Business & Careers Article:

Mum's Little Duckling Inspires a Career Change

Courtesy of: Lotty Aerts of Ducks n Drakes

For some women having a baby is a time to put their career aside, either temporarily or permanently, for others it leads to renewed ambition and, for a lucky few, it leads them to discover a whole new career direction.

This was the case for Sydney mum Lotty Aerts, who worked as a buyer for an Australian fashion retailer. Lotty was content with both her life and her career but when daughter Annalie came along last year, her arrival led Lotty to discover her true passion and start her own business, Ducks n Drakes.

Ducks n Drakes (www.ducksndrakes.com.au) was the result of many unsuccessful and frustrating shopping trips with Annalie. As any new mum knows, shopping with a small baby can be a nightmare at the best of times, but for Lotty the frustration was not being able to find what she wanted.

Lotty says, "I was looking for hip, colourful and affordable basics for babies. But the only thing I could find were poor quality baby clothes, pastels, bears and bows. I ended up paying far too much for that one stylish basic I was looking for.

"I came to the realisation that there was a large gap in the market. Using my 10 years experience working for various fashion labels in design and production in both Europe and Australia, I started to develop my own basic baby collection. I wanted the collection to be fashionable and colourful. And as styles are often washed and babies quickly grow into the next size, it had to be affordable and of good quality."

Lotty spent the next year examining baby clothes, meeting with suppliers and washing and rewashing samples until she was satisfied with the quality of the garments. With Annalie as her model, she decided to avoid all tags and labels on the inside of the garments as they irritated Annalie's delicate skin. Instead Ducks n Drakes print all info directly onto the garment.

The Ducks and Drakes range comprises of well-cut, affordable, high quality baby basics for newborns to 2 year olds. The collection is non-seasonal, timeless and unisex. Each garment in the range is made from 100% cotton and designed for daily use.

Sick of looking at kids clothes in pastel pink, blue and yellow, Lotty wanted to dress Annalie in bright and modern colours so each style in the Ducks and Drakes range is available in shades like Raspberry, Army and Bright Red.

The best part? Lotty understood how difficult it can be for mum to get to the shops so she can now do her shopping while her baby sleeps at www.ducksndrakes.com.au.

For any other mums thinking of making a career change Lotty has some tips:

• Research, research and more research - remember you now have a little one depending on you so you have to be even more cautious with your business decision.
  
  
• Seek help and advice - whether this is from friends and family or people that are already working in the industry you are trying to break into, it is really helpful to get honest and objective advice and opinions. You are often so involved in your idea that you need to see it through someone else's eyes.
  
  
• Stick to your area of expertise - While this is not the case for everyone, you will certainly find setting up a new business easier if it is an area you know a lot about. As a buyer and designer I already had a lot of contacts in both fashion and textiles. Even though children's clothes were new to me, I knew how to source the best fabric and find the best production.

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