Manifesting with... Fiona Lindau
When a childhood hobby becomes a successful business
Millésime Baby is an online store dedicated to beautiful handmade knitted clothing items for babies and young children. But the best thing is it’s owned by my cousin, Fiona. I have been in awe, watching Fiona’s journey from the very beginning (was I inspired to briefly open an Etsy store for my crochet in 2014? Perhaps). In this interview, Fiona explains how she built Millésime Baby from the ground up.
What has your history been with knitting, and when did you decide to turn it into a business?
I started knitting as a very young girl, taught by my grandmothers and mum how to knit. I remember following my very first knitting pattern at 11 years old as a school project but scraped that pattern, ad-libbing the design and forming my own knitting masterpiece for my sister’s cabbage patch doll.
From there, I continued my passion for knitting. Creating designs for my sisters’ babies, who wore them to mothers’ groups etc… and orders formed. People wanted my pieces. It then became a business with the influence of Facebook and now Instagram. There was a want for hand knitted pieces.
I no longer hand knit to order but create collections hand knitted by my talented artisans in South America using high quality fibres, found local to them.
What is your role in the business, and how do you juggle everything?
Everything. From design, to overseeing production of 200 knitters to selling, to wholesale sales to marketing, to accounting. I do outsource my professional photography, still keeping some in-house though.
What do you do when inspiration or motivation feels low?
When it is in-between seasons, that lull - I use this time to design future collections or take a break. Also working as a tax accountant, a lull is well received on my end!
I do travel overseas to exhibit at tradeshows in Paris and New York - this is a great motivation, to be surrounded by like-minded individuals from all over the world.
The business went through a rebrand a few years ago to become what it is now. What was that process like?
It has been 10 years this year since becoming Millésime Baby! It was a smooth process, like it was from the start. It just eventuated. A real passion project.
A new name gave it an identity and from there we have grown. I love to just dive in, get out of my comfort zone and grow rather than hold back and plan waiting for the perfect time. Challenging myself has gotten me to where I am today.
What advice would you give to others looking to manifest their dreams or turn their love for something into a business?
Just love what you do. The rest will simply fall into place!