1. First thing in the morning when you wake up, do you look at your orders?
I check and action our orders everyday but it’s not the first thing I do in the morning. It’s taken me by surprise at how relaxed and calm I feel about the business. It doesn’t consume me and as a stay at home mum of two young boys, I feel really grateful for this. Although I have been guilty of checking Instagram first thing in the morning, it’s a very cool community.
2. Are you a coffee or tea drinker and what kind?
I love a cappacino on full cream milk (it tastes so much better). In the evenings I enjoy a tea called sleepytime, it’s a herbal blend.
3. You always imagined baby wear being?
I really like neutral tones for babies. I am also loving the simplicity of the Scandinavian design trend for nurseries and kids rooms. Natural textures and neutral tones are clean, simple and fresh and a great start if you’re keeping the gender of your baby a surprise. You can’t go wrong with whites, creams and grey. I am also crazy about my babies clothes, wraps and blankets being super soft and comfy on their delicate skin.
4. The leap to start Mana Sira handmade baby blankets and toys come about?
A few things converged really. I’ve always had a passion for helping the poor. And in particular, a passion for micro enterprise for women in developing countries. In 2014, I had quit my job in International Development and Disaster Response to move to Timor with my husband who was posted there with the Australian Army. Whilst in Timor I could see the potential of the women, but also how they were trapped in a tough poverty cycle. I played with a few ideas on how to help, but it wasn’t until I had my first son whilst living there, and was gifted a beautiful crocheted baby blanket my mother made, that the light bulb moment came.
It’s been a massive journey from there, as most small business owners would relate too. Complicated for us by operating in a country like Timor. We linked up with an incredible local organization in the mountains of Adieu conducting livelihood projects. My mother and two friends came over from Newcastle, Australia and we ran a crochet workshop with Project Montana for the local women. They took to it like grandma’s! And Mana Sira was born! The name means ‘Sisters’.
In September 2016 we launched our online shop as a way of connecting the Timorese women to a market which they would not otherwise have had access to. Since launching we have shipped to the US, UK, New Zealand and throughout Australia. Sales have been growing nicely since.
5. When women are negative it makes you…
Feel disappointed, then wonder why they are that way. Because if you can relate, you can understand, and be supportive, regardless. I am an optimistic and positive person by nature but there have been times where I have been in a negative place myself – where I have doubted myself or dwelled on negative thoughts for way too long. I launched the Mana Sira online shop during a really tough time – my second son had just been born and my husband was deployed for 5 months with the Australian Army. I felt a huge pressure and very overwhelmed. It didn’t take long for the negative thoughts to came flooding in… ‘How can I launch and sustain a business with my husband away, while caring for a newborn and a toddler!?’ But I am very blessed to have an incredible team of women who helped me launch Mana Sira; my mum being one of them! With their encouragement, involvement and cheering-on, we got there and its what keeps me going.
6. When women support one another you…
Smile. It’s the way it was meant to be. Even if you can’t support in any other way, we are all capable of cheering on our girlfriends and colleagues, and sometimes that is all the support you need.
7. One thing you keep close to your chest with Mana Sira until now is…
Mana Sira is 100% non-profit and I don’t draw a salary from it. My husband and I discussed this before launching the business and we both felt that to give the business the very best start we could and achieve the best outcome for the women in Timor, I wouldn’t be paid and all profits go back into the business. Ultimately our goal for Mana Sira is to create an opportunity for the Timorese women to escape the horrible cycle of poverty, through meaningful paid employment and in turn, help their children and community. It’s the big picture and I am happy to volunteer my time, energy and experience to see this vision come to pass. My approach is to work as professionally and diligently as if I was getting paid for what I was doing. We don’t make a big deal about this because we don’t want Mana Sira to win the sympathy purchases, we want to compete on quality. These women have outstanding potential and create beautiful pieces, despite their humble circumstances. When they know that other women are purchasing their goods because of it’s beauty and quality, the confidence and self-esteem this provides is life changing for them.
8. To all those women who are negative on social media you’d say…
Argh…want to come to Timor with me on my next trip?
9. If you could express one piece of QueenHood advice to working women you would say…
To be honest I am far more interested in reading the advise of all the other incredible working women profiled on QueenHood than give my own as I don’t quite feel experienced enough to be offering any pearls of wisdom just yet. Although I guess that’s it – always be open to learning as much as you can from other peoples’ mistakes and successes!
10. Your dream for Mana Sira came whilst you had a toddler, living in Timor. Why start with so many challenges?
Challenging yes but you should see how the women we work with live. I couldn’t help but do something, however small, to help them despite how tough I found my life at the time.
11. The worth you feel working is…
Knowing we are making a difference in the lives of the women who make our products is everything. It makes the long days, late nights and juggling ‘working mummy hat’ all worthwhile.
When I got an order from Washington D.C. I nearly cried. I was genuinely surprised and overwhelmed with emotion. To know that we were helping these women’s beautiful work reach other women around the world, keeping babies warm at night, has been the absolute highlight for me.
12. When you’re in work mode you are best described as…
Organized, efficient and task orientated.
13. The legacy you hope to leave is…
For Mana Sira my hope is that the beautiful and creative women we work with know their value and worth as women, as mothers and as small business owners. That their humble circumstances don’t define them.
