Interview with little the label

Q&A with one of my favourite people Kalani Rockett, Founder and Designer of little. Slow, considered & ethical fashion for spirited little humans with sizes from 0-8. Kalani and I worked together years ago in fashion and have remained close friends ever since.

Kalani! I love you. When did you start the brand?

Katie! I love you too - I started officially working on little in Sept 2021. It was something I had been thinking about for a while but didn't have the confidence in myself to take the leap. The whole idea behind starting little was so I could spend more time with my kids, so I wanted to make sure that what I was creating was considered thoroughly for longevity, play and movement and that the process of manufacturing wasn’t harming the environment as ultimately that is their future. 

How do you balance work with family?

Sometimes not very well haha! I find something is always a little off kilter and I generally always have that underlying anxiety that I'm forgetting something haha….. but I am getting better at managing it all. Poppy started school this year and I wasn’t prepared for all of the additional life admin that adds!  A diary has helped tremendously, Lunch orders are a godsend and I have learnt that its ok for you to not be on your A game all the time. When it becomes a bit much, or I notice I'm more frazzled than normal  - I scale back and reprioritise, and remind myself why I started this business! Kids will always come first, so I try to split my focus and will be in either little zone or rockett family zone, as trying to be in two mindsets at once is impossible. Sometimes it's hard to be in creative mode /  little zone during the set hours I have alone while the girls are at school / Kindy so I try not to push it if I'm not feeling it. 

What is your favourite thing about running a business?

So far there is so much I have loved. The newfound confidence in myself and my abilities has been probably the biggest thing. There are of course moments where you do have that doubt creep in - but I have really learnt to trust my instincts and 9 times out of 10 my intuition has guided me in the right direction. Also the contact with customers honestly fuels me and gives me so much gratitude. To receive positive feedback and kind words about little, is such a good feeling. It always seems to come in abundance at a time where I really need it too Haha! I also love that you get to do a bit of everything. Previously in my roles working in women’s fashion - I would have a role that I would stick to so I love the variation I now get to enjoy.

Describe your typical work day?

First priority is always getting the kids organised and off to school. I then work on little from about 9.30am - 3pm so it's a pit stop for a coffee and then home to scan over emails + do a quick social media inbox check. Then we pick and pack all orders ready to be dispatched. Once that is done - it's onto the other less time critical tasks. We’re waiting on our first winter drop so today I am following up with our shipping carrier on a delivery date. I’m in the middle of planning our winter shoot. I will spend most of my day on this, as this is always a favourite process for me!  When I’m in the middle of designing a range the day is very different and will often involve a lot of back and forth with my manufacturer and production manager. Where we’ll be sending each other fabric swatches and pantone colour codes back and forth, checking over sizing charts and discussing samples that are still in the development phase. If we have samples here in development - I send Sylvie, our youngest, to kindly check them to assess how durable they are! Whether they wash well, tear easily or if there are any annoying seams etc. Sylvie is my wild child so she really gives those samples a thorough testing haha! Lots of time is generally spent on combing over those before a design / fabrication is approved.

What challenges have you faced?

So far my biggest challenge has been stock levels, our first collection has sold so well in particular sizes. Some of our bigger sizes have not sold through which I was really surprised at. Not many kids brands go beyond a size 5 which sets us apart from many other brands and yet everyone snapped up the smaller sizes so fast I couldn't keep much in stock! This is why we opened up pre orders for those styles that customers just keep wanting as it means we can plan based on the size needs of our customers. Also my desire to use recycled cottons! This was a big challenge for me - and a really unexpected one, it is still a work in progress and something I will forever try to work on including. Unfortunately recycled cotton just didn't hold up with our kids! Because the fibres have been rewoven they are not as strong or durable as regular cotton so I had to make a decision based on the long term use of the fabric instead 100% sustainable! I am determined to include it in future collections so watch this space! 

How is little considered & ethical?

I love that you have asked me this! This is something that is so important to me, and at the very core of every decision I make my own values and ethics as a human are considered and guide me. We have a strict code of conduct with our manufacturers and extend this code of conduct back further through our supply chain (through our manufacturers). It focuses on both People and the environment. When it comes to the human beings who make your clothing, it's about ensuring employment has been freely chosen, that employees earn a living wage, working hours are not excessive, and that all working conditions are safe and hygienic (just some of the main focuses). In terms of the environment, any partner we or our manufacturer works with must adhere to Responsible water and chemical usage, have an emission strategy and a responsible waste strategy. This is the area I spent the most time working on when little was in its early stages. 

In terms of the actual product we offer, I am always considering the life cycle of the garment. Is it timeless, will it withstand the normal movement and play of kids, will it wash well etc. As well as the fabrications chosen. There are times where function and longevity require us to use some synthetic fabrics but as a general rule we avoid them as much as we can. We also produce QUALITY clothing that lasts, we want our customers to invest in pieces we know their kids will be able to wear over and over again and then for those pieces to be handed onto other kids to love, which encourages a more considered approach to purchasing an item in the first place. 

Who are you inspired by?

I draw a lot of inspiration from my own kids! Somehow they are the coolest people I know HAHA. They also just have ZERO filter so they will tell me if they are not into something, and I think there is a lot to learn from listening to them and their needs as kids. To not have their movement restricted and to be able to play freely without. In saying this - I tend to create miniature versions of things I would like to wear myself as I LOVE being comfortable so I am inspired by a lot of adult brands that I like to wear like Blanca, Nagnata, Bassike and madre natura. I am also heavily inspired by Korean fashion, the ease of wearing something that hasn't been tailored to a point where you have to be the exact size on the label to pull it off. I love clothing that can be cuffed, have a sleeve or hem rolled and that is timeless and easy to style my own way and I think that comes through quite strongly in little. 

What process do you go through to create a new collection?

I tend to start with a colour scheme, then think about function, the season I am creating the collection for and then this filters down to individual designs. I find the collection will evolve from there, often the collection will change as fabrics are sourced. I am such a visual person so I like to see lots of options for texture and colour. Ultimately though the styles offered in the collection will need to meet function and longevity goals as that is the main focus of little.

What can we expect to see next?

We have a really fun winter range coming which I am so excited about. More timeless and unisex designs and some best sellers that have been reinvented for the cooler months. We’ve also had a HUGE request from mums and dads to make adults sizes. To be honest the idea of this terrifies me haha. I never even anticipated i’d be here so soon so who knows!