— A design studio in Sydney, creating and curating products that combine form & function
BUSY exists to be that wink for the world.
Hi. I’m Hailey.
I am... I guess what you’d call... the “Founder” of BUSY. Though, I don’t particularly love that nametag. Let’s instead say I’m a designer by trade, an entrepreneur by accident.
BUSY, in many ways, is my beautiful accident.
I sort of fell into BUSY back in 2018 (great time to start a business, huh?) after scouring the internet for simple, minimal, well-made t-shirts and coming up short again and again. So, I decided to make my own from scratch.
Folks seemed to dig them. So much so that I designed other products, that like the t-shirts, were simple, functional, extremely well-made and long-lasting.
Allow me to riff a bit more on that last bit… long-lasting.
. . . . .
Long-lasting isn’t always “good for business”.
I take a slow and thoughtful approach to nearly everything in life, remembering that more isn’t always better.
Whether it’s baking sourdough on a lazy Sunday afternoon, playing a game of hide-and-go-seek in the backyard with my kiddos or thinking up the next design for BUSY, I’m never one for rushing things.
No, I want to design and breathe life into products that last a lifetime and then some. I want the T-shirt you buy from me to not only be your favorite t-shirt… but one day your children’s favorite t-shirt too.
Sometimes, I scratch my head when my past customers send me photographs of a cotton dress or fleece jumper they bought from me 4 years ago and are still using today.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t think to myself… is this the smartest approach to running a profitable business?
Haha!
But, I can’t see myself building a company any other way. It’s just not who I am.
. . . . .
Leave the planet better than you found it.
Shopping from BUSY is a lot like buying from your neighborhood corner store. Not only are you supporting our family, but you’re also supporting other, extraordinarily hard-working small businesses...
Our designs are visualized in our studio in Ultimo, our sketches are sampling and protyping by two patternmakers in Surry Hills, and our products are made in a small factory in Vietnam, one we have multi-year relationships with. We pay our partners fair wages because we want them to feel secure and valued. Our supplier is audited by a third-party annually to ensure safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing practices. And, for operations, we hire our family and friends.
Now, with all that said, if I’m lucky enough to call you a customer, great. But, if for whatever reason you don’t see anything that catches your eye, please walk away with this…
I encourage you to leave the world better than you found it by thoughtfully choosing quality over quantity, less over more, lasting over “trending” and profound over popular.
