Lee (03:00)
I'm...
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (03:01)
I'd been accepted to do this course that started in September and I was actually due in December and it was the last year that the nursing, because you didn't have to pay for the course then, it was free, and
Fliss Lee (03:14)
Mm-hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (03:16)
it was actually the last year that it was going to be government funded and after that you would have to pay. So I sort of knew, right, I either go and stick it out
So I'll be seven months pregnant when it starts and I'll have a newborn when I'm three months into doing this masters in nursing. Or I just.
I don't know what I was going to do. I
Fliss Lee (03:38)
Mwahahahah
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (03:39)
don't know. And I just remember like going further and further into this spiral panic of like, I don't know what to do. I don't know where my life's going. Why is this happening to me? And I thought, you know what? I'm just going to be a stay at home mum. It'll be fine. I'll, you know, enjoy my baby and I'll be at home and I'll think about what I want to do. So
Fliss Lee (03:59)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (04:00)
we, my husband and myself moved to Leeds because that was always in the plan. Cause I was going to go to uni here.
and my husband got a job here. So we moved to Leeds and had our baby and I was in a new city, no friends, no family support. And I was sort of thinking, yeah, I'll just be a stay at home mom, it'll be fine. And actually before Robin was even one, I had three jobs. And the reason I had three jobs is
Fliss Lee (04:26)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (04:28)
because when she started weaning, I bought the Ikea high chair.
16 pound high chair from Ikea and ordered all the bits for it and it came and it came with this like insert that was like really ugly. It was like blue and red stripe cushion and it
Fliss Lee (04:45)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (04:47)
came and I didn't know what I was having when I had a baby. So when I found out I had a girl, everything was pink after that. And so when this highchair arrived, I sort of looked at it and thought, oh, so ugly, like, and impractical as
Fliss Lee (05:01)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (05:01)
well. I like, I need something that's pink.
and that I can wipe down for the cushion. I thought I'll go online and look for it. So I went online and started looking and I thought I can't be the only person to have ever thought of this. And it turned out at the time I was, so I thought, right, I'll, um, I'll just make one then. So I went to the corner and
Fliss Lee (05:20)
You
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (05:21)
I bought a sewing machine, secondhand sewing machine for five pounds. And I went to Dunelm and I got some fabric and
Fliss Lee (05:28)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (05:29)
I made myself a cushion cover. And then.
Instagram at the time was a massive lifeline for me because like I said, I
Fliss Lee (05:36)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (05:37)
moved to a city with no friends, no family. I didn't have a job. So it was really hard to make any like new friends or anything. So a lot of my life was spent on Instagram, virtually talking to other mums with children the same age. And
Fliss Lee (05:50)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (05:50)
I would post pictures of Robin in a high chair with this cushion, not speaking about the cushion, but just of Robin. And people were like, oh, where did you get that cover from?
And I was like, oh, I made it. they'd be like, oh, that's really good. You should sell them. And I'd be like, oh yeah, okay. And didn't think anymore of it. And the more that kept happening, I just sort of thought to myself, well, people are saying that they like it. So maybe I will. And like I said, because I'd lived in America, I was very familiar
Fliss Lee (06:19)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (06:19)
with Etsy, which in 2016 here still wasn't really popular.
Fliss Lee (06:24)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (06:25)
But I knew about it because I'd been in America and I'd used it over there. So I knew specifically for handmade things. So I thought, right, I'll go to Dunelm and I'll buy a few more patterns. So I'll buy like a girly pattern, a boy pattern and a unisex pattern. And
Fliss Lee (06:41)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (06:41)
if I can list them online and make like, you know, one a week, it'll teach me how to sew and it'll give me something to do. be, you know, it'll be really good. So off I went to Dunelm.
made these cushions and listed them online and immediately they started to sell. But in the
Fliss Lee (07:01)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (07:02)
UK, it was around the world. So was like America, Australia, Iceland, Tel Aviv, anywhere that had Ikea, they started to sell. And I remember I ran into the
Fliss Lee (07:11)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (07:11)
front room to my husband and I was like, my God, I can't even sew, what am gonna do? Like just, because I actually was so slow at making these covers.
Like I didn't really know how to sew, like I just was like really slowly like making like it would take me over an hour to make one. And then all of a sudden I've got all these orders and it just threw me in, like it catapulted me into this thing. And
Fliss Lee (07:36)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (07:37)
so gradually I started learning how to sew them properly and better and faster. And they started becoming more and more popular. And then...
As Robin was growing, I started thinking about new things that I wanted. So she used to throw food all on the floor. and so I'd got a big piece of PVC and put it under the high chair and called it a splash
Fliss Lee (07:59)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (07:59)
mat. And then I thought, well, if I want this, other people probably want it as well. So I used to make them. And then when she was potty training, I cut a little smaller piece of PVC and put it under a potty
Fliss Lee (08:10)
You
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (08:12)
to catch the spills. And I thought, wow, potty mat.
if I want it, other people probably want it as well. And it was true, like that's what happened. And it just, it started growing and I thought, this is like so fun. And it was exciting as well. Like how I accidentally started doing this,
Fliss Lee (08:30)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (08:34)
but I didn't want to.
take money away from the household income. the plan was I was going to be a stay at home mom and my husband
Fliss Lee (08:40)
Yeah. Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (08:43)
took care of all the household bills and things. So know I'm very fortunate for that. I didn't want to take any money away from what he was bringing into the house to fund this like side project. So I thought, right, I need to get a job to fund it. So I got a job on the weekend at Tesco where my husband was at home to take care of our daughter. And then I got a second job at an outer school club that was after hours.
so that husband could again, because we didn't have childcare. So I did
Fliss Lee (09:07)
Mm-hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (09:08)
these jobs around being a full-time mom and around my husband to fund it. And that's really how it started.
Fliss Lee (09:18)
Wow, that is... I don't know what to say to that to be honest because that's just amazing for anybody but for somebody with a newborn I think it's just like... I don't know how you... How did you do that? Like, was it just like, I found something I love or was it...
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (09:41)
Well, I've always been a creative, like crafty person,
Fliss Lee (09:45)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (09:45)
always. So, like, even when Robin got christened, like a handmade with lace, like all the invitations and things, like that's just very me. So then when I had Robin and I started seeing problems or things that I wanted, I remember searching online and I specifically remember my husband saying to me, Emma, you keep searching for all these things that don't exist. Why don't you just bloody make them?
Fliss Lee (10:10)
You
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (10:11)
And that's what
encouraged me to go make the chair cover. I was like, yeah, I'll just go make it. But it wasn't an intention to make it and sell it. It was only because I was posting, you know, organically, like for no
Fliss Lee (10:23)
Hmm. Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (10:25)
other reason. My child and other people saw it that I then thought, well, yeah, I'll have a go at it then. And I did. it just, I never gave up.
It wasn't like I became a millionaire overnight or anything, or I had hundreds of orders overnight. It
Fliss Lee (10:41)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (10:42)
wasn't like that. Like it was a slow build. Well, you know, was quite a running build, shall we say.
Fliss Lee (10:49)
You're gonna kiss.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (10:53)
But I just never gave up and I just got better and better at doing what I did. And the fact that
I was like, I'll be a stay at home mom. And I had three jobs technically before she'd even turned one.
Fliss Lee (11:07)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (11:08)
I think it's just something in me where I just, I just couldn't not be doing something. It was like,
Fliss Lee (11:15)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (11:16)
gave me an identity outside of being Robin's mom. Like I w I always want people to think, Oh Emma, yeah, that's Robin's mom. Oh, and she also has a business too. Like I want to be known as a mom first, but I want to be known as more than a mom. And
Fliss Lee (11:29)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (11:30)
At night when Robin was in bed, I'd just sit there and sew and know, nap times, I'd sew. Yeah, just, it just, I don't know, it was just exciting.
Fliss Lee (11:43)
That's so cool. It's like, it gave you something for you when you really needed it, which is amazing. At what point did you actually start thinking about it as a business? Because obviously you mentioned it being a hobby side thing. At what point did you think, my God, this is my business now?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (12:06)
Well,
I made my first cover in 2016.
Fliss Lee (12:10)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (12:12)
I then I had the two jobs supporting it. would say around about 2018. Etsy was becoming more popular in the UK. the product as well. More UK, cause it was more international buyers at first who more sort of in tune to these sorts of hacks of doing stuff up.
Fliss Lee (12:36)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (12:36)
We, UK was a bit later to it.
So when the UK picked up and I started making more things for UK mums orders
Fliss Lee (12:44)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (12:44)
got busier. And I remember.
So working the two extra jobs, it was hard because I had to do it outside of the childcare. So it wasn't like I was going to work and Robin was at a nursery. It was, was looking after Robin and then handing her over to my husband and going to work. There
Fliss Lee (13:03)
Mm. Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (13:04)
was no weekends where my husband and I spent any time together. Like that was sacrificed for it. There was a lot of sacrifice. And I just remember in late 2018, my husband had
I don't know what the occasion was, but he'd written like a, like a faux handing in your notice letter for me and was like, now's the time. And
Fliss Lee (13:26)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (13:28)
I was like, really? And he was like, yeah, I think you should just focus on this one thing. so I handed in my notice to both side jobs and just started focusing solely on Bobbin and Bumble
which at the time wasn't actually called Bobbin and Bumble, it was called MeeMee Makes.
Fliss Lee (13:47)
I don't know.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (13:49)
But that's another story as to how it developed onto
Fliss Lee (13:52)
Okay.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (13:53)
that. But yeah, was, my husband had written like a faux resignation letter and it was like, should just, you just need to focus on it now. It's making money, it pays for itself to do its own thing now.
Fliss Lee (14:06)
Mm. Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (14:09)
So yeah, and that's what happened. I sort of quit both the jobs and just started focusing solely in 2018 on at the time Mimi makes. Yeah.
Fliss Lee (14:20)
as a business. It sounds
like him, his support and encouragement is, was a massive part of you like really seeing it as a business. Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (14:31)
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
I remember we had a mortgage advisor at the time and I said to him, I'm doing this like little sewing thing on the side. was like, Emma, let's not even mention it. It's not even worth mentioning on any of the books or anything. Like just don't even bring it up. And I was like, yeah, yeah, okay. And then whenever anyone would ask what I did for years, I would say, nothing. And my husband would very much say, Emma.
She's like stay at home mom and she's got her own business. But I would very much like not take it seriously. Like I almost felt like I was just, you know, messing about online a bit.
Fliss Lee (15:11)
Really? Why do you think that
is? Because I do find that can be common when it comes to doing creative jobs.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (15:22)
Mm-hmm.
I think it's, well, at the time, and I don't even know actually if this is factually true, but I feel like at the time, making your own things and selling them online wasn't very common. Like I do,
Fliss Lee (15:36)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (15:37)
maybe it's just the circles I'm moving now, I find like it's more common now to come across people who maybe not be doing it exclusively, but they'll be doing something on the side and selling it like on Facebook marketplace or whatever.
I don't feel like it was common at that point when I was doing it. People really weren't aware of Etsy at all. Like they really weren't.
Fliss Lee (15:58)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (15:58)
And that was my main platform at that time as well. didn't have my own website at that time. So it was just difficult. Like people like can't understand it. And as well, think as well my upbringing. So my brother's a doctor.
And he's paraded around by my grandma, very successful, you know, and he is being creative is almost like, it's that stigma, isn't it? You know, like when you see people whose children want to be actors or singers and some people really nurture it, that creative
Fliss Lee (16:31)
Yeah. Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (16:33)
and some other people are like, yeah, but need to get a real job, don't you? Yeah, it's a hobby. And I've
Fliss Lee (16:37)
It's a hobby, it's a hobby, yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (16:41)
very much come from a home like that.
Like at my A levels, I lived for art in school. Like I got an A star at GCSE, I lived for it. And at A level I chose it. And I, even though I loved that lesson so much, I actually dropped it and picked up English language instead, because I just thought to myself,
realistically, Emma, like, what are you going to do with art? It's just like a bit of fun. I never saw the value in it. I never saw the value, even though I knew I loved it. And now as a mother,
Like when my daughter does anything remotely creative, like I'm like, wow, it's so good. And like, if
Fliss Lee (17:18)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (17:18)
she told me she'd only chosen to do one subject and it was art, I'd be like, yeah, brilliant. Like I'd really nurture it. But I definitely came from a background where you went to school and you got like a proper job and it wasn't like arts and crafts and that wasn't nurtured really. So then when I've got this like side career,
Even now, I'm not taking myself seriously. Yeah, that little side hustle was
Fliss Lee (17:41)
outside Korea, your business.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (17:44)
going on. I almost felt ashamed to tell people. I felt embarrassed. And it was sort of almost reaffirmed to me, you know, like, when the mortgage advisor was like, yeah, let's not, they're not even worth mentioning these side things ever. Like, let's not even bring that up. Let's not take that into consideration. It was just all my husband, you know, like, taking all this serious job into consideration. But yours, no.
Let's just ignore that. And actually it was brilliant because only a year later when we'd, no, maybe it was two years later when the fix had come up, the mortgage fix had come up and I was like, and at this point, so I was like, yeah, and you know that little side thing that you said we shouldn't bring up? And he was like, yeah, I was like, well, it's turning over around 10,000 pounds now a month. And he was like, you what? And I was like, no.
Fliss Lee (18:35)
hahahaha
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (18:37)
So, it be bringing it up now. And that was
Fliss Lee (18:39)
Hehehehe!
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (18:40)
like one of those absolutely brilliant moments where it was just like, you know, that little thing. Yeah, it's quite a big deal now. And that was not
Fliss Lee (18:51)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (18:51)
even like where it's at now. That was, you know, back in 2020.
Fliss Lee (18:58)
Yeah, that must have been such an amazing moment for you. I think also moments like that challenge other people's expectations of creativity. Apparently, the UK economy, 20 something billion pounds a year is what the creative industry brings to the UK economy. And I find it so sad that not only do people not see it as a legitimate thing when it's like,
billions of pounds a year. But also that then affects creatives and how we see what we do because of how we've been taught and spoken to our whole lives when we're doing creative things. We
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (19:43)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (19:43)
see it as, it's just creative. And now you've
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (19:46)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (19:46)
got this amazingly successful business doing it.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (19:49)
Yeah, well, it's
as well. It's like my dad. So my, you know, I come from a working class background. My dad was a mechanic. I saw hard work is like physical, like you physically have to go out and really, you know, work and like it's a hard grind.
Fliss Lee (20:05)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (20:05)
So how can I be making money or saying that I've got a job and I'm, it's actually just, you know, like me doing something I love, like sewing. Like how, how is that thing? And it was, it was very much that in the beginning.
like talking to myself and like telling myself, no, it is. And eventually, you know, it did, like I did start saying, but for a long time, I think even maybe up to like 10, when I started turning over 10 grand a month, even at that point, I probably was like, oh, nothing. What do you do? Am I always going to be like, ever?
Fliss Lee (20:35)
It
was amazing. How did you challenge those expectations that you felt about an opinion you kind of had ingrained in you about what work is? Do
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (20:51)
you
Fliss Lee (20:52)
you think you actively challenged that or do think it's just changed over time?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (20:58)
I don't think I actively challenged it, no. I think it's just changed over time as I've realized. And...
It's difficult because I do think like maybe our generation are like the first like proper generation where creative is seen because we're all online and digital. And I think it is the first time that we're taken seriously as jobs. think the only thing that shocks me about myself, like I sometimes think like, like it's so out of character for me to have just done this.
And then for me to have carried on doing it when people weren't taking it seriously, I don't know what possessed me. Maybe I just knew deep down or it was just the fact it was just something I liked and it happened to start making money. I think I went in it so innocently that I was just happy doing it. So it was fine. Whatever, whatever did or didn't happen. I didn't have any expectations of it. And like other people
go into jobs.
you know, maybe start to do a career and they go into it with very, very high expectations. So if it doesn't work out immediately, it's a lot harder pill to swallow. Whereas for me, I had no expectations. didn't intend to start a business. So whatever was coming, I was happy with. And I was just at that point happy. You know, it was a manageable amount. I was hand making everything.
Fliss Lee (22:26)
you
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (22:27)
Even when I was turning over like 10 K a month, I was still hand making. hadn't gone into manufacturing at that point.
Fliss Lee (22:32)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (22:33)
Yeah. So it was still like a hobby that was paying me at that point. And
Fliss Lee (22:41)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (22:42)
then when COVID hit and everyone was at home, that saw the next biggest growth for me. that was everyone was at home, everyone was online shopping and social media.
like blew up things like the Ikea hacks, like hacks, because everyone was at home doing stuff. And it just pushed me into a whole nother realm of business because people, before I was trying to flog a product, people didn't know existed. And
Fliss Lee (23:13)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (23:13)
in 2020, people started realizing that this, this was a thing like to do the Ikea
Fliss Lee (23:19)
Mm-hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (23:20)
high care. And so I got propelled into, into like another level of orders.
And like I said, I was still hand making everything. then also, because it was becoming more of a thing that people were aware of, it then brought in competition. Previous to that hadn't really had any competition. Only Americans and some people in Australia, no one in the UK was doing it.
Fliss Lee (23:45)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (23:46)
Which was good because it allowed me to slowly learn everything.
at my own pace, but then in 2020, I knew when everybody started doing it and jumping on the bandwagon of these accessories, I knew I either had to move to manufacturing at that point, or I would lose it all because I couldn't keep up with demand. In lockdown, I made over a thousand covers, handmade, and my hands were blistered.
Fliss Lee (24:13)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (24:14)
I used to work 90 hours a week and I was pregnant with my second baby at this point.
And I knew at that point, like, I like, used to cry all the time. This is when it changed for me because then it
Fliss Lee (24:26)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (24:27)
wasn't any more hobby that I was enjoying. It was bloody hard graph. But
Fliss Lee (24:31)
Yeah, yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (24:32)
I knew at that point, I either moved to manufacturing now or I'm going to lose everything I've built to this point. And so that's what pushed me to manufacturing. That's why I changed my name from MeMeMates because...
I'd called myself Mimi because Robin used to call me Mimi instead of mummy. But Mimi
Fliss Lee (24:50)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (24:51)
is actually a really popular term in America. So there was lots of Mimi makes to compete with. So I knew I still wanted it to be around Robin because I'd started it for her and I called her Bobbin. So I called it Bobbin and then I just wanted a cutesy second name, Bumble. And then I knew that that wasn't...
taken by anyone, it wasn't a super popular name, not in my industry either. And so I just went forward with Bobbin and Bumble. We're not gonna be handmade anymore by me. And
Fliss Lee (25:24)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (25:25)
we're gonna go manufacturing. And then that's what changed the direction. And that's really, really what then started building like this massive brand.
Fliss Lee (25:36)
it sounds like you didn't have any expectation on yourself and then there suddenly was a point where there was maybe a lot of expectation. You were putting expectation on yourself, you were like, in order to continue on, I have to make changes. That starts to feel pressure.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (25:52)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (25:52)
How did you navigate that sudden massive shift in your business and then rebrand shift to manufacturing?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (26:00)
So
honestly, it was really, really hard. Like it was hard to that over to somebody. So what had actually happened was there was a big baby brand at the time and she'd brought out splash mats. But they were, my splash mats were, I used to hand cut them and hand sew them and they were huge. Like, they, even though they were really simple, they were huge and really time consuming to make and expensive for me to make.
And she was, she'd brought out splash marks and they were manufactured. And so I knew that she was doing it cheaper than me, quicker than me. Like there was just no question about it. just, just from a common sense point of view, I was like, my God, I'm going to lose it here. Like I can't compete with that. But instead of like folding and crumbling under that, what I took from it was, so you can get them made by someone else.
Fliss Lee (26:55)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (26:55)
It must
be viable. Somebody must... And I just took it as a sign that you actually could do that. So I went looking for Splash Mats. And I found a manufacturer. And when I found the manufacturer for Splash Mats, it was like a whole world was open to me because I was like, I can get Splash Mats made. Well, what about this other thing that I've been thinking of? I can get that made too. And it was literally like...
a light bulb went off and I realised anything I could think of, I could now get made. So it was scary, but instead of crumbling, something within me just went, I've not come this far to only come this far. And I just used it as fuel. Like I found a way to get splash mats made. And I very quickly realised if I can get this made, absolutely anything I can think of, I can get made. it just, it opened up a whole new world. Like it honestly did. Cause then I had
I like, you can see my background here. I've got bibs. thought, you know what? I'll bring out bibs to match it. I'll get silicone covers to match the high chair. Do you know what else would be good? Let's find someone who can make foot rests for the high chair. And it just, was then it was another thing. It was like manufacturing
and very
Fliss Lee (28:08)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (28:10)
organically has happened for me. And I think it's because I've gone at my own pace. I didn't set any expectations in the beginning and
I, even though I feel like typically for me inside, like I would think I would have folded it so many steps before, I never did. I just thought, do you know what? No, I managed to start
Fliss Lee (28:33)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (28:34)
this from nothing. So I'm not giving up now. And it just carried me on.
Fliss Lee (28:39)
And it sounds like that moment of, my God, if I don't do something, this has to change was a massive shift in how you saw your business as well. Not that you didn't see it as a business, but because I think it sounds like shifting to manufacturing, you've gone, I could do so much more rather than it being a, my God, I'm going to fold or it's going to fail, you've gone.
There's so many possibilities open to me if I go down this route, which
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (29:09)
Yeah. Yeah.
Fliss Lee (29:11)
I absolutely love because it can be such a scary thing to make such big changes in your business like that. But to see
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (29:16)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (29:17)
it as the possibilities rather than, ah, this is huge, is incredible.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (29:24)
I think there's a naivety to me as well, because like I said,
Fliss Lee (29:27)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (29:28)
I'd not thought gone with this business plan or anything. So I'd not really thought everything completely through. I just sort of thought, yeah, I'll give it a go. I've given everything else a
Fliss Lee (29:40)
Give it a go.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (29:41)
go. And I always, but I always, always kept to my thing of I'm not taking any money out of the house.
this needs to fund itself and if it can't fund itself, I will go and get another job. So I've always played to that as well. Like I've not taken any loans, I've not had any investment, I've not taken anything from anywhere else. It either pays for itself or I have to go and get another job to pay for it.
Fliss Lee (30:09)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (30:10)
And I think that as well has kept me being clever as well because I knew like I can't just blow all this money on
X, Y, and Z like, can afford this, I can't afford this. This will have to do.
Fliss Lee (30:23)
Yeah, you said about working the different jobs, but you've also mentioned that you started it for Robin. How
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (30:30)
you
Fliss Lee (30:32)
have you found navigating family life while growing a business quite quickly? Like how's that juggle been?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (30:44)
I
mean, in the beginning, like I said, it was like a fun hobby. And she, at the time, was little. as she needed stuff, I would sort of invent new things. And
Fliss Lee (30:57)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (30:59)
like, what do they say? Necessity is the mother of invention. And I was a mother inventing things. And so was
Fliss Lee (31:04)
I love that.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (31:05)
very fun. was like, I remember we went to this manufacturers together. I used to have...
blankets and bibs printed and I took Robin with me to the printers and they like let her go on the machines and use them and stuff. It was fun. She, my business and her have grown up together. So it's all that she's known. But then in 2020, she had just started school and obviously went into lockdown and the business just took off and
So then I had this juggle of homeschooling, the business literally out of control, like nothing you've ever seen before. And then I was pregnant as well. And at that point I'd got the worst depression of my life. And
Fliss Lee (32:00)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (32:01)
after that, a few years after that as well, postnatal depression, I found it really, really hard to manage because it just almost became bigger than me.
I remember going to look for a warehouse. So this is in 2021 and I just had Jasper. So I've moved to manufacturing. It's grown considerably in orders. People are aware of my product now. I've changed to Bobbin and Bumble. My house was taken over by stock. Like if you see the pictures, it's unbelievable. I had three sheds in the garden full of stock.
and I knew I had to get a warehouse. So I went to go and view this warehouse and I took Jasper with me and he was about a month old and he was like, you've got a baby too. And I was like, yeah. And so I got a warehouse and Jasper used to come to the warehouse with me and it was absolutely freezing and had no heating. And like, I think back to them times and I think how the hell did I do it? Like, honestly, how did I do it? Because
had a baby, I had horrendous postnatal depression. I didn't have any maternity leave and I had robbing at home, homeschooling. And it was, I do look back and I feel very guilty for it because like I mentioned before, I want people to know that I'm a mom first. Like that is my priority. I'm a mom. But I felt like then I was Emma, the business owner first for a long time.
Fliss Lee (33:27)
Mum girl.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (33:28)
And
So like, even though it's amazing, like I've never missed a school pick up or drop off, I can go to things, I can do whatever I want. There are occasions where I have to say, I can't right now, you're gonna have to go on your iPad. I really, really need to get this done. There are still moments like that. And yeah, I feel horrendous mom guilt for them, but I just tell myself it...
started all because of Robin and now it's all for them. Like it literally is for them. It's got her name in it. If ever I'm feeling down, I just think it's for my children. Like I'm literally doing this for them to show them and to show Robin especially. So I've got Robin, she's a girl 10 and Jasper who was a boy and he's going to be five. To just show them that, you know, if you want something bad enough, you just make it work and
Look at the lovely life we have for it.
Fliss Lee (34:24)
That's such a gorgeous message to give your kids. I think that's beautiful. And I also feel like you've taken, you say you it for your kids, but you said in the early days you almost gave it something for you as well. And I really love that combination and how you've created this business from it. This like wildly successful business from it is so inspiring. think, and just, yeah.
I've got so many questions for you Emma. We might have to do a second episode of this. so how have you looked after yourself in this? Because I think when you're running a business, it's really important to keep yourself fit and well because if you don't keep yourself fit and well, you can't work in your business and your business doesn't survive or function. So how have you?
especially as being a mum and especially when you were homeschooling and all that sort of, even if it's small snippets, how have you looked after yourself or found those moments to keep yourself fit and well?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (35:30)
So
truthfully,
Fliss Lee (35:31)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (35:32)
in 2020 to probably...
like maybe even a couple of years ago, like 2024.
Fliss Lee (35:40)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (35:41)
Even now, I still feel sad thinking about how sad I was. Not very well, I'll be honest, because everything, like I say, there's a business, there's children, everything comes before yourself. So not very well. As of 2024, I think it was, my business moved again. So now it's moved to fulfillment. So what happens is...
for anyone that's not aware of fulfillment. Like when you place an order on Amazon, it'll go to a big warehouse and it'll be picked and packed by a company. So essentially,
Fliss Lee (36:14)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (36:15)
Robin and Bumble is now in a big warehouse and the logistics side is taking care of it. So I'm not packing orders anymore. I'm at home. So since I've moved to fulfillment now, I don't have to go to a freezing cold warehouse. Like it was colder inside my warehouse than it was outside.
you'd physically shake, it was so cold in there.
Fliss Lee (36:36)
you
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (36:36)
And I'd have to do that with a baby and I'd have him like on me or I'd have like wrapped in blankets and stuff, trying to get these orders out. So since that's moved to fulfillment, I'm just at home now all the time where it's nice and warm, which I'm grateful for. Both my children have now started school. So Jasper just started in September. So this period is a very new period for me.
of not having a
Fliss Lee (37:02)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (37:02)
child at home. And I'd say now is the time when I'm really like reaping everything that I've sown because I get to stay at home. I get to work around my hours. I don't have to worry about school pickup or drop off because I can go and do that whenever I feel like, you know, of course there are restrictions occasionally, but generally speaking, if somebody just messaged me now and was like, do you fancy going out for lunch? I could be like, yeah.
Fine. And how many people can actually say that? But yeah, for a long time, I didn't take care of myself. I would say that's coming now. And I don't condone it. I actually don't condone working like how I used to work. But again, I didn't have a plan. So I was sort of just being swept up with it. And you know, hindsight's 20-20, isn't it?
I'd probably do things differently now, knowing what I know now, but at the time, I was literally surviving, barely.
Fliss Lee (38:01)
Yeah, I think have those moments and it's what you learn from them, isn't it? You you see yourself and go, oh, okay, I didn't realize it was quite like that back then. But it sounds like you're at a stage now where you're really enjoying it and you're so, I mean, you've built an amazing business and you're so grateful for this business and it's like, I've done this. And even though maybe it was.
really hard in the earlier days because you were just so busy doing everything. Now you're going, I can enjoy.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (38:36)
Yeah, I am. But as well with that comes a guilt almost, because like I said, I come from a working class family where hard work is like how hard you actually work. So
Fliss Lee (38:47)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (38:47)
it's like physically going out. I almost feel undeserving of it now. Back then when my hands were blistered from sewing and you know, I could, it was like a badge of honour. Like I work 90 hours a week and I'm nine months pregnant.
and I'm homeschooling, it was like a badge of honor. Now I'm kind of a bit almost guilty as well. Like I carry a guilt, like I'm undeserving of it now
Fliss Lee (39:08)
Wow.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (39:10)
because I'm very much still in a mind frame of it's measured on, you know, physical graft.
Fliss Lee (39:19)
Do you think that
that kind of impacted how you approached it and you just went, you know, I'm working hard, so this is work? Or do you think that...
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (39:29)
Yeah, definitely.
And I think it actually slowed me down. I think I would have moved, it would have been much faster actually, if I'd have accepted some things before. I remember
Fliss Lee (39:42)
Bye, really.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (39:42)
my husband saying, I don't know why you just don't do X, Y and Z. And I'd be like, Oh, I just can't, I can't. Like I couldn't hand the reins over. And I think it's cause I felt like I was cheating almost. And it almost, it feels like that
Fliss Lee (39:54)
That's interesting.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (39:55)
a bit now.
but I just have to like rein myself in and almost talk to myself as if I'm my daughter and tell myself if my daughter was doing what I am doing or have done, I would be like, but girl, like you've done amazing. Look at what you've done. I'd be so proud of her. wouldn't think she was undeserving at all. So I very much internally speak to myself like I'm my daughter, which is, I know a weird thing.
but it's just a way of me coping.
Fliss Lee (40:29)
I think that's, you know what, think that's incredible advice for us all. You always say you wouldn't speak to your friend like you speak to yourself. And
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (40:41)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (40:41)
I think it's very easy to forget that. We're so hard on ourselves. the fact that you think about it as though it's your daughter speaking to you is an amazing way to look at it because it really does check your thoughts and your thoughts and how you think.
really can be not great sometimes, can't they?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (41:04)
Yeah, definitely.
it's like one of the best things I do for myself actually is talk to myself as if I'm my own child. And it sounds really strange, but honestly, if you ever like beating yourself up about something, remove yourself from it and pretend you're talking to your friend, to your child and what you would actually say to them and reflect on it like realistically.
I worked bloody hard. think as well, people might see this podcast and think, wow, she's got all this stuff. Well, I didn't wake up with it. Literally didn't wake up. It was years and years. It was lots of tears, lots of stress, lots of physical graft to get to this point. People will tune in now at this point and be like, look at all that. She's so lucky. And actually there's no such thing as luck. We make our own luck.
And luck didn't have me working 90 hours a week pregnant. That wasn't luck. And I have to repeatedly tell myself that when I'm feeling like, I just don't deserve this. I repeatedly tell myself, we make our own luck in life and I've worked bloody hard for it. And I still work hard for it. Like don't get me wrong,
Fliss Lee (42:18)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (42:19)
I'm not out to lunch every day. I do still work.
Fliss Lee (42:24)
Imagine. Yeah, you do deserve it. And I think it's, maybe we could be kinder to ourselves, couldn't we?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (42:32)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (42:33)
Yeah. I'd love to just ask you a lot. You've rebranded and you sort of touched on the decisions for that. But I'd really love to kind of understand how...
how your own personal values Well, how they show up in your brand and how you've kept that as you've grown as well.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (42:56)
So, like I said, I renamed it because I really wanted to stand out. It was always really important for the brand, for people purchasing from me to know that I'm not a massive company. I'm one person, I'm a mother, and this is literally for my family. Like it's how, you know, I feed my family. And that's really important. So...
in socials and things like that, I show up a lot more now myself so that people realise I get lots of emails and they'll say, hey team. And I feel like responding like, yeah, there's no team, it's just me.
Fliss Lee (43:38)
I love that.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (43:40)
Because I want people to understand that it's very much a mother creating things for other mothers. And
Fliss Lee (43:47)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (43:49)
as I'm getting bigger now, lots of people, so in the beginning I had a very strong
community because everybody knew I was hand making it. I thought of these things myself and everyone sort of knew my story. As I'm getting bigger, that is getting diluted and people are starting to think that I'm a big brand. And I mean, at what point do we say, yeah, you're small anymore. You are big. I just don't want to lose that feeling of I'm actually a mother as well. Like all these women coming to me, choosing me.
to play a part in their motherhood, like their changing mats. You look at your changing mat every single day. So what an honor it is when somebody selects one of my designs and I'm part of that journey for them. And I would just want that message to always come across. So when I've done the branding recently, worked with a wonderful designer, name's Caroline from Lion and Leopard.
And she used to work for Mamas and Papas and Hello, did you? Maybe you know her.
Fliss Lee (44:53)
I worked there. Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (44:58)
So her name's Caroline Cummock She's amazing. Do you know her? Yes. So Caroline helped me with my branding.
Fliss Lee (45:02)
Do yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (45:07)
And she, I like told her, like I came up with this vision board. I was like very much this. She just knew immediately and...
We even did things like Robin Drew a little Robin and so that hand drawn Robbins on the website and you know, I just don't want to ever lose that part of it being a mother creating things for other mothers. And so when Caroline did the branding, it still looks professional and great, but it's, it's whimsy and it's cute and
Honestly, I think it's different to anybody else's. I think you'd see my website and you know, you're not on anybody else's. You can
Fliss Lee (45:49)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (45:50)
see of beige and brown, but we're very much boom. And
that was another important thing. Like I said, like childhood isn't muted and neither are we.
Fliss Lee (45:59)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (46:01)
I think for a long time, I wanted to try and appeal to everybody. I wanted everyone to want to only come to me.
Whereas now I realize actually, no, if you want beige and, you know, gray and whatever else, that's completely fine. And there's other people for that. I'm for, you know, color, pattern and playful. And Caroline helped me bring that to life. she, like these patterns that I've got behind me, like she designed all these with me and yeah.
Fliss Lee (46:33)
Did working on your brand remind you of that?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (46:37)
it never, no, because I've never forgot it. I've never forgot that. And it just helped me, I think, tell the story a bit, a bit more again and try and reinforce the story. think, like I said, I've, got lost in a period where I think people, was faceless. The brand was faceless. Whereas now I really see the importance of me being there and showing people, look, it's like an actual person is benefiting from this.
not some massively huge corporation. Like my chain new mats are all manufactured in the UK still. So I take videos
Fliss Lee (47:11)
Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (47:12)
of like the ladies hand sewing them and I've put that on my social media because isn't that a lovely thing? Isn't it nice? Wouldn't you love to know that that's where it came from? And I think that's what sells your products as well. But yeah, I could go to China. I could, and I could make more money, 100%. But I've not.
because I have a value of this thing that I'm trying to tell. And I understand now with my brand that I have to be there to tell that part of it as well.
Fliss Lee (47:43)
That's lovely. How do you want parents to feel when they discover Bobbin and Bumble?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (47:49)
I
want them to be like, I'm so glad I found, like, I do get lots of messages that say this, like, I'm so glad I found you. And this is exactly what I had in my mind. Like, I want them to be excited. Like childhood, like it's magical and it's such a short phase of your life. Like, why are we not embracing color and pattern and playfulness? I want them to feel like the magic of it. I want them to
Fliss Lee (48:14)
Bye.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (48:15)
feel inspired. I want them to feel like joyful.
like yeah, all the feelings, like I want them to just come feel joy when they see my brand and know that we're not like everybody else.
Fliss Lee (48:28)
Yeah, that really comes across when you talk about your business and not just about your business, like about why you started it. It's so clear that you've got so much passion for childhood and the whole reason you started it was because you wanted something a bit more joyful and fun and bright in your life and not just the typical grage of often the baby industry. And that just...
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (48:55)
Yeah. Yeah.
Fliss Lee (48:57)
When you talk about it, it's so clear and I love that passion that's come into me.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (49:03)
Yeah, thank you.
Fliss Lee (49:06)
So how are you still making sure that that is, like the business feels like you as it grows? Is there anything that you're kind of really important to you to keep doing or being aware of?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (49:22)
Yeah, so I don't want to lose me. think, like I said, I did a bit in the middle somewhere, lose myself as it grew. got overexcited with manufacturing. It became, you know, very sort of generic, trying to just get anybody and everybody, like as many people. After I did the branding, I really focused back on actually, what is it I want to do? So I'm very clear now on the fact that
I've got a specific type of person that I want to appeal to. Patterns now starting to move into exclusive. know, bright, colorful, identifiable patterns that
Fliss Lee (50:02)
Mm-hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (50:03)
you know, I want people to go somewhere. There's lots of brands and you'll see something and you'll just know it like Eleanor Beaumarch massive inspiration for
Fliss Lee (50:11)
Yeah.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (50:11)
me. When you see her things, you just look and you know, and I want to be that.
for children's items like changing mats. I just want to be identified as like, that pattern's ace, like, it's got to be, bombing and bumble. And
Fliss Lee (50:26)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (50:28)
so as it grows, I'm showing up more, I'm trying to be more present on my socials, show like how I work. People love to see that, like they do actually love to see what I'm up to.
and then making sure that I just stick to my own values, like not get caught up in.
You know, trying to be, I've got, right, this is confusing because I do want to be the best and the biggest out there, but equally not at the cost of sacrificing
Fliss Lee (51:05)
you
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (51:06)
myself or my values. So handmade in the UK is more important to me than extra profit going to China.
Fliss Lee (51:16)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (51:18)
And I just have to make sure that I keep telling myself that they're actually, it's an unbreakable rule, like I have to, to stay true to Bobbin and Bumble. That makes sense. I feel like that was a bit...
Fliss Lee (51:28)
Yeah, yeah, because I imagine,
total sense. think it's clear that your customers want that as well because it's about a special time in life, isn't it? So
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (51:42)
Yes.
Fliss Lee (51:43)
you don't just want to have any necessarily cheap stuff from China. You want it to be something special
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (51:51)
Yeah.
Fliss Lee (51:52)
and that's your customer, it?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (51:54)
Yeah. And I think like, there's no, absolutely no shame if you prefer like really neutral tones. And you know, I'm aware that my items are luxury items. You can go to Aldi and the baby event and get a changing mat for less than five. But that changing mat won't have had a designer. Like I specifically chose colors. I like prints were all hand drawn. And then we've.
sampled them and had them put onto these PVCs that are non-toxic and they're hand sewn by a lady in Lancashire, you know. And
Fliss Lee (52:33)
Love that.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (52:34)
that's the difference and some people really value that and some people don't and that's fine.
Fliss Lee (52:37)
Mmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (52:39)
And I think that was important for me to learn as well that not everybody, you don't have to appeal to everybody, just have to know who it is you want to appeal to.
Fliss Lee (52:50)
Emma, I could absolutely talk to you for days about this. It's so fascinating and thanks for sharing your story from the exciting beginning, the messy middle. It's so great to hear that you're enjoying where you're at now and reaping the benefits of all your hard work because if you can't do that, what's the point? So I absolutely
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (53:13)
Yeah, exactly.
Fliss Lee (53:14)
love that.
What I've taken from our chat today is actually when you were talking about going at your own pace and not having expectations, think I've really taken that because it's really easy to heap expectation on ourselves and to push ourselves. And I feel like your business has grown into what it is today because you just went with it. that's just massively stood out in my mind.
something I'm going to take away from our chat and think about how I just go with the flow a bit more.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (53:51)
Yeah,
definitely. Well, I think somebody said to me once as well, what's so special about you? And I was like, nothing. And that's the whole point. Like I'm you. I'm, you know, I'm just a normal mom that did something extraordinary. And I think that's what people love as well. And I think we just go into things with too many expectations. And if you just go in with no expectations and just see where it goes.
Fliss Lee (54:18)
Imagine.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (54:20)
Yeah, just imagine like If I had done a five-year plan on this five years ago, this would have been a wild card. It would have been like It wouldn't have been imaginable like it wouldn't
Fliss Lee (54:32)
Hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (54:32)
have even come into my head what I'm doing now five years ago I could not have even if you told me write a wild card of it I wouldn't have written this because it's that inconceivable back then that this would
be me now. And so imagine what it could be like in five more years.
Fliss Lee (54:51)
Hmm... Who knows?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (54:54)
yeah, just lower the expectations and then anything that happens is a bonus, isn't it?
Fliss Lee (55:02)
I think that is wonderful advice. So I'm going to ask you two questions before we sadly wrap up. Based on all of your experience in business, what do you think is the biggest barrier to somebody doing things their way?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (55:23)
Well,
it's themselves, isn't it?
Fliss Lee (55:25)
Hehehe.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (55:26)
I meet lots of people, come across lots of people, especially now. So now I do, I don't just say I do nothing. Like I tell them what I do. And a lot of times I'll get a response with, I'd love to do something. I've got this idea, that idea. And I'm like, right. And I'm very much a person who's like, right, come on then. Let's do it. Let's do it. And I'll start throwing out ideas of how we can get going. And very, very quickly I'll realize,
they're not serious about it or they don't do it because they'll be like, oh no, no, I can't do that because X, Y and Z. And you realize very quickly that the biggest barrier is themselves. And even for me, like in the beginning, if I'd have, I didn't know how to sew and I listed a product that I would have to sew.
Like, just stupid, isn't it? Like, why did I think to myself? And I don't know why I did, but I'm grateful that I did. And going forward, I would tell my daughter, like, anything that she has an idea of, I'd be like, try it. Try it then.
Fliss Lee (56:27)
Try it.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (56:28)
Just try it. I think it's people's expectations of themselves. They put them, they are their own barrier. If they just said, I'm going to do what, you know, if I want to start doing this, we'll just start doing it then.
Fliss Lee (56:44)
That's wonderful advice. what's one thing that's helped you to do your thing?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (56:50)
letting go of fear of judgment. Especially in the day and age when everything's online, like you have to show up online, you have to be, I mean, people do it, you know, where they stay anonymous, but it's very rarely that anybody's successful being anonymous. And so,
that for me was a big thing. Like I would say like I've had like really low self-confidence. So to then put myself out and say like, I'm selling this and it's great. And it was made by me. It was really hard. Like it really hard and had to fake it for a long time. And sometimes, like I said, I still don't believe it now, but I think if, you know.
I was like, have an autobiography. be like, there'd be a chapter in it called, Faking It Till You Make It, because I'm the girl that faked it until I made it. Like, just keep pushing this thing that I don't necessarily think was true, but you it must be true, part of me, you know, and
Fliss Lee (57:54)
Mm. Mm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (57:55)
putting myself out there continuously.
Fliss Lee (57:58)
Mm-hmm.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (57:58)
So
yeah, just letting go of the fear of judgment and what other people might think because actually, just like I'm panicking about what everybody else is thinking of me, they're all panicking internally and what everyone's thinking of them and nobody actually cares. Nobody cares.
Fliss Lee (58:11)
Yes,
brilliant advice, yes. Emma, absolutely loved chatting to you today. I've got so many more questions which I will carry on elsewhere.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (58:22)
Okay.
Fliss Lee (58:25)
If people want to find you, follow you, learn more about you and Bobbin and Bumble, where can they do that?
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (58:31)
So just type in bobbinandbumble and I'll come up. I've worked very hard to come up number one. Bobbinandbumble on Instagram. If you want to follow me personally, you can find me on LinkedIn under Emma Cattell. And yeah, I'm very easy to find. I've got a very easy name, but just remember bobbinandbumble and lots will come up YouTube, Instagram, everywhere. Yeah.
Fliss Lee (58:55)
You're findable, yeah.
Thank you so much for sharing your story today. It's been amazing.
Emma - Bobbin And Bumble (59:02)
Thank you for having me.
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