Ten years ago, Michelle Cox wanted to find a way to protect her child's skin from the hot Australian sun.
After a long search for sun-safe clothing that’s also comfortable to wear, she took the matter into her own hands.
This was the beginning of Three Sun Possums, a clothing brand for young children, which Michelle says was born out of necessity.
“I just wanted something purely for myself, and to solve my own problem of being sun-smart and getting outside and enjoying outdoors with my daughter,” she said.
Her first obstacle was trying to find a supplier who would meet her quality requirements, ethical standards and need for small production runs.
Michelle Cox started the sun-safe clothing brand for her children Source: Supplied
“I needed lightweight cotton, with long sleeves and high necklines, that kids could wear and be comfortable in,” Michelle said.
After a long search and a few setbacks, she found the right fit with an Indonesian supplier.
The products are designed to protect young skin from the sun's harmful rays, although they're not officially tested or rated.
Michelle says to be officially rated, it is a long and complicated process which doesn’t work with her small business model.
Michelle designs the fabric and clothing herself, featuring light cotton and fun prints for toddlers to pre-teens.
”Now my fabric is hand printed, screen printed, and I couldn't test every single production run, it's just not the way the business is set up, so I'm really clear about that,” she said.
Michelle has a risk-averse approach to business, preferring high-quality, low-quantity runs of clothing.
The clothes are dsigned with lightweight cottons, high necklines and long sleeves. Source: Supplied
She says it helps her focus on what's really important.
“Families always come first. And that's meant the business has had a more modest start,” Michelle said.
Michelle’s bespoke line also found a new approach to distribution, moving from being stocked in retail stores to an online-only model.
“It was a lot of work, and the margins were really low,” she said.
“If I'd been set up differently, with massive big stock runs and large-scale production, it might have worked.”
Michelle says word of mouth and social media marketing has helped sales grow by about 40 per cent each year.
“Ten years into the business, income is modest but growing,” she said.
“It hasn't been a struggle at all - it's been a joy. And I think that's why I've continued despite setbacks and a slow start.”
