PHOTOGRAPHY: Katie Watts
Meet Emma Grant: Founder of the sheepskin brand that has quickly become THE sheepskin brand that mamas turn to to earn/keep their fashion stripes (quite literally). Emma clearly has an eye for curating collections after spending over 10 years as a buyer for Topshop – Perhaps it’s no surprise that the London-based designer spent most of her maternity leave brainstorming ideas for her next project. Enter Binibamba.
Founded just a year ago in 2018 (after Emma had her son Otto), as a response to the lack of chic and modern sheepskin products (particularly buggy liners) for babies, the brand continues to go from strength to strength and now includes a covetable array of designs, colours, stripes, Binibears and a whole handful of exciting collabs with some of our favourite labels.
We caught up with Emma to discuss all things motherhood, Binibamba, and hanging out with her boys…
TELL US ABOUT BINIBAMBA… HOW DID IT ALL COME ABOUT?
Before starting BINIBAMBA I worked as a fashion buyer for over a decade. It was a job I loved but I’d always wanted to give something of my own a go. When my Dad passed away unexpectedly (he’d always encouraged me to do something of my own) I promised myself I would go for it!
Maternity leave gave me that window… and though I wish I’d spent mat leave in the baby bubble – the truth is – I spent most of it brainstorming ideas and freaking out about what the hell I was going to do career wise post baby!
Seeing sheepskin buggy liners pass me by in the street I learnt of the amazing benefits of sheepskin for babies. Yellow tinged liners were everywhere and I realised that there was an opportunity to give this baby essential a modern, fashionable spin in trend led colours & designs that spoke to parents that loved fashion as much as me. BINIBAMBA was born!
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE BRAND’S NAME?
Well this is a story …
Originally the brand was called COCOBAMBA. I had even bought website domains and had started the trademarking process, when a 20 page letter objecting dropped through my door from Chanel.
One week passed… another letter. This time from a company very close in name to COCOBAMBA. After doing some research, I came across a YouTube video of the owner – a woman, a really beautiful American woman. The interviewee was quite persistent asking her repeatedly about her husband, Bruce. ‘What was Bruce like with the kids?’, ‘What’s Bruce like at home’….more googling….. and there I found myself sandwiched between Bruce Willis’s wife & Chanel.
At the time I was devastated. Now I love BINIBAMBA so much more. It’s a name personal to me. Having always spent summers growing up in Menorca, BINI is Catalan for ‘son of’ – I have a little boy called Otto – and it has spawned all the lovely BINIBABES out there & has such a happy ring to it so I suppose…everything happens for a reason!
HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE?
DECAF… I am yawning as I type! I miss the good stuff but after I had Otto I got into a habit of drinking A LOT of coffee and recently decided to switch to decaf.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY…
Ant, Otto & me… my little family! Otto is two and a half and has more energy than both of us put together. He’s our world and I love nothing more than hanging out with my boys.
TOP TRICKS FOR JUGGLING MOTHERHOOD AND BUSINESS?
Coffee (the good stuff) and wine
REPEAT
FAVOURITE THING ABOUT MOTHERHOOD?
Life can be so hectic. What I’ve loved about becoming a Mum is that it stops you in your tracks and gives you an appreciation for the simple things. Nothing beats a giant Otto hug and I have loved seeing the world through his eyes… it makes you see things all over again.
…AND HARDEST THING?
The sleep deprivation… thankfully he now sleeps well but at the beginning it was tough and a total shock to the system. I still miss lie ins A LOT!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU – BUSINESS OR PERSONAL – FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Personally, I would like to get my lazy bum to the gym and keep off the caffeine… but we’ll see how long that lasts!
In BINI world… we have got an action packed run up to Christmas ahead!
We turned one last month which was a huge milestone and there’s some really exciting new products launching. BINIBEARS have just launched and hopefully, if all goes to plan, we’re launching a new Snuggler that’s been over a year in development and is totally new to market. I can’t wait to share!
We have some exciting collaborations in the pipeline too. Another collection with our friends Tiba + Marl launching 1st November and this month we launch our first collection with Charlie Crane Paris with a bespoke sheepskin liner for their bestselling Levo rocker.
It’s keeping me busy that’s for sure!
LASTLY, FAVOURITE BINI PIECE?
Our BLUE ROSE Stripe Snuggler… to me it’s BINIBAMBA through and through. Fun, fashiony and a total statement piece. There’s no need to pick between pink and blue, just earn your fashion stripes with our striped rose and navy merino sheepskin… What could be better?
GO TO: binibamba.com
DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at [email protected]
Inspiration/Image Credits: binibamba.com, Katie Watts
