Meet the creative mum behind the label Elma

Raising babies inspired Rachel Jones to rediscover the magic of childhood, leading her career in a whole new direction.

Words + Photography: Alice Veysey

Sisters Margot and Daphne dance around the washing line, throwing flower petals at each other, singing as they play in their back yard. The girls, aged seven and five, also love climbing trees, exploring their rural surroundings and adorning mud pies with pieces of nature they’ve found along the way.

It’s the picture of an idyllic Kiwi childhood, how I recall my life as a kid too. The main difference is, I was wearing overalls or trackpants, whereas Margot and Daphne both don beautiful flowing dresses, with scalloped cuffs and ornate floral prints.

Mum and business owner, Rachel Jones, 39, didn’t set out to head up a children’s clothing label, but she’s found the perfect fit for her stage of life with her childrenswear label ‘Elma’.

A business that was born out of a desire for a creative outlet and a break from the full-time working world while her girls were young.

With a background in fashion design and years of experience working for established New Zealand womenswear labels, it’s no surprise she’s gone down this track but for Rachel, she had definite reservations at the start. “I have seen how hard it can be to own a fashion business and I swore I would never start my own label. When my youngest daughter Daphne was six months old (in the time of Covid) I was craving a hobby after being locked at home for so long. I wasn’t ready to go back to work for someone else as I wanted to enjoy the early years with Daphne, like I had done with Margot”.

Rachel began sketching out ideas for little girls’ dresses, based on vintage children’s night dresses she’d been given, one being her own christening dress. “I adored the fact they had been cherished and handed on”. She continued to draw designs and the collection slowly grew from a small range of dresses to an entire children’s range.

Fast forward to September 2022, after a lot of hard work and a conscious decision to give the business her all, Rachel launched Elma, which has quickly gained a loyal online following and an international customer base.

Rachel’s girls are the heart behind the brand. “Having children allowed me to rediscover the magic of childhood, carefree and joyful, every day new and exciting. I wanted to capture that feeling of nostalgia in my pieces, thoughtfully designed and well made, with a focus on beautiful fabrics and pretty details.”

Rachel and husband Cole’s road to parenthood wasn’t an easy one. The couple (both originally from the Bay of Plenty) had been living and working in Auckland for a number of years in busy career jobs. At the time, Rachel was working as the sales and web manager for a New Zealand made womenswear label and Cole, 37, a technical manager for Allpress Coffee.

“We desperately wanted to start a family but I had multiple miscarriages and was left feeling in a very dark place. We knew we needed a change, we were both feeling the stress of city life, so we made the move back to Tauranga for a slightly slower pace. And not long after I was pregnant with Margot”

“When we finally became parents, it was everything I had imagined and so much more. Nothing compares to the immense joy and overwhelming love you experience when you hold your baby in your arms for the first time.” Along with the joy of being a new mum, Rachel experienced challenges many can also relate to. She recalls suffering the effects of constant sleep deprivation “I have never dealt well with sleepless nights” and with both her daughters being dreadful sleepers as babies, it made for some tough times in the early months.

“The transition from number one to two was also much harder than I expected. I just assumed it would come easy the second time around, but Daphne was a very different baby to Margot. She’s our wild child and knows how to push me to my limits – but in return I think all the challenges you face as a parent teach us strength, patience and resilience.” For Cole and Rachel, raising their girls away from the hustle of city life is paying dividends. Their rural property on the outskirts of Tauranga has space to breathe and explore and outdoor experiences are very accessible. Nature walks, bike rides and beach visits are activities they all enjoy and having extended family and friends in the region made their decision to move back to the Bay an easy one.

Rachel shares, “I feel so fortunate to have spent the first years as a stay at home mum with Margot and Daphne, watching them grow, learn, and explore – children allow you to rediscover the beauty in everyday things we take for granted”.

Elma is now in its third year of business, and with two seasonal collections per year, Rachel is constantly in the cycle of promoting and selling the current season, whilst designing and planning the next. Like many small business owners, she wears many hats. From initial garment development, through to sourcing fabric, production, marketing, website management, customer service, packing orders, to social media – she does it all.

There are some tasks she has been able to outsource though. “I have been fortunate to build an amazing network of local creatives who have helped along the way (patternmaker, photographer, graphic designer etc) and after a bit of trial and error, I now have an amazing offshore manufacturer who I have built a strong relationship with – we even send each other family photos and updates”.

Cole also helps whenever he can with the numbers side of the business. On each of the photoshoots, he’s Rachel’s right hand man, helping the day run smoothly (and of course supplying endless coffee). Their girls benefit from the business, with an ever- evolving wardrobe. Eldest daughter Margot has modelled in every photoshoot with little Daphne making some cameo appearances.

The biggest challenge for Rachel now is managing the complexities of the work/life balance. Whilst valuing the freedom of running her own business and not being tied to a 9-5 job, she has experienced some mum guilt along the way since starting Elma. She admits she’s found it hard to switch off from it all, especially in the early days when there was so much to tackle.

As well as running Elma, being mum and co-managing their lifestyle property with Cole, Rachel was also working part time in the workroom of a local womenswear label till recently. The juggle is real. “One thing I am working on, is being present in whatever task I am currently doing – if I am working on Elma, that is my main focus, if I am spending time with the girls, I am fully focused on them”.

Rachel adds, “I also think it’s important for our children to see that their parents work hard to provide for their family. I want to raise our girls to be strong, independent, hardworking women, and I hope they grow up thinking how cool it was that mum started her own business, and their childhood was dressed in Elma”. 

“I do think the idea of owning a business can be very different from reality though,” she admits. “Starting a business from scratch takes time, planning, research, lots of trial and error, long days and nights. It can also be incredibly hard financially and can be years before you start paying yourself any sort of wage. So I think you need to ask, Is this the right time to start a business and am I doing it for the right reasons?”

Make sure you start with a clear purpose, stick to your path and follow your own journey, she adds. “Don’t compare yourself to other businesses. It can be easy to get influenced and led astray especially with social media. Believe in yourself and your own product. Lastly, be kind to yourself – you can’t be everything to everyone.”

As well as selling directly from the website, Rachel has recently started wholesaling in New Zealand, the UK and America, and sees great potential for growth in that side of the business. She plans to keep improving work practices and continue to learn and evolve the brand whilst staying true Elma's values - a quality NZ designed childrenswear label that reflects the magic and nostalgia of childhood.

When asked what she’d like to pass on to her own children through her work, Rachel says… “Find something you love, follow your passion and take risks. What you do for a job doesn’t define you, but it is such a huge part of your life, so make it something you love.” 

To learn more about Elma, visit elmathelabel.com or follow on Instagram @elmathelabel.