The story behind Messy Little Thing

Like all good inventions, Messy Little Thing was born out of necessity. I wanted my daughter to enjoy her food, explore the texture, squish it if she wanted to and watch it dribble down her sleeve without me fussing about keeping her clothes clean. Yet I couldn’t find a bib that did what it was meant to. Keep clothes clean.  

When my daughter, Emily, was 7 months, I’d been weaning her for a few weeks but it felt longer. Every night I would be stood at the kitchen sink, scrubbing stained clothes and sighing at the latest ineffective bib I’d just bought. If only there was a long bib that completely covered her clothes.  It would need to fasten closely around her neck and wrists. It would need to cover her lap and legs as well…

I looked for a bib like this online but there wasn’t one.  With a sneaking feeling that I was onto something, I got my sewing machine out started cutting and sewing bibs whilst Emily napped during the day and then test-drove them on her at meal times.

It wasn’t just the shape of the bibs on the market that bothered me, it was the fabrics. Most were cotton that took time to dry or they were hard plastic which wasn’t nice against my baby’s skin.  The fabric I found does it all. It’s made in the UK, it’s soft to touch, 100% toxin free, water repellent and extremely quick to rinse and dry.  I promise you, you will not believe how light it is! Perfect for enabling your child full movement when eating and playing.

I was so chuffed when friends loved the practical design and asked me to make some for them too. I then realised other people might also like to get their hands on one.  I worked on fine tuning my long bib design with local manufacturers in North East England and sourced the best materials to create the most effective bibs on the market.

As my daughter has grown, so have the range of bibs. There are now five long bib styles to suit a six-month-old through to toddler stage. I have also designed the simple but amazingly versatile Messy Mat.

 

Dawn-Elizabeth Howe
Founder