Atelier Child founder Jessica Baird on why celebs love her quality kids’ sweaters

LIV Tyler loves them. So does Zoe Foster Blake and Megan Gale. But the jumpers that Jessica Baird makes aren’t for adults.

Jess Baird launched Atelier Child shortly after the birth of her youngest child. Picture: Michelle Proctor

SHE’S the Aussie mum dressing celebrity children around the world, getting handwritten thank you notes from the likes of Liv Tyler and social media love from Coco Rocha, Tiffani Thiessen and Megan Gale.

Sydney raised Jessica Baird started kiddie fashion label Atelier Child in 2015 and hasn’t looked back, selling contemporary, quality jumpers everywhere from France to the US, Canada, the UK and Asia, with the popular products fast becoming “must have” items for the celebrity and “influencer” crowd.

“Other celebrities whose children wear our brand include fashion designer Anine Bing, Rebecca Judd, Kate Waterhouse and Zoe Foster Blake,” Ms Baird told news.com.au this week.

“There is also Roxy Jacenko’s daughter Pixie Curtis, and Sally Obermeder’s beautiful daughter Annabelle.

“It is such a thrill to see celebrities dressing their children in our pieces, and the feedback we have been getting has been amazing.

Coco Rocha posted a picture on Instagram of her daughter wearing Atelier Child

“I recently received a handwritten note from Liv Tyler to say how much she loves the pieces she has for her youngest children Sailor and Lula Rose, and Coco Rocha recently said of our Leopard ‘the most comfy sweater ever — I wish it came in an adult size’.

“In fact, it makes me feel very proud when we get feedback from any of our customers telling us how much their children love wearing our clothes.”

Atelier Child’s debut range was picked up by colette Paris, one of the world’s leading fashion concept stores, which catapulted the products to global fame virtually overnight.

“We set out to create a collection of beautifully made sweaters that were classic, but with a fresh contemporary aesthetic and the brand received an amazing response from day one, and things have grown from there,” Ms Baird said.

“I think what keeps all our customers, including celebrities, coming back is our statement aesthetic and our commitment to quality — we only work with premium natural materials, which sets us apart from many labels in the market.”

Roxy Jacenko’s daughter Pixie Curtis was seen wearing an Atelier Child jumper.

Sonny Foster Blake wearing Atelier Child

Now based in Hong Kong, Ms Baird is growing Atelier while juggling three young daughters, Winter, 5, Arella, 3, and Paloma, 1. “We launched the business with the idea that we would be primarily a wholesale brand and in the first 12 months we successfully opened almost 50 wholesale accounts across the world - from Australia to France, the USA, Canada, UK, Taiwan and China,” she said.

“The growth we experienced from day one has validated our product direction, however as a mother myself, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t want our clothing to come with such high price tags.

“I wanted to find a way for parents to be able to be able to buy beautiful quality at great price points so I began to look at the tech-based innovations happening in adult direct-to- consumer e-commerce and to research why no one was applying the same principles to children’s wear.

“In the last six months we have changed our business model with one goal in mind — making luxury children’s clothes at amazing prices by selling direct through our website.

“We’ll still be working with key wholesale accounts around the world, but now our focus is very much on developing our online offering in a way that reflects the way we, as parents, want to shop for our children — great style, great quality and great prices.

“When Atelier Child launched I was seven months pregnant with my third baby, so it has definitely been a juggle.

Jess Baird with her children. Picture: Michelle Proctor

“I have been fortunate to have support at home, but let’s just say there have been a lot of late nights, conference calls done from home, and emails answered while I wait outside a ballet class.

“There is no secret formula to launching and running your own business. My advice to any person wanting to start a business is to do your research, launch a product you believe in, and then work hard.”

Ms Baird said she felt pride every time a celebrity child was snapped in her brand, making the struggles and constant evolution worth it.

“And this year is a big year for us — we are expanding the range to include new categories, customisable pieces, and accessories and in the second half of the year we will also be increasing our marketing efforts in the US,” she said.

“Our biggest market is Australia so far, accounting for around 60 per cent of our sales, with the US our second largest market, accounting for around 12 per cent of sales.

“Our leopard print styles, loved by Coco Rocha and US blogger Amber Fillerup Clarke are consistently our best sellers and account for over 25 per cent of our sales.”

She said shipping and logistics were one of the most important elements of operating a global e-commerce business, so being based in Hong Kong made business sense.

“We aim to ship every order on the same day it has been received, so we can meet or exceed our customer’s expectations regarding delivery,” Ms Baird explained.

“It is the world’s biggest air cargo hub, meaning that if our customers need their orders in a hurry, we can get them to Australia or the US within one or two days.”

Atelier Child’s popularity has exploded since the brand was launched only a few years ago.