Why I'm Not a Kids Shop (Even Though Kids Products Saved Us)

Here's something that might surprise you: we sell a lot of kids products, but we're not a kids shop.

I know that sounds confusing, so let me explain.

When we first started at South Melbourne Market, my drawings naturally attracted mums and grandmas shopping for children. It wasn't planned – it just happened. And when I saw what was actually selling, I made a practical business decision: pivot to kids products.

That pivot saved us. Especially during COVID, when people were still buying birthday presents and celebrating occasions at home, our kids range kept the business alive. I'm incredibly grateful for that.

But after that period, something became very clear to me: the kids industry is extremely competitive, and it's hard to understand what parents truly need when you don't have kids yourself.

More importantly, I realised that being a "kids shop" would mean answering to what parents need – and that was never what I wanted for this business.

A kids shop is about solving parenting problems. It's about practical solutions, developmental stages, safety standards, and addressing the daily challenges of raising children. That's incredibly valuable work, but it's not my work.

We can only be what we actually are: a gift shop that happens to sell kids products.

Our niche isn't parents buying for their own children's needs. Our niche is people who want something special and uniquely Australian – tourists taking gifts back home, friends overseas wanting something that captures the spirit of Melbourne, people looking for that perfect present that isn't generic.

We're not competing with kids shops because we're not trying to be one. We're staying in our lane, and that lane is all about gifts with personality, products with a story, and designs that make people smile.

The kids products didn't just save our business financially – they taught me an invaluable lesson about knowing what you are and what you're not. You can't be everything to everyone. And trying to be will only dilute what makes you special in the first place.

So yes, we sell kids products. But ask me what we really are, and I'll tell you: we're a gift shop with heart, creating products that carry a little piece of Australia wherever they go.