Melina Howe launched her business, Pimp my highchair, two years ago, with the focus on making highchairs look prettier, hence the original name, which effectively meant to ‘pimp out the highchair.
Her first product, the Footsi, is a highchair footrest for little ones which meant no more dangling feet at breakfast, lunch or dinner time.
“I was always fascinated with the idea of creating something from scratch that could be used by mums or bubs around the world,” she says.
“It only really struck me one day when I noticed how much my daughters’ legs were dangling at her highchair and how uncomfortable it must have been for her.”
After a few prototypes and many man hours with help of her aunty and uncle, the Footsi was born.
“I managed to convince my aunty to help me stitch a few samples together so I could show my manufacturer. It was a big effort and we finally got some samples together after a few long nights,” she laughs.
However, Howe recently underwent a rebranding of her company to Nibble and Rest, as she has started to incorporate other products into her range that don’t necessarily need to be used in the highchair.
“Well, it was kind of a natural progression. The Footsi name was getting out there by itself now, and having more items available on my store, I needed to come up with a name that resonated with my customers but also didn’t take away any importance of the Footsi name.
“I wanted to give more choice to my customers going forward and not wanting to pigeonhole them to the original material Footsi footrest. Nibble and Rest thus allows me to now showcase products that can help our tiny humans through their daily journey, from nibbling to resting.”
This includes the new eco-friendly, bamboo Woodsi Footsi, which was created after customers asked for a straight-out footrest without the prints.
“The level of support from my customers is nothing short of amazing, and I am so appreciative for this. We have sold to customers all over the world and many of them purchase the prints each time I launch a new range, which is just the best. I am so happy I get to share my range with mums all over the world.”
Howe pivoted only recently (during the pandemic) from her full-time role as an accountant into full-time e-commerce with Nibble and Rest.
“The environment is vastly different, but I am able to work the hours I want to work, which I manage to fit around time with the family, including the dinner, bath time and bed routine. It honestly feels like there’s constant work to do with this business, it’s hard to switch off sometimes.
“I just want to keep getting better, making products for my customers that they can use and see a lot of benefit from. I moved away from my accounting role and a little creative switch went off inside me,” she laughs.
