It started with a baby and a lot of little crabs
We welcomed 2026 in with our first family camping trip in our refurbished Jayco caravan. Our daughter Rio was just under 6 months old. Crawling, curious and determined to put every leaf, stick, and grain of sand into her mouth.
We would lay her on her camping mat for two seconds and she would be off.
Under the caravan. Into the bushes beside our site. Reaching for the little crabs that kept scuttling past (she thought that was a real hoot). The scariest part, was just three metres from where we were set up was the road.
It is hard to turn off the thoughts about worse case scenario.
Between my husband, Dan and I we would take turns watching Rio so the other could duck in and make a coffee, get changed or go to the loo.
That was the moment I knew something had to give.
EVERY SECOND COUNTS
We came home from Forster thinking surely there is something out there that fixes this.
I went looking, and looking, and looking.
Here is exactly what I was looking for in a play pen:
- Set up fast (because adding another 30 minutes to a camping setup is its own kind of crime)
- Pack down just as quickly
- Feel sturdy enough that would actually trust it
- Be light enough to carry around without thinking twice
- Be safe enough that I could take my eyes off Rio for two minutes, and know she was safe
Most playpens I found were the opposite of all of that.
Some were bulky. Some took half an hour or more to assemble. Some felt flimsy in a way I just couldn't trust. None of them felt like they were made by anyone who had actually had to set one up at a campsite with a baby on their hip.
PROTOTYPE ONE
I eventually found something close to what I was looking, as we began using it - all I could think was "Its okay but not great".
So I started taking notes. Lots of them.
Then I handed the prototype to a few other mums I knew and asked them to test it too.
What came back was a list of changes that I knew needed to happen if this was ever going to be the thing I had been picturing.
An example of the exposed hardware.
THE CHANGES THAT MADE IT OURS
I went back to the manufacturer with my notes and we got to work. Here are just some of the things that we changed:
- The material got an upgrade. It had to handle camping, beaches, grass, sunshine and grubby kiddos.
- The frame got stronger. It had to feel sturdy and safe, not flimsy.
- We changed how the material fits to the frame. No more exposed parts where little fingers could get caught or pinched.
- We made it machine washable. All it takes is one yogurt pouch and you are questioning your sanity.
- We changed how the mat sits inside. The original kept slipping and bunching, and I had this real fear it could fold up onto Rio's face. We fixed that with a new way of attaching the mat.
Every change came from a real moment. A real frustration. A real "this isn't quite right yet."
THE MUMMAS WHO SHAPED IT
I first shared the idea with a few mumma friends.
Not all of them got it. Some looked at me like I had lost the plot. Plenty of them weren't interested.
But a few of them got it immediately.
They knew exactly what I was talking about. The holiday anxiety. The constant chasing. The "can I please just put her down for two minutes" feeling. They wanted what I was trying to make.
That was enough motivation for me to dive head first into this.
Those few mummas became the design group. The ones who tested with me. Who told me what wasn't working. Who said "actually, what if you did it like this?" Who shared the realities of their own days with their explorers so we could keep refining.
It is not a marketing line when I say this product was built by mums. It really was.
WHAT WE LANDED ON
The Portable Safe Space.
- Sets up in under 60 seconds
- Folds into a bag I can sling over my shoulder while still holding Rio
- Mesh on all sides so I can see her from any angle
- Zipper door on the outside (because of course toddlers will try to let themselves out)
- Machine washable, because yoghurt
- Light enough that camping setup doesn't add 30 minutes
- Sturdy enough that I actually trust it
It is the product I wished I had had on that camping trip in Forster.
PROUD MOMENT
The product is something I'm proud of, but honestly, the part I'm most proud of is how it came to be.
It started with one frustration at a campsite. It became something bigger because other mums showed up. They tested. They challenged me. They told me when it wasn't working. They kept showing up even when I was second-guessing the whole thing.
I didn't build this alone. We built this together.
And that feels like the right way to bring something into the world.