Enterprise: Cinnamon Cove
What these young guns are up to: Creating stylish yet practical, age-appropriate swimwear that supports active lifestyles, a love of fashion and respect for the planet.
Friends Olivia and Myla loved going to the beach each day after school but couldn’t find any swimsuits they liked. “They were either too babyish or way too skimpy,” Olivia bemoans. “So, we decided to create our own and name the company after the cove we visited each day.”
That company, Cinnamon Cove, was launched in Newcastle in September 2021 when both girls were just 11 years old. Olivia and Myla make swimsuits designed by tweens, for tweens. They are thankful for the support of a local swimsuit designer who worked with them on their first design, and for the media picking up their story, which Olivia says “went crazy”.
“We want to show that it IS possible to love fashion, AND care for the planet.”
Starting a business at such a tender age was not without its challenges. “It was hard getting people to take us seriously,” Olivia recalls. “We would phone manufacturers to discuss production and they would laugh and tell us to get our mums.” Having persuaded such doubters of their bona fides through their diligence and perseverance, the pair then saw their school workload increase as they moved up the grades. “Keeping on top of both school and work can be tricky, particularly during peak periods like summer when the orders come flooding in,” Olivia reveals. “We’ve had to master good time-management skills, and make sure we use those moments like being on the school bus to check emails and respond to customers.”
With the help of mentors who have introduced them to useful workflow-management tools such as Monday.com, Olivia and Myla have worked out a schedule between themselves, and see the business as a pleasure rather than a chore. “We enjoy Cinnamon Cove more than anything, and love doing it together, so it doesn’t really feel like work,” Olivia enthuses. “We hope that as school becomes more pressing, we can continue to balance Cinnamon Cove and our studies.”
Sustainability is hugely important to both girls, and from day one they were committed to ensuring Cinnamon Cove was a sustainable and ethical brand. “Every swimsuit is designed by us and manufactured here in Australia, close to where we live,” Olivia explains. “We see sustainability as the only way forward and our swimsuits are made from Italian-sourced fabrics made of recycled fibres from upcycled fishing nets, ocean debris and recycled nylon.” The company that makes the fabric they use is B-Corp certified, they only do small production runs in order to avoid waste, and all their packaging is made from recycled plastic.
Olivia and Myla guard against having accusations of greenwashing levelled at them by always using the most sustainable materials and constantly thinking of ways to make the business more environmentally friendly. “We get a lot of pressure to produce in bulk, using cheaper fabric and manufacturing offshore,” Olivia admits. “Our business would be more profitable if we did, but that’s not what we’re about. We want to show that it IS possible to love fashion, AND care for the planet. Participating in events such as the Ocean Lovers Festival and Blue Solutions Summit helps us keep aware.”
To this end, the girls have been determined from the outset to gain B-Corp certification for Cinnamon Cove, and are currently looking into how they go about achieving that. They also plan to partner with an ocean conservation organisation, and were anointed recently as Ocean Youth Ambassadors. “So, we’re making progress,” Olivia avers. “Some things happen fast, some take longer but the most important thing we’ve learned is to never give up.”
This article first appeared in issue 44 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
