About us
Who is sunshine and Raebows?
This is me, Maddy. I'm a disabled single mum of one, my daughter is who inspired me to start our business adventure. While I struggled massively during pregnancy and didn't feel able to return back to work due to worsening symptoms. I took the leap to start sunshine and Raebows, hoping I could manage better while being my own boss.
I suffer from HEDS and bertolotti syndrome which causes chronic pain throughout my whole body. Working at my own pace has tremendously reduced my dislocations, nerve pain and flare ups. While also being able to care for my daughter. Eds is a connective tissue condition that can affect every part of your body, including heart, lungs, diaphragm, stomach and of course your skin.
Even with all this going on each item of clothing that leaves Sunshine and Raebows is handmade with your little one and you in mind. All items are stress tested and stamped with a label to avoid irritation, I know I hyperfocus on an itchy label for hours. Made with ease for those that struggle with hand pain. Stretchy cuffs, options for elasticated openings, minimal snap closures and Criss cross fronts.
We have items suitable for heart warriors, tube feeding, UCI and so much more. Because no one should be left out, we are always happy to customise items to your needs. Whether it be for your baby or for yourself.
Why did sunshine and Raebows start?
during my pregnancy throughout the 2020 pandemic we were met with the massive hit on nappies, baby clothing and maternity clothes. The panic set in that we weren't going to be able to cloth our child or guarantee our daughter would have fresh nappies. So I got my sewing machine out and ordered some cheap fabric. It didn't take me long to get to a standard I was happy with, I've always been a crafty person and studied textiles in college. But I did discover that cheap fabric was not only a nightmare to sew, the smell, feel and comfort was not something I liked against my skin. Let alone a babies. So I went online and trialled dozens of fabric fabrics that had flourished due to the hobby starters. And that is when my mission truly started...
Why are we different to fast fashion shops?
we set up our business for two reasons to start with. The longevity of baby clothing with in the fast fashion industry is very very poor, their whole business plan is to guarantee money every 2 months when you're child our grows the sizes. But while that may look cheap, the first 5 years of a childs life can cost a fortune. Not to mention where those clothes go afterwards. I wanted to change that, give people the option to something different. Grow with me clothing, one piece that will last X3 as long if not longer than your standard fast fashion item. Reducing the waste fashion makes one item at a time.
Our second mission was to get rid of that gender stereotype of princesses for girls and cars or football for boys. But we had to think outside the box, exclusive to us fabrics. Designed by like minded people, supporting other small businesses along the way. Move out the way blue and pink!
But what are we doing to make sure we are doing our part?
we care about our delicate skin and our planet because we only have one. All our fabrics are printed on the highest quality of cotton jersey we could find with a printing system that would give our designs the best outcome, not just for detail but for longevity. When something is being washed and worn for 3yrs every week you need the fabric to hold up, and the print to stay vibrant. Our fabrics are 95-97% cotton with 3-5% elastane to give it the stretch it needs. We use almost all of our fabric, cutting items out in a waste free manner. All large scraps are then used for wipes, accessories or patchwork garments. Those small pieces used for stuffing or recycled locally. We only print what is wanted with our preorder system. And use our left over fabrics for items that we know will sell. We use cardboard and paper tapes for packaging and have minimal packaging that just ends up in the bin anyway.