How a middle-aged housewife started her own business

How a middle-aged housewife started her own business

The Problem

It is a truth universally acknowledged that mobile devices are ruling our world. We all own at least one and would not be able to navigate our lives without them. We are huddled on bus or train seats watching reels on TikTok, we are sitting in coffee shops organising our diaries, we are taking our tablets to bed to watch Netflix, we are perched on park benches answering WhatsApp messages, we are parked at the kitchen table posting on Instagram or reading the latest bestseller.

I am certainly guilty of all the above and then I wonder why my neck hurts, why I have a headache and why my posture resembles that of my cat when she is licking certain body parts. ‘Homo Erectus’ is rapidly becoming ‘Homo Slouchus’.

The Epiphany

Meet Ciara Winkelmann, a former advertising designer turned housewife and mother of two young adults who are, of course, avid users of multiple tech devices. And just like every other self-respecting Irish mammy she constantly nagged her long-suffering offspring about sitting slouched over their phones, nose to the screen, thumbs bent at impossible angles, furiously communicating with the outside world.

Let’s be honest here, though, it’s not just our youngsters who are guilty of mobile device dependency and resulting orthopaedic obstacles. Ciara herself was guilty of sitting at the kitchen table for breakfast or lunch with her phone or e-reader in search of information and entertainment on the internet. Said devices used to be propped up against a milk jug, a glass of water or even an apple from the fruit bowl. You can see where this is going, right? The jug tumbled over, the water was spilled and the apple rolled away and at this point I wonder how many of us are sitting somewhere with their phone leaning against a makeshift tech device stand at this very moment.

The arrival of Covid in 2020 did not help the situation. We entered a new world of isolation and desperation. Home schooling in the kitchen, online learning from the bedroom, office work from the coffee table and Zoom sessions conducted on the sofa, became the norm. That’s when Ciara finally had enough and she saw the light.... or in this case the CRIB!

The Solution

Being a keen craft person and sewer Ciara created a small pyramid shaped table top bean bag in order to pop up any and all mobile devices. And lo and behold, after a few slightly awkward looking prototypes the CRIB emerged in its pleasing triangular shape with just the right amount of filling needed to hold the tech device at a comfortable viewing angle and at the same time providing stability for typing, drawing, browsing, editing and hands-free chats and video calls.

Why the name - CRIB?

Well, it has nothing to do with a place for Baby Jesus to sleep, rather the name came to Ciara because she sees her versatile cloth pyramid tech stands as the perfect home to rest all mobile devices which can be set up anywhere in your own home.... you can even take them to bed with you!

And speaking of home, the first CRIBS were produced by Ciara working on her old Singer sewing machine at her kitchen table. She found the possibilities for colours and patterns endless, since they can be made from many different types of cloth. In a short space of time, her living room was taken over by countless bundles of colourful pieces of material ranging from world famous Irish tweed and linen to sustainable cotton, denim, corduroy, velvet, and even waterproof material.

And so the CRIB was born and Ciara set off on a fascinating, challenging, multifaceted journey!

The Business

Naturally, it is not enough to have a good idea and sew a few fabric pyramids. You must go out into the world, expose your product to the public and listen to the feedback of potential future CRIB users. Ciara’s first ‘guinea pigs’ were the lovely ladies of her book club. Now, the thing about 21st century book clubs is that whilst it is lovely to hold and smell and leaf through a book, a great many literature lovers nowadays use e-readers for convenience.... and e-readers fit onto CRIBS! Therefore, Ciara made some CRIBS and gifted them to her bookish besties for Christmas. The response was overwhelming. The ladies loved their CRIBS, started using them straightaway and asked for more to give to family and friends as presents. Such a positive reaction to an innovative idea is tremendously encouraging and there was no stopping ‘The Mother of CRIBS’ now!

Sometimes when opportunity knocks on your door, you should welcome it and let it in! Due to a CRIB thank-you note posting by mistake in the wrong WhatsApp group, Ciara’s neighbours heard about the wonders of the CRIB. So, being an entrepreneur in the making Ciara started selling CRIBS from of the boot of her trusty old Volvo to her neighbours in lockdown. This was the moment Ciara felt her CRIBS were meant for greater things and she threw herself into the production and selling with all her heart. She started going to weekend farm markets assembling her small home garden marquee in wind and rain and displayed her CRIBS in hanging storage pockets. She rented stalls at big shows such as Bloom-In-The-Park, GIFTED and the RDS Dublin Horse Show. She worked tirelessly on business plans and her new online website store. Two things were clear to her from the very beginning: the CRIBS would always be made in Ireland and they had to be sustainable. She sourced high quality end of line designer fabrics destined for landfill and bought recycled polystyrene beads for the filling. She also found RPET Canvas Cotton, which is fabric made from recycled plastic bottles cleaned out of the oceans of the world. Her 'Sea Change' range, which is made with this innovative sustainable fabric, creates her most eco-friendly CRIB. It is very interesting to see what clever people come up with nowadays and Ciara and the CRIBS will always embrace sustainability and innovation.

The Future

When setting up your own business there comes a point where you must be very honest and ask yourself whether you truly believe in your product and do you have the energy, the courage and the confidence to go forward and fight for the future of your idea. There will be days when you’d rather stay in bed and not see another CRIB for a while, but there are other days when something happens that makes you believe you can fly and those days make it all worth it.

Ciara put on her big girl pants and approached several gift shops and retail businesses asking if they would be interested in selling the CRIB. You see, the advantage of the CRIB is that it is a stand for mobile tech devices and thus appeals to companies who sell such devices and accompanying accessories but the CRIBS are also made from beautiful materials and the appearance of an interestingly shaped pillow. Therefore, it is also of interest to interior design businesses. Ciara’s determination and courage paid off! The CRIBS were stocked in the Apple reseller store called ‘Select’ in Dublin and the telecommunication company 'Three Mobile' stocked it nationwide which raised the brand profile. The elation of these successful endeavours propelled Ciara forward and helped secure her initial funding in December 2021.

All these positive experiences gave Ciara wings, but they also put the pressure on to upscale her business if she wanted to continue flying. Serendipity showed her lovely face again when Ciara was introduced to an amazing social enterprise business called ‘We Make Good’. They produce ethical and sustainable homeware products here in Dublin and focus on helping marginalised people from disadvantaged backgrounds to learn many skills such as sewing, knitting, textile printing and many more. Ciara knew immediately that this was the way forward to ramp up production while at the same time staying true to her sustainability goals and to have the CRIB made here in Ireland. She built a great relationship with an amazing group of women who are now making every CRIB with care and precision and she is proud that her small company plays a part in supporting these ladies on their journey to a better life.

So the future of the CRIB is looking bright. In the last year Ciara has created the branding and packaging for her product and is continuously learning what it means to run your own business. Luckily, there are lovely and helpful mentors out there who have a great deal of patience with a middle-aged woman who is baffled when she is bombarded with SEOs, KPIs and CRMs and has to learn how to create a business plan, how to calculate margins and worst of all: create spreadsheets! However, the absolute best thing and most positive message I’d like to leave you with is this: it is never too late to follow your dreams and start something new! Ciara and the CRIB are proof of that!