Sick on my suit.... the mum-of-six superstar inventor of Sock Ons (and *COMPETITION*)

When Kezi Levin got married - straight after school - and then embarked on a degree whilst having three babies in three years, "everyone said I would never finish uni, or amount to much - but that just inspired me to prove everyone wrong," the 37-year-old laughs.

And so she has. Now a mum of six, Kezi, who is originally from Australia but has lived in London for almost two decades, is the inventor of a small but brilliant idea that zillions of our babies use daily: Sock Ons. They do exactly what they say they do: keep babies' ever-falling-off socks on their feet, staying toasty.

Here Kezi launches a new Run Out of Womb feature, 'sick on my suit' - where working parents talk about how they do it, and give their tips and advice.

So how do you runs a big baby business - more than 1 million babies worldwide wear Sock Ons - plus other products now include Mocc Ons and Plod Ons too - whilst looking after a big family of six boys (ready for it? they're 17, 15, 14, 11, 9, and 4!)?

Oh - and there's the chance to win a bumper back of baby goodies at the end. 

Hi Kezi. Where did the Sock On idea come from?

"I needed one of my babies to wear formal attire to a wedding in mid winter.. but he was never able to keep his socks on for more than a minute. I was on the verge of putting him in a pair of tights (much to the wild protests of his older brothers) or to just go bare-footed. I was dismayed that no one had come up with anything to solve one of parenting’s most annoying problem!

Necessity proved to be the mother of invention – I cut up a prototype that night and it magically worked! No more lost socks. No more cold feet. No more being told off by well-meaning shoppers that my little boys feet were bare in mid winter and I should really do something about it.."

What happened next?

"The inventing and branding was the easy part. I had a design degree from Central Saint Martins and I love problem solving. The hard part was marketing and trying to break into a very tight market. I spent two years filling patent and design registrations, perfecting the packaging and brand strategy - all being funded by the graphic design business that I was running from home, in between looking after 4 small children!) I should just add that I actually work for relaxation..!"

How did you launch it?

"I exhibited the product at the Kind + Jugend international baby product fair in Cologne as a last- minute entry and ended up winning the gold prize for innovation! This launched us internationally and gave us incredible exposure. With only samples on show I had orders coming in and had six weeks to secure a reliable production line! The beginning  was very stressful but incredibly exciting."

What's the balance of running family and corporate life?

"Family definitely comes first. My office looks like a playroom and I really work around the childrens schedules. I am very blessed to be able to have a job that I love and is flexible in the hours. I work when the kids are at school and when they are asleep.

It's not always easy. I used to call Mothercare everyday trying desperately to speak to a buyer to get our products into their stores. No one would ever pick up the phone but I was very persistent. One day, I had all the kids in the car screaming and by chance the buyer picked up the phone! I tried desperately to sound professional, muffling the noises coming from the back and they said they liked the product. But.. never make important business call with kids in the car!"

What are your top tips to other working mums?

"Children grow up so fast – cherish the moments you have together and try not to wish them away. There will come time when you are not needed as much and try to work around them if possible. Go with the stage of life you find yourself in and find inspiration in each phase."

Competition time!

After inventing SOCK ONS, Kezi's business now also makes PLOD ONS- to protect crawling babas' knees - MOCC ONS - moccasin-style slipper socks - and DRIBBLE ONS bibs. She's offering Run Out Of Womb readers the chance to win one of each - just enter below. 

Like Sock Ons on Facebook for more chances to win great products and be the first to see new product releases!

Visit www.sockons.com for more information.

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