The past few months, I have had the utmost pleasure of getting to know Lorna, the pun-loving Aussie lady behind Cheerily.Co – a ridiculously adorable store for new parents and kiddos. Keep reading along until the end of this post to find out how you can WIN $50 to Cheerily.Co! Don’t want to wait until the giveaway is over to pick up some Cheer of your own? Use code “MUCHMOSTDARLING15” at checkout to save 15% off your order! (Expires 4/30/16)
Lorna is an Aussie expat living in San Francisco where she has been running Cheerily since their launch in September of 2015. Before delivering cuteness to doorsteps around the world, Lorna was working in tech, most recently at Google (!!) which she left to pursue her dreams and go all in on her business.
Before her career in tech, Lorna actually studied design, including a minor in textiles, so fashion has always been a passion of hers. A fun side aspect of her job with Cheerily is that it is now necessary for Lorna to spend time on Instagram and Pinterest, which are conveniently platforms for both of these things!
H has always been a mamas boy – he was quite literally attached to me for the first year of his life in some type of carrier, and has always been happier and more comfortable if I’m within arm’s reach of him. At over 2 years of age, I’m still guilty of laying with him for bed time, because he sleeps so much better and for so much longer when he has someone me next to him. If you’ve ever seen my SnapChat, it’s usually littered of H and mama snuggles, because its just our way of life. People love to joke and tease and tell me that I better make sure H gets bigger than a Twin XL bed when he goes to college so that I can go with him, and as much of a damper as it is on my work load, I know it won’t last forever and one of these days he won’t want me to lay down with him for his naps or bedtime.
Because he is still such a cuddle bug, the second I saw Cheerily.Co’s tee, I was sold. I love the play on “the struggle is real”, partly because that’s how I used to view our co-sleeping situation, but also because its just so dang adorable and, pardon the pun, but fits us to a T! It will be interesting to see what our sleeping situation looks like once our new bundle of joy arrives later this year. Part of me thinks we’ll just have big cuddle puddle sleeps, as H does not like to give up his time with me, and I’m selfishly hoping that this new babe will be as much of a sleep lover as H was. I have the sweetest pictures in my mind of my two littles and I curled up on a giant mattress snoozing away with our huge Pit, Clyde, snuggled up to our feet. H and the baby will, of course, be wearing their matching The Snuggle Is Real tees, and I’ll probably be in the same yoga pants and tee shirt I was in the day before, but my heart will be full and my body will be resting – what could be better?!
Right around the time Instagram became cooler than Facebook, Lorna’s feed began seeing an increasing number of bumps and babies, sprinkled between selfies and brunch pics. She doesn’t have kids herself but Lorna always wanted to celebrate her friends’ new arrivals; however many of her new-parent friends lived far away and she grew tired of sending them overpriced flowers. When she was looking online, many of the gifting sights that Lorna found lacked cool baby products, and her other go-to sites didn’t cater to newborns and little ones very well.
Rather than be deterred, or get discouraged, Lorna decided to take it upon herself to make her own baby gifts, which she would “toggle together, wrap, package up and then trundle down to the post office to get it weighed and finally sent off”. Somewhere in that process, Lorna would also have some confusing conversation with a baby store associate about what pants would fit a six-month-old. And so, the idea for was born!
When trying to come up with a name that was the best fit for her new business, Lorna reflected on the feelings of finding out friends were having a baby. She was playing around with the word “cheer” and her boyfriend added the “-ily” at the end (because he thinks any good name has to be fun and easily yelled out loud, he calls it the ‘yell test’ – seriously).
Lorna has so many inspirational people to count, but an interview on The Great Discontent with artist Elle Luna was definitely a fire starter for her to leave her job and put everything into this idea she had. Tina Roth Eisenberg is also a huge inspiration, she is a champion of pursuing side projects you’re passionate about, or problems you want to solve.
Prioritizing is the key aspect that Lorna credits to being able to balance her life and business. She knows that at any given time, “you can probably only do 10% of all the work you could be doing, so you just have to make sure it’s the 10% that matters”. On a practical level, Lorna tries to write down 2-3 key tasks each day, and make sure that whatever happens, they get worked on.
When she’s not busy running Cheerily.Co, Lorna would like to say she’d be going for a run, or at the farmers markets, but in reality you’d just as easily find her eating cheddar puffs and online shopping in bed. She is a big believer in trying out the things that scare you – which is how she ended up doing a stand up comedy course, and dabbled in ocean swimming!
Looking around Cheerily.Co’s shop, it was almost impossible for me to pick a favorite out of the bunch for H and baby Bear. According to Lorna, The Snuggle Is Real tee is definitely the favorite with customers, which is no surprise to me, considering that is the item we ended up choosing! The Snuggle tee was one of the first puns that Lorna dreamt up and printed for friends’ kids tees, even before the business began, and she is so glad it has been so well received. However, Lorna’s personal favorite would have to be the organic ‘because they’re the first piece she custom made from scratch! Lorna also went through huge efforts to importantly source the best organic fabric and ensure all of our sewers were treated fairly, and worked under happy conditions.
Something that was very evident to myself when speaking with Lorna, and then again when we received our tees, is that Cheerily.Co is run on a very high moral ground. They put a lot of effort into ensuring everything in the store is sweat-shop free, and employ sustainable practices wherever possible – for example, even the packaging is 100% recycled, with at least 50% post consumer waste and made in America. Cheerily.Co also donates 5% of their gross profits to supporting charities benefitting infants in developing countries, and last quarter it was to Embrace. It’s part of Lorna’s philosophy that dressing our babes shouldn’t come at a cost to others!
These sweet tees will be something I will treasure forever. The matching Snuggle tees are officially the first pieces we have gotten for H and baby Bear, and thus will always hold a sweet place in my heart. I can’t think of a more fitting person or company to which this special memory should be given. If you have a little one yourself, or are in need of the perfect baby shower gift for a new mom or parent, I urge you to check out Cheerily.Co and have one (or a few!) of their beautiful original pieces of clothing, accessories, or baby toys delivered their way! And remember to use code “MUCHMOSTDARLING15” at checkout to save 15% off your order! (Expires 4/30/16)
This giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. This giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S., 18 years of age or older.
I love those shirts and everything else she got in her shop. A mom to be would be in heaven. Well, I know what I'm going to get my sister when she finally announces she is pregnant 🙂 Thanks for supporting a small business and introducing me to a new artisan!
Isn't her shop adorable? There are WAY too many cute things to choose from!
I love the snuggle is real shirt! So so darling!! I'm going to pick out some stuff for my newly pregnant sister in law! x
I need a snuggle is real shirt! That is too cute.
Oh my goodness, these shirts are so stinkin cute!!!
Adorable tees!
I saw your post on insta and now am obsessed with this shop! They have the cutest stuff
How cute are those shirts?! So darling.
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I love those shirts, too stinken cute!
The photos are so cute! you both look stunning with those cool tshirts hehe!
So cute are the tees but the little munchkin there is definitely cuter!
Super cute shirt to have with the little ones. I would to get one for me and my daughter that we can wear 🙂
Snuggles are always the best. I am guilty of taking advantage of the time the twins were in dire need of my service, especially when it comes to hugs! Kids are just the sweetest. I admire Lorna for never giving up, it's really nice to know the background stories of these amazing clothing stores!
The snuggle shirt is adorable. And the kids are cute too.
Lovely clothing, I love your pictures! Hope I win!
Nice giveaway! Too bad it's only for US residents 🙁
That is so cute! Love the shirt. Thanks for sharing!
How adorable! I'd love one for my snuggle dependent baby!
These are adorable the shirt great gift for parents with little one.
I don't have any more little ones but I wouldn't mind a shirt in my size. I love to cuddle. Even though I'm single….hm, maybe the cat and dog will like a good snuggle. Lol.
My goodness, these shirts are quiet adorable, a wonderful baby shower gift that anyone would fall in love. The pictures are super cute & the Giveaway sounds so interesting that I would love to give it a try.
Cute photos and those TEES, they are awesome too. Love it!
I love this t-shirt, so fab, and he looks so cute in it
I love it! Congrats to her for following her passion. I am right behind her
These are so very cute. I love clever designs.
I'm so loving the 'USA Love' Wooden Shaker
Cute t-shirts! I love them!
My son is the same. He's 10 but thankfully still snuggles with Mama.
That snuggle shirt is the best!
Super cute. Everything is awesome! Love them 🙂