Natures Sway founding director, Kate Hornblow, created the original New Zealand made baby hammock back in 1993, for her first born child, Madelynn. The business has gone on to be a global success story.
The Natures Sway hammock was inspired by the traditional hanging beds used in Malaysia and Singapore, which she saw as providing babies with a soothing and supportive environment.
20 years on, Kate still enthuses about this unique product.
The hammock worked like magic, especially when I was able to take Madi to the Titirangi Market and she could still have her usual sleep safely hanging from a tree branch. People saw my happily sleeping baby and Natures Sway was born!
Kate has recently modified the original hammock so that it has slightly less curve, and new parents can be fully reassured that baby will sleep safely on their back with good air-flow.
Baby will self-settle in the comfortable and gentle bounce of their familiar bed and it’s extremely portable, so you can still keep a good sleeping routine during those crucial and most precious few months, wherever you are. Also, being able to keep the hammock close by makes it even better than a baby monitor!
Kate designed her second product, the diagonal baby sling, when son Toby came along in 1995.
“Back in the 90’s it was rather unusual to carry your baby, but nowadays baby-wearing is growing in popularity.
“We’re so excited to see this trend reaching mainstream society as it provides such huge emotional, mental and social benefits and research now supports the fact that human contact is a basic need. Babies need lots of cuddling and touch for optimal development – baby wearing is a comfortable and ergonomic way for parent and baby to bond.
“Striking the right balance between fulfilling the constant needs of baby and staying on top of everything else is life-enhancing for everyone, and certainly it makes it much easier for parents and caregivers to manage everyday tasks with baby on board!”
As a business, Natures Sway got their big break when they were contracted to supply top quality baby hammocks to Switzerland.
From humble beginnings, they have grown into a viable international company with distributors in Scandinavia and Japan, but they remain responsive to their customers needs.
“Being a small-medium business enables us to constantly improve on design features and accessories as we can respond quickly to customer feedback.
“Our success has largely been due to the positive comments from satisfied customers who have shared their experiences with other expectant parents. Our main message of advice for those overwhelmed by the endless choice of baby products is to keep it simple and trust your instincts.
“We promote natural beds and organic fabrics as much as possible, as a way of staying healthy and balanced in the demanding modern environment”.
The dedicated team at Natures Sway love that they can invest their time in producing quality products. With an eye on the fact that many carriers are manufactured from synthetic fabrics, they recently extended their carrier range to include the organic Pouch Pack and Carry Wrap. Items are made and packed to order, which means that every item leaves the factory with someone’s special baby in mind, and Kate remains optimistic about the future.
There is now a whole new generation of Kiwis in the child bearing years and it delights us to see them planning ahead when they see our beautiful baby hammocks and carriers.
Natures Sway will be at their favourite spot at ‘The Baby Show’ this year, one of the highlights of the year. As usual there will be excellent show specials on all of their products!
Go here to check out more Natures Sway products.
