On a warm Autumn morning where the breeze was cool but the sun was still shining, I met Anika from Rosalyn and Rae and sweet Kynley at a bustling hills cafe. We sat down for a chat to talk all things business and motherhood… we also attempted to answer the age old question of is there a way to juggle the two seamlessly whilst also making time for other important relationships and yourself.. spoiler alert, there isn’t.. at least not yet!
Seeing Anika in Mum mode while juggling Kynley on her lap, sharing her breakfast, drawing and giving snuggles only a mama can give, made my heart smile. It is a familiar scene for myself and one I truly love, however much I wanted to drink my coffee whilst it was hot! A moment to sit back and realise we are all just trying our best to be the best Mums we can be whilst also wanting to create a successful business to support our families and follow our dreams.
I have known Anika since she first started Rosalyn and Rae out of the spare room in her and her husband Brents home, almost five years ago to the day. I remember visiting her showroom in the early days, looking for a baby gift and meeting her for the first time. I was blown away by her approachability, kindness and knowledge. From here I visited many times and captured her and the showroom during a business branding session (you can see the gallery here). When I first had the idea to put together an Outfit Guide for my clients Anika so generously lent me children clothing, accessories, swaddles etc to create outfits and examples for the guide. She now continues to support my business and clients by offering a generous discount code for outfits from her store, something I am so grateful for. It was an absolute honour to have Anika as my first interview for Behind the Brand ♡
Anika, thank you so much for being apart of my new series Behind the Brand! What inspired you to start your own business?
“Of course, thank you for asking me! I started my own business mainly to be able to stay home with my girls and to have the freedom of flexibility. After high school I worked a few different jobs, like being a PA to an Architect (gosh if I could do that job again I would change sooo many things- I was only 18 and knew very little lol) and a Nanny, which I really loved. I also dabbled in Photography but found it wasn’t for me.”
Can you tell us about Rosalyn & Rae and a little about where you started.
“Rosalyn and Rae started five years ago now. I wanted to create a business that would allow me to be home with my daughter Zahli, this was before Kynley was born. I was surrounded by the world of kids as I was still Nannying so thought why not start there! The business name was inspired by my Granny whose middle name is Rosalyn and Rae is my eldest daughter Zahli’s middle name. Our slogan is ‘Nurturing Families, Celebrating Childhood’ which comes from our beginning. Helping families source different items and stocking items and clothing to help get through from the early years and up. I also wanted to create a space where parents could come for information, to have a wander and to provide a little escape, if only for a short while. We created a play room for kids to play which has been a great addition.”
Even back then you created a wonderful space but now with your store you have definitely levelled up! The space is gorgeous and so welcoming. You should be very proud of yourself. So tell me, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Thinking hard.. “The fear of upsetting people. When I first started Rosalyn and Rae we really didn’t have much up here in the hills like it but unfortunately it did make a few people upset. Although it was difficult I had to start thinking differently and realised these people were being unreasonable. At the start it was also hard to source brands who would let us stock their items, being a start up with no website yet didn’t help. But now thankfully we are running out of room and have an incredible selection of brands on offer. When we secured Jamie Kay I was so excited I could have cried.. I think I did!”
Would you do anything differently, knowing what you know now?
Anika pauses and thinks thoughtfully, “Look, not really to be honest. I think things panned out for a reason and even moving to our shopfront in Mt Barker just kind of happened. The property came up and I chatted with Brent who just said go for it! The only thing I maybe would have considered was waiting until Kynley was in school, as we know it’s hard juggling work and kids sometimes. We are lucky both of our Mums have the girls one day each as well as Zahli being in school now but it can still be a juggle”.
How great are Mums hey?! You now have two wonderful employees, how has that changed things?
“It’s been a godsend really. Amy knows the ins and outs of running an ecommerce business as she has her own, and is so good at the social media side of it. And Lauren is a great help too, they are both wonderful. It’s also great because we are all Mums so we get it, the juggle. It’s also been good to be able to bounce ideas off each other and of course not having to be in the store every day. I have to learn to delegate a little more and stop doing as much when I get home. It does make it easy with the website at home, I can add items and update things once the girls are in bed”.
I’m so glad you have such a great team now and they can support you & help take away some of the stress of having to do it all. In saying that, what is your favourite thing about being your own boss?
“Definitely the flexibility that comes with it, especially with the girls. Also the fact that you can turn your vision into reality. Brent has helped me so much and has constructed all of the displays, he has taken my crazy ideas and made them work somehow”, laughing.
Speaking of, you have two gorgeous girls of your own, how do you manage the juggle of businesswoman, wife, mama, daughter, friend?
Laughing “Oh gosh, can that actually be done?! I try my best, like we all do, to give as much of myself to everyone but sometimes something has to give. My family come first and we make sure that we have every Sunday together for Family day. The girls look forward to it and so do I at the end of the week. I also have a couple of days off during the week and try to focus on them as well as catching up with my family and friends.”
Look, I’m still trying to figure it out too. I’m sure we will get there one day haha! So, what is your advice for anyone starting their own business?
“Go with your heart and don’t listen to any negative outside voices. If I had listened to people, even family and friends, who questioned if the store was going to work then I wouldn’t have gone for it and I wouldn’t be here today. We even get passerbyers who pop their heads in with concerned faces asking ‘So how are you going here? Are you getting any business?’ We just smile and say yes we are going great thank you. I’m sure they mean well”
I know you are constantly updating your collections and love supporting local businesses, do you have any plans for the future?
“We are really trying to close the age gap for 8-10 year olds at the moment. Whether it be for clothing, games or useful items I am trying to source those right now. I would also love to create my own collection one day. What that is I have no idea right now but I’m sure when inspiration strikes I’ll know if it’s a good fit or not.”
That is so exciting! You are absolutely in the best place to figure that out. You stock so many incredible items here at Rosalyn and Rae that you would be best to know any gaps in the market. I cannot wait to see what you come up with one day 🙂
Ok last thing Anika, out of all of the beautiful products you stock what are your number one picks for the following groups:
** Please note You can click on the name of the item to be taken to the product
☼ Pregnant mamas: “Our range of belly oils. It’s hard to choose but I would say Little Kin Co. They are local Adelaide Hills sisters”
☼ Nursing Mums: “The Deluxe Hot Chocolate or the Hydramama for nursing or non-nursing mums”
☼ Newborn babies: “I would often recommend clothing but I also love the Fifty Questions Book“
☼ Toddlers: “Toddlers would be our wooden toys, specifically the Pound a Peg, Pound a Ball or Track a Ball”
☼ 3-6 year olds: “The Hey Doodle silicone mats are great” (I can attest to this, my girls love theirs!)
☼ 6-8 year olds: “Connetix are always a hit” (Also strong agree 🙌🏻)
☼ 8-10 year olds: “Still an age bracket I’m working on with toys etc but the best at the moment would be KAPLA“
You can find Rosalyn & Rae at the below locations:
Store front: Mount Barker Central Shop 60/13 McLaren Street, Mount Barker SA 5251 (next door to Priceline)
Website: https://rosalynandrae.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosalynandRae/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosalynandrae/
