Hello! My name is Alicia, I am a Melbourne born and bred mother of two daughters, Amber Valerie and Lottie Pearl. Marmalade Lion began as just a registered name in 2010 ( I loved the oxymoron feeling of these words together!).
I've always been a dreamer. I had a business idea, and this time, my mum liked this one (I didn’t get the usual response of 'oh Alicia - yeah sure!' ) Both my mum and I had always been creative forces with strong textiles experience. So when we caught wind of an old textiles factory closing down in Brunswick, we set off, and filled the car full of different fabrics.
That fabric stayed in Mum's garage for years whilst we continued growing and learning. In 2015 my mum unexpectedly left this world, quite dramatically. It was the same week my daughter Amber was due and this period became one of the most emotionally conflicting times of my life. On the one hand I had lost my mother, and yet I had also just brought a new life into the world. It felt cruel. To keep me focused and channel my grief Marmalade Lion became somewhat of a love letter to my mum. A tribute to her creativity, talent and all the memories I have of the childhood she gave me.
The total landscape of the idea changed when I became a mother myself. I noticed there wasn't many tangible items I wanted to invest in for my girls that made me happy or that I thought were wonderful.
I'm quite nostalgic and sentimental so I wanted to create products that depicted these ideals and that mum would absolutely love from a detail perspective. But more than anything, it was important for me to honour her in this way. I don't like the idea of someone going and that's it. I want to move forward but I want her to live on through me, my children and this brand.
In my heart this is what makes sense. Our relationship was anything but smooth sailing, but we were extremely close and her life lessons were strong and memorable.
I believe our products have the same strengths and morals. I want to make your life easier, and I hope that you will think about these products in hindsight and smile big!
