Leonard aka SPUD (which is what we called him during pregnancy) was 5 months old when I started having a desire to make clothes for him. Stuff in shops didn't quite fulfil my desire for colourful unisex clothes for him. I owned a sewing machine and an overlocker at this point and wasn't new to sewing as such, but had never really followed clothes patterns. So I started to teach myself using patterns like Brindille and Twig, Made by Jack's mum and Puperita.
And then I made him clothes that fitted my vision. I love dark colours and bold patterns. I like cute, but not cutesy. So choosing the fabric is a huge amount of fun for me, as I am always on the lookout for something different.
And goodness, what a response we had when we were out and about with Leonard in his new wares. People were commenting everywhere we went.
Now I had never envisaged that I would end up making this into a business idea, I had no plan, I had no experience, but I just thought if this is how people react on a day to day basis (in playgrounds and music groups) then there must be a demand for this and I had to at least give it a go.
So I bought more fabric, made more harem pants and took them to our local pop up shop, to the lovely Jeane at Alkemi Store in Nunhead. She looked at them and immediately agreed to sell them for me. And that is where it all started. End of 2017 I was stocked in the shop, and February 2018 the website was finished and up and running.
Where does the name come from?
The name was born from two important monikers that led to this very moment.
One was Snuffles, which is the Jellycat rabbit teddy (you all know it when you see it) that my other half bought, when he finally agreed after 4 years together that we were ready for children, so it meant a huge deal to me that he bought this symbolically. And the other is Spud, which is what we called Leonard during pregnancy.
Now in my second pregnancy (due in 4 weeks on the 10th March), we call the little lady Squish most of the time, so if anyone has any ideas how we can incorporate this into the logo and brand, then please write me a comment below. Snuffles and Spud and Squish doesn't roll well.
Ps Scroll through pictures below to see some of his best outfits.