- Motherhood Melbourne
Interview with little wuppy® – Sausage dog worry aid for children.
As a child, Linda would always worry. She had difficulty with change and a strong desire to achieve perfection. This carried through to adulthood and after suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, Linda resigned from her role as a primary school teacher. This gave her time to explore a new purpose in life. This came to Linda in the form of a sausage dog. Combining her love of this adorable breed and her desire to help others (especially children), led to the creation of a sausage dog worry puppy. little wuppy® is an aid to help ease children’s worries. The range has expanded recently, as more parents have heard about little wuppy® and the comfort it can provide their little worriers. It’s been amazing to see little wuppy® grow and thrive. Linda holds strong business values and is an Australian made advocate and huge supporter of small and local businesses. In this interview, you'll discover why Linda is seen as a leader in the small business community.
HOOD MAMA SPECIAL: 10% off store-wide with little wuppy®. Valid until 29th April 2017 and excludes sale items. Join the hood to grab the discount code.
1.Why did you create little wuppy®?
In 2010, I resigned from my position as a primary school teacher due to severe anxiety and panic attacks. I needed to find purpose again and wanted to use my experiences to help others, especially children. I combined my love of design, my obsession with sausage dogs, and my personal experiences and challenges with anxiety, to create little wuppy®.
2. How did little wuppy® begin?
The first prototypes of the little wuppy® were created for some friends of mine. They had children who were suffering from anxiety on a daily basis and I wanted to help them. They were so well received by their children that I started looking into how I could help other children on a larger scale.
3. How does little wuppy® make mother’s lives better or brighter?
The little wuppy® has been designed as an aid to help ease children’s worries, and to comfort them. Children can use the little wuppy® worry puppy, worry catcher or key ring, depending on where they are and what they are doing. By having the little wuppy® with them, children can be comforted when their mums are not with them, e.g. if they suffer separation anxiety at school, the little wuppy® key ring can be attached to their school bags so they know they can be comforted, even if mum or dad isn’t there. If they have bad dreams at night time, the little wuppy® worry catcher will ‘catch’ their worries for them (meaning mum or dad don’t have to be called in the wee hours of the morning). And if they have sleepovers, camps or need a comforter at night, they can cuddle the little wuppy® worry puppy.
4. How does it make you feel when someone buys from little wuppy®?
I can’t begin to tell you how heart warming it is to know that people have chosen the little wuppy® as an aid to help their child manage their thoughts and feelings. So much thought has gone into creating little wuppy® products, so it fills me with joy, pride and happiness to know that little wuppy® is helping children, and their families.
5. What is your most popular product?
The BASIC little wuppy® packs have been the most popular product. They come with a little wuppy® worry puppy, an adoption certificate, an info card and a calico carry bag.
6. What’s the most common frequently-asked-question about little wuppy®?
For which age group is the little wuppy® designed? All little wuppy® products are designed as an aid for children aged 3+ ONLY. Children up to the age of 12 have used little wuppy® products (and adults, too). It’s mostly aimed for kinder/primary school aged children, but that doesn’t exclude older children, or adults, from finding comfort in the products, too.
7. Describe one thing mamas would be surprised about from behind-the-scenes of little wuppy®.
One of my major missions with little wuppy® is to support local Australian businesses. I spend lots of time searching for local suppliers and manufacturers here in Australia to ensure the little wuppy® is Australian made. little wuppy® proudly holds an Australian Made licence.
8. What aspect about little wuppy® do you love the most?
I love the fact that I am able to help children, and their families. Helping others is something I really enjoy, and something I really miss since resigning from teaching. It’s my way of giving back to the community and helping to remove the stigma associated with mental health issues.
9. When you’re not in business mode, what do you love to do?
I love to sit down with a good book and get lost in the story. I also enjoy binge watching TV series.
10. Any exciting plans for 2017?
I hope to launch a new product (that I have been researching for the past few months) later in the year!
ABOUT LITTLE WUPPY®
The little wuppy® is a sausage dog worry puppy, designed as an aid to help ease children’s worries, and to help comfort them (available in worry puppy, worry catcher and key ring form). The special feature of all the little wuppy® products is its heart. A child can send all their worries to the little wuppy® so they don’t need to worry anymore. This can be done by placing the heart of the little wuppy® worry puppy against their own, or sending their worries to the worry catcher and key ring, and they will ‘catch’ all their worries.
Biz owner: Linda Privitelli
Favourite café: I’m a bit of a homebody so don’t venture to cafes much
Coffee order: I’ve never had a coffee!!! Only water here 😉
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MOTHERHOOD MELBOURNE
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