It all began a couple of years ago within a little maternity ward located inside a small, but amazing hospital in an Australian town called Ballarat. Olivia (and her husband Luke) had just had two little premature identical twin girls at 30 weeks and they were receiving care at the hospital, when Claire (and her husband Phill) pregnant with fraternal twins, entered the ward to meet with other twin
parents. Claire and Phill’s Bubble & Squeak entered the world at 33 weeks, so little did we all know we would be sharing more than the miracle that is having twins; premature babies, and to our surprise, discovered that we were virtually neighbours, so shared doctors and infant welfare professionals and an art group designed for new Mums. Our journey has seen a strong friendship form and grow between our families, and we have bonded over ideas, not only about our little ones, but what to do in the “spare time” we had between feeding, sleeping, eating and general new mum awesomeness, spoiler including a new addition to our growing blessings (for Olivia and Luke). The art group for new Mums was the beginning point of creative ideas, and learning how to felt wool was a truly special activity which allowed us to see what was possible. Gradually, dreams of creating bags, toys, artworks, giftware and trialling our products on our children, family and friends, became a reality and many cups of tea, cookies, food coated walls and toys strewn over floors later, we began to find ourselves with fabric stashes, thread attached to our clothing, crochet hooks and granny squares as permanent fixtures in the nappy bags, and chasing lost needles and pins around the floor before toddlers could get to them. Always with a good sense of humour and nurtured dreams, Tea and Conversation Crafts was born!
