Ascot Vale mama Kate Thomas probably isn’t getting much sleep these days with three kids on the go! But when she does get a moment’s rest, you can be ‘rest assured’ she is probably wearing pyjamas! Ever since she was a child, whenever she stepped foot into her home after a long day, pyjamas or loungewear were her go to to feel relaxed and comfortable. And now she has just launched her own sleepwear business, Sleep On It, bringing together a range of fabulous brands into a one-stop-PJ-shop.
Firstly, tell us a bit about your family and the kids.
I have three children 3-7 years, two girls and a boy. To say the last seven years hasn’t been busy would be a lie! My husband is in banking and works a lot, but when we get a chance we love to travel and spend as much family time as possible. I’ll have two in school next year so life will be different again. I love being a mum and creating my business was something that gave me an outlet to my role as a mother.
What were you doing career-wise before you had the kids?
Before I had children I was actually in childcare, but decided after children I didn’t have desire to go back. I’m a bit of a jack of all trades. I’ve dabbled in lots of various roles across the board but never really stuck to one career for long before becoming a mum.
And post kids?
I started Sleep On It because I wanted to have the flexibility to work my own hours and to create a business that I was passionate about and would enjoy working on day to day.
Obviously you LOVE pyjamas. What other inspiration was there behind starting Sleep On It?
My drive for starting the business was to step away from the mama role slightly and to have something of my own that I could create and work on. To create a passion for myself that was me not just Kate the mum. Sleep On It came from a place of loving women’s lounge/sleepwear of course (a little too much) but I also wanted to have an easy online store that could house some well known and new great Aussie brands.
What has been the biggest challenge starting an online store?
The biggest challenge has to be knowing what will work and what won’t. Also buying stock what you think may sell compared to what actually does. Being found online is often like a needle in a haystack, driving potential customers to my site has been more challenging then expected but it has for sure been a learning curve. I have learnt a lot and continue too each day.
What’s your fave thing about being a mum?
My favourite thing about being a mum is that total love and affection you receive daily. You could have had the worst day in the world and feel like a failure but your children are always there thinking and telling you you are the most amazing person in the world. In their eyes you are there hero and that’s a beautiful thing.
What’s your all-time favourite brand of pyjamas?
My all time favourite brand of pyjamas has to be Papinelle. I stock this brand because they are highly quality, beautiful printed pieces. They have a huge range and a nice med price range.
What are your favourite go-to’s in the North for food and fun with the kids?
The North has a lot to offer. We live right near the Maribyrnong river so plenty to do down there with cafes and great walks and parks. We love the zoo which is close by and our local cafes in Union Road are great for kids.
Parenting three kids would have it’s laughs and bumps. Care to share with us your funniest parenting moment to date?
The other day we planned to take the kids to the fairy park down near Geelong. They were so excited! We packed a lunch, treats the works, it took us two hours to get there. We arrived and it was closed! So typical for us! We ate lunch in the carpark and drove back and promised to go to the Melbourne Zoo as we felt so bad. After some serious footy traffic we got to the zoo and we were there 30mins before it closed!!
It was pretty typical of us! But we laughed as it was ridic we didn’t check.
And finally, where can we find you?
You can find Sleep On It at www.sleeponit.com.au or pop over to our insta page: @sleep_on_it_au or facebook: sleep on it store