The Aussie camping trip that sparked a nationwide baby safety solution

It started with a familiar scene for any parent who has tried to relax outdoors with a crawling baby: gravel underfoot, a fire pit within reach, and a road just a little too close for comfort.

For Jess Rhook, a Newcastle-based mum, that moment on a camping trip in Forster, NSW, was the tipping point. There was nowhere safe to put her baby down, no flat, contained space away from the hazards every campsite seems to have.

"I remember just standing there thinking, surely something exists for this," Jess said. "But everything on the market was either built for indoors or had so many pieces that I couldn't justify adding more time to our already long set up".

So she set out to build one herself. Today, that product is the Portable Safe Space, and it's found its way into camping trips, backyards, and holidays across the country.

From one campsite to a design community

Rather than going it alone, Jess turned to other Australian parents for help. What began as a handful of honest conversations grew into the Mummio Design Community, now more than 150 parents who test prototypes and flag real-world problems before anything goes to market.

The result was a lightweight, foldable playpen that sets up in under 60 seconds with no tools required, designed to go wherever families do, campsites, parks, beaches, or a relative's home that isn't baby-proofed.