Media
Swimsuit a fit for water babes - Herald Sun
September 2006
Caroline Hume is making a huge splash with her swimsuit range.
Not only is she creating ripples in the Australian market, she is doing big business overseas.
Ms Hume, who launched the Cuddle Fish range in 2003, is now exporting to six countries, including the lucrative US market.
While she continues to refine the Cuddle Fish range, a buoyancy suit for children, aged 18 months to six years, is the flagship product.
The mother of two came up with the concept after the birth of her second child, now aged four.
Ms Hume, who has a teaching and marketing background, said she had seen a buoyancy suit in France when she was living overseas and thought there could be a market for a similar product in Australia.
"I saw a gap in the market. We swim a lot and I have 20 nieces and nephews and mum has a pool," she said.
Ms Hume said her brother, a lawyer, carried out some research and found the design had not been registered here in Australia. She registered her design with IP Australia which looks after copyright, patents and the like in Australia.
Ms Hume said she also sought advice from Standards Australia to develop the product for local conditions.
The nylon lycra suit is designed to have floats slotted around the middle to aid buoyancy. As the child gains confidence in the water the floats can be removed.
"The design of the floats helps children gain water confidence while they swim," she said.
She said children learned to swim quickly with the aid of the suit which retails just under $70.
For Australian conditions the fabric had to offer high UV protection, she said.
Ms Hume said she was never afraid to ask what some would think were silly questions. "I would ask naive questions to a lot of suppliers," she said.
Ms Hume said she used the Yellow Pages to track down manufactures, finally settling on one in St Albans.
