Love from Afar

It's taken a long time but finally I am happy to announce that the new HB 100% Sheepskin Scuffs are ready to pre-order from today, for delivery on Mother's Day (lockdown conditions of shipping depending).

I thought a lot about launching a new product during this odd, uncharted period of time. Supporting the local makers is even more important to me now than ever because right now, transparency means safety.

When starting creating products for my HB brand, it was essential for me to work with people who shared my work ethics and believed as much as I did in sustainability, transparency and community. This is why I always spend months researching Kiwi manufacturing options for HB before launching any product.

I have often been told me that I make my life harder being so picky about suppliers and that there are easier, cheaper options. But I am not interested in easier and cheaper options if it means I don't know how my products are made or if they are made in a way that doesn't align with my values. It's important for me to know how the people I partner with work and think. And not just the top line info. The finer details. Consciously choosing my partners is essential to me.

This is why I know every single person involved in the making of each of my product. When I say I know them, I do know more than their first name. I know about their background, about their ways of manufacturing because I have seen them working on my products. For some, I know what tea or coffee they like, for others what they do in their weekends or what they have planted in the garden.I do know each of the people who create my products. And because I got to know them, I trust them. 

So as I launch this new product today, I reflect on these partnerships that need taking care of as we are navigating the troubled waters of a pandemic and its economical fallout.

More than ever I want to support these people I respect professionally and personally. Because they care just like I do about making safe products that others will gift someone they love or enjoy for themselves.

Those scuffs are more than mere slippers to me. They are a gesture of integrity and love. Which is why I wanted to launch them to celebrate Mother's Day.

Wishing you all a good week. Stay safe.

Helen x