Hippychick Hipseat - A short history

Julia Minchin, the UK founder of Hippychick, writes about how Hipseat became a reality...

It all really started by mistake about four years ago. With a bad back and a heavy toddler, I was very keen to find a way of carrying my child around that didn’t hurt my back. Every option on the market seemed to pull down on the shoulders, or twist me sideways. Why couldn’t my back and the weight of my child be supported from underneath and around my waist, rather than from above? After speaking to osteopaths and physiotherapists it was clear that there was a much better way of distributing the weight, and the Hippychick Hipseat was born!

It now has a global following – as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and the USA – and it is stocked in over 250 independent nursery stores in the UK, including John Lewis and more recently Boots, as well as being recommended and sold by osteopaths, mail order catalogues, and most notably by parents or carers using them.

As the business grew, and we took on more products, my husband left his job in London. It was a big risk putting all our eggs in one basket but we wanted to give Hippychick our best shot.

As parents we are as concerned as everyone else to give our children the best possible start in life using the most natural, and affordable, things available and so this has been our driving force in building up the Hippychick brand.

After nearly three and a half years of building up Hippychick, it is very satisfying to hear comments from other parents about our products or to see people you don’t know using them as they walk down the street. Feedback – both good and bad – is vital as we develop our business and product range. It is still a roller coaster ride and I am sure we have several years to go before we can start stepping back from the constant day to day management of the business – we now employ five people – but on good days it feels as though we have done the right thing.