Growing up on an isolated wheat and sheep farm, meant that my Mum made all of my clothes, including my undies!
I had no interest in learning how to sew, as Mum was a whiz at it, but I was keen on playing designer by drawing my next matching tracksuit I wanted for winter. After a trip to Bargain Box Fabrics in town (an hour away), a snappy light blue and white fabric was bought, and away we went.
Fast forward to studying a Fashion degree, while juggling 3 kids at school and kinder, it all seemed to come together; a love for clothes, and a way to have a career doing what I loved. As the kids got older, I was able to spend more time working, and absolutely thrived on it.
That all changed when it was my turn to be the last one standing at the Breast Screen clinic, with all the nurses staying silent, but their sad eyes told me everything.
Two weeks later, after surgery, and I get a phone call from Mum's Doctor. She's been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Wow. Knock out punch.
Suddenly, I knew what to do. I felt silly for working such long hours, and neglecting my wellness. I no longer took my good health for granted. I resigned and looked after my Mum until she was better.
The great thing about finding cancer early, is that you make really good decisions about how you actually want your life to look;
1. Is it good for me?
2. Is it good for the family?
It gave me the opportunity to take a leap of faith and work from home. As I was setting up my personal styling business and fashion blog, I came across Rex McLeod, owner of the EEZY fabric comb for the last 35+ years. I found his story, and that of the fabric comb, so interesting that I bought the company!
He’d bought the business from the original inventor, and had run the business successfully by selling the blue EEZY comb to haberdashery wholesalers, and the larger wooden-handle comb to the dry cleaning industry. It had sold millions within Australia, and many countries around the world. What’s fascinating to me, is that there had barely been any returns in the 35+ years it’s been selling. He mentions that there was just one person who returned it, and said that it didn’t “work”. lol
I remember seeing the EEZY comb at a counter at a Laura Ashley shop in Melbourne’s CBD, about 15 years ago, and I was so excited that I’d found a little tool that would fix my knit jumpers! I bought quite a few that day for myself and family, as they weren’t expensive, and I still have them today. I’m so passionate about this product, and the larger comb, as I know they’re such a handy little tool. They won’t break, they won’t damage the knits, they don’t need batteries, and they last forever!
My mission is to let people around the world know about this handy little tool that they can buy and use all their lives, and maybe their grandkids too. It’s an Australian icon, and the very first fabric comb invented. I have the original drawings dated 1970, and they’re such a treasure to have. Each and every detail of the combs are designed to just work really well. It’s old fashioned and I love it.
Watch the video below from when I met Rex and learnt all about the EEZY comb: