Welcome to our very first blog! We will have a new blog post every fortnight.
You can expect lots of great content that will focus on kids and motherhood, styling tips, interviews with our gorgeous brand owners, guest blogs from our brand reps and our ultimate Christmas gift guide!
Read on to find out how we started Monkey Tree...
I often get asked what inspired me to start Monkey Tree - so this is our story (so far!)...
I'm a Melbourne girl through and through but in 2015 my husband got a new job and we made the move to a small country town in the Snowy Mountains, NSW called Cooma. I had only ever driven through Cooma once - I had no idea what I was in for!
Luckily for me I met some amazing girls through my husbands work mates. We all had kids together and bonded during our maternity leave in 2017/18.
I love to shop (like most new mums!) and living in a country town found myself doing lots and lots of online shopping! Our little town does not have much in the way of children's shops. I also loved finding small Australian brands through Instagram and connecting with the owners and other customers.
I returned to my job in Canberra as a public servant in 2018 (a 3 hour commute!), but constantly felt that something was missing. I had a desire burning inside me to start a business of my own but I couldn't quite nail the idea!
Then in early 2019 the idea came to me while I was scrolling Insta (of course!) and after many conversations at playgroup with my mum friends about the lack of places to buy kids clothes in our town! I wanted a place to buy good quality clothes for my child that were unique, not mass produced and affordable. I wanted a one stop shop. Monkey Tree Children's Store was born!
I am absolutely blown away by the support we have received since we launched in April 2019, especially from our local community here in Cooma.
I love the brands that we stock and am so proud to be able to say everything in our store is Australian owned and designed and ethically made.
For now I am still working in my job in Canberra and working on Monkey Tree when my daughter Isobel is asleep and on weekends. I won't say it is easy but I absolutely love working in my own business and love the connections with our wonderful customers - many of you feel more like friends!
We have so many plans and dreams for Monkey Tree - so watch this space!
Sam xx
Fun fact: Monkey Tree is derived from mine and my husband's middle names! Can you guess what they are? Tell us in the comments below.
