Simona Pounds shares secret of positive baby experiences with other parents
A developing business – that opened at Stonham Barns Park retail village to bring a range of natural baby care products, wellbeing ideas and toys to new parents in the region – has just launched an early learning role play area at the outlet for little explorers from Suffolk.
The new indoor role play area at Mamiina -called Barnville – includes a cottage playhouse for cooking and baking, a construction area with tools, bricks and cranes, a dinosaur cave for little paleontologists, an ice cream shop, play mat, reading area, sensory trays and a market stall which includes a play café and fun shopping area.
Mamiina – derived from the Italian word for ‘Mummy’ – is the creation of Simona Pounds who was born in the USA, moved to Italy and is now settled in Suffolk with her fiancé Steve Bullman and daughters Maddalena and Ilyana. The products including teething toys, teething jewellery, soothers, baby weaning toys and baby toys have been hand-selected from manufacturers around the UK and European countries including France, Sweden and Spain.
The whole ethos of the business rests on finding the right solutions to some of the challenges of parenting – like teething and weaning – so that parents can enjoy a smooth and happy relationship with their young children while they are growing up. As well as selecting the best products available for babies and toddlers of 0-36 months and older, Simona shares regular parental-advice blogs with her customers.
Simona lives with her fiancé Steve and daughters Maddalena and Ilyana at Mendlesham. ‘I was previously a teacher, teaching English to foreign students until the pandemic restricted international movement and so the opportunities for teaching were very limited.’
‘As a new mother my life was transformed looking after a new baby and it was this that made me consider selling baby related items that helped me. Parenting is not easy and so some high-quality, ultra-baby safe products can make such a difference to life. I was looking to supply natural material products including those made from silicone, natural rubber and wood.’
The couple started the business in July 2020 in the middle of lockdown while Simona was researching the safety and effectiveness of baby care products. Building up a presence on social media, they found that they were able to extend their core range of products from those catering for babies and toddlers from 0-36 months to include sensory and educational toys, and a range of beautiful baby clothes.
It was after the birth of the couple’s youngest daughter Ilyana, Simona began formulating the idea of a play area to provide support for the educational development of young children from the area.
Explains Simona, ‘The play we can provide here is educational in a very safe and secure setting. The products are all beautifully designed to stimulate creative play and we think the children will grow and build their confidence by coming to these sessions with their parents.’
‘Social interaction is key in early learning and that’s exactly what we are offering to young families with this imaginative play in our perfectly designed Barnville village play area.’
Says Steve Bullman, a web developer for his own company Arbtalk Media www.arbtalkmedia.co.uk ‘Simona is finding that she can combine her passion for baby products with building the best future for our family. She is so enthusiastic about bringing quality parenting and quality educational development to more families and Barnville will be another step along the journey.’
Concludes Simona, ‘I am so pleased with the success of Mamiina so far and I look forward to seeing it grow further with the launch of Barn Ville. My hope, as always, is to help other parents to live their best life with their young children.’
For further information on Mamiina go to mamiina.co.uk or contact Simona Pounds on 07585 093 311.
Other retailers at Stonham Barns Park include Aspal Antiques, Aspal Emporium, Aspal Reclamation Yard, Stonham Garden Centre, Carters of Suffolk, Hemingstone Frames, Hot Tub Village, Merit Sheds, Stonham Village Stores, Suffolk Bridal Outlet, The Beauty Barn, The Vintage Cellar, The Book Cellar and The Little Dance Barn. Among the most recent retail additions to the village are GG Trading Cards, Sakura Studio Gallery and The Serpent and Rose Tattoo Studio.
For more information about Stonham Barns Park please contact 01449 711901 or visit www.stonhambarns.co.uk