From hidden nursing clips to leggings that expand over your baby bump: Mumpreneur designs range of active wear especially for pregnant women
- Joanne Shepherd is a teacher and mum-of-two from Perth, Australia
- She has created a line of activewear for pregnant women and nursing mums
- The range, MummActiv, has tops that allow mums to breastfeed easily
- The leggings are designed to accommodate a growing baby bump
In the past couple of years, active wear has gone from something people are embarrassed to be seen in outside the gym to a sleek statement and full on fashion trend.
But despite the hundreds of new brands popping up, there was still gaps in the market: namely, active wear for pregnant and postpartum women.
That's what Joanne Shepherd, a mum-of-two from Perth Australia, realised in early 2016.
Baby bump! A mum from Perth, Australia, has created a line of active wear specifically for pregnant women
Baby on board: Joanne Shepherd (pictured) came up with the idea for her line, MummActiv, when she was breastfeeding her son
The 39-year-old was nursing her newborn son and started thinking about how inappropriate most active wear was for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
So Ms Shepherd, who works as a primary school teacher and personal trainer, decided to try and make her own.
The mum, who had no experience in design and manufacturing, then created her own brand, MummActiv, and had the pieces on sale by October of the same year.
'I wanted to create something fashionable and practical,' Ms Shepherd told Daily Mail Australia.
'Fashionable and practical': The 39-year-old realised there was a gap in the market for active wear aimed at mums
Clever: The tops in the range all have hidden nursing clips so mums can breastfeed easily
The range, which currently includes crop tops, leggings and shorts, is designed for mums but can be worn by those without children.
'They're tops where you can feed easily, but not make it obviously a nursing top,' the 39-year-old explained. 'A lot of my stuff has hidden nursing clips.'
'With the leggings, it’s not just a band at the top that expands, it's engineered so it sits under the belly bump so it's not restricting.
'And mums don’t have to buy it just for those nine months and after. I have women who buy them who aren't mums, because they’re comfy and they like the designs .'
Stretchy: While the leggings can accommodate a growing baby bump
Coming soon: Ms Shepherd is also launching new products, and hopes to one day have her range in international stores
The range has proven successful, with Ms Shepherd already breaking even and hoping to be profitable within a year.
Ultimately her goal for MummActiv is for it to be stocked internationally, particularly in stores in New York.
She's also about to launch some new products, including shorts with bladder leakage control and tops that can be worn swimming or running.
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