Meet the Founder of Dear Hayden, Functional and Fashionable Baby Clothes
Nicole Reilley knows what it takes to launch a baby clothing brand, because she’s just done it. Today we had the opportunity to ask Nicole, an experienced Chicago New Moms Group member and new brand founder, a few questions about her brand that’s so sweetly named after her first child. Celebrate the launch of Dear Hayden by sharing dearhayden.com with your new mom friends, and shop functional, high-quality, stylish baby clothing.
Keep reading for an exclusive CNMG reader discount!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and Dear Hayden.
My name is Nicole Reilly and I live in Logan Square with my husband, 3 1/2-year-old daughter Hayden, 22-month-old son Julien, and two dogs, Diego and Charlie. I have participated in the Chicago new mom's group twice after each of my kids were born and can say without a doubt it was the highlight of my "maternity leave" and I always recommend it to new mom friends. I was a Chicago Public School elementary teacher up until I had my daughter. I loved teaching and was very happy at my school and had planned on returning to teaching but really enjoyed spending my days with my baby girl and knew the baby stage would be over before I knew it so I surprised myself and decided to stay at home with her. Just short of two years later I had my son and I was feeling ready to work again but knew I wanted to do something that would allow me the flexibility to spend time with my kids and be present while they were still young. It was around this time that I came up with the idea for Dear Hayden.
Dear Hayden is a baby and children's wear line that makes beautiful, high-quality pieces that are also extremely functional. Many of our pieces have functional and thoughtful details like hidden magnets, adjustable straps, and easy to use neck openings. Each piece has been designed with the squirmy baby and busy parent in mind. Our first drop features knitwear made from 100% organic cotton. We chose organic cotton because it is incredibly soft, gentle on babies' delicate skin, environmentally friendly, and machine washable. Our next drop will launch late winter/early spring and will feature baby and kids' closet staples like pajamas, leggings, bodysuits, tees, and more.
Can you share the story of Dear Hayden? The process to creating the line, your design inspo, etc?
As a new mama to two young kids, I fell in love with baby clothes and dressing my kiddos. I was drawn to beautiful pieces that had annoying buttons from head to toe. I had tried magnetic pajamas and loved them but wondered why the same kind of thing didn't exist for daywear. Why wasn't there a brand that made pieces that were equally beautiful and functional?
The very first idea for a piece that inspired me to bring the brand to life was a knit romper with beautiful wood buttons on the front but hidden magnets sewn into the garment for easy changes. Once I had the concept in my mind for the brand as well as some ideas for pieces in the first collection, I started looking into finding someone with design experience to make the technical files as well as factories to produce the garments. I found a wonderful designer in Spain who used to design clothes for Zara's newborn line.
Together we made mood boards, shared inspiration images, discussed color palettes, and went back and forth until we had a collection we loved. I've always loved baby pieces from Zara as well as Rylee and Cru and an amazing brand from Germany called Hejlenki. Those brands definitely inspired my aesthetic. My designer created technical files based on our ideas and then we sent those technical files to the factories. We chose to work with two factories in Portugal. Portugal is known for high-quality workmanship in the textile industry and these factories had expertise in childrenswear as well as a commitment to sustainability. The factories developed patterns for the garments and then made samples of each style, which they sent to me to try on my "fit mode", my son. I gave them feedback on the samples, they made changes and then sent new samples. We went back and forth until I was happy with the results. Once the samples were approved, we went into mass production to make the quantities needed for our drop.
What makes Dear Hayden different from other children's clothing brands?
Functionality, sustainability, and our commitment to giving back. Each of our pieces has been designed to be extremely functional and make changes a breeze. While designing our first collection, I learned a lot about what goes into making the clothes we buy, and making our brand as sustainable as possible became paramount to me. We chose to work with only GOTS-certified factories, which means they are held to the highest standards for environmental impact as well as treatment of their workers. I knew from the moment that I started the process of creating this brand that I would want to be a brand that gives back. I am so excited to share that we are partnering with Cradles to Crayons Chicago to help kids and families living in poverty in Chicago get the things they need. Cradles to Crayons is an incredible organization and we can't wait to roll out some innovative programs to help support their mission.
As a startup founder, we imagine life is busy. What does a typical day look like for you?
Every day looks a little bit different, but typically, I get my kids out of bed in the morning and we pick out their outfits and they eat breakfast while I sip my coffee. Then I take my daughter to school and my dog to doggy daycare and then head back home to get started on work. Some days I have calls with my designer in Spain or with the factories in Portugal. Some days I have meetings with the team at Ready Pretty who help me with my website, social media, email, and other marketing. In between calls and meetings, I work on the designs for upcoming collections, send emails, fulfill orders, make tik toks (which I'm not very good at ), and about a million other little things. Since we are a new business, I don't have a team yet, so I wear a lot of hats but I'm really enjoying it and it's been a huge learning experience for me. When I am able, I try to eat lunch with my kids before they take a nap and I get more work done. I usually try to do a quick Pilates workout at home while they are napping and then work a little more until the kids get up. Once the kids are up, we play for a little while and then I start working on dinner.
What's your favorite piece from your collection and why?
It's hard to pick just one because I really love them all but I guess I would say the knit romper. It's a beautiful piece and makes changing your babe so easy; it doesn't get better than that.
What's the best advice you've received as a new mom?
I think this applies to being a mom in general and not just a new mom but....I received the advice that taking care of yourself and taking time for yourself makes you a better mom. As a mom it's easy to focus on the kids and what they need and deprioritize yourself. I definitely did this for a while and I found myself getting burnt out and frustrated and I wasn't the best version of myself and therefore not the best mom. Over time, I started to ask for help more and give myself a break to do the things I enjoyed doing before becoming a mom. I found that letting myself step away to get a workout in or go get my nails done or whatever brought me some peace and joy allowed me to return recharged and ready to jump back into parenting with new energy and excitement.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
You are doing a great job . Being a mom can be really hard, amazing, but hard. Just know that the difficult moments will pass and you are the only perfect mama for your baby and they love you exactly the way you are.
Chicago New Moms Group Readers will receive a special discount to use online at www.dearhayden.com for
15% off a purchase with code CNMG15!