We truly love when expat mothers take life by the horns and start a business in Beijing. Jennifer Osborne-Zdaniuk had a hobby, which she has turned into a small business. I myself tried my hand at sewing but time was not my friend, so when Osborne-Zdaniuk contacted me I was ecstatic. I also tried to take monthly pictures when my toddler was a baby, but time flew by and before I knew it she was one. The first year of a baby’s life moves so fast that when we try to capture we often forget.
Osborne-Zdaniuk started to sell on Etsy in 2012 as Mark the Day, she got so busy that she decided to stop and relaunched in 2017 as Carpe Diem. She started the business when she gave birth to her daughter, and she struggled to find quality ready-made onesies. She tried to make some for herself each month, and quickly found that this was very time consuming. She wanted to help other mothers who struggled with time as well, but wanted cute keepsakes and fun photo props.
Osborne-Zdaniuk saw a business opportunity. She went on to experiment with making whole onesie sets of 12 months, and has moved from iron-on badges, to glued-on badges, to sewn-on badges. She gave them to friends and colleagues and got rave reviews. She also makes memory books to keep track of your child’s first year, or any other year; they are so cute I might need one for myself. Boxes of onesies start from RMB 550, and single T-shirts start from RMB 100; memory books start from RMB 100. Contact Jennifer Osborne-Zdaniuk on WeChat: JZdaniuk or find her on Instagram: @CarpeDlife
Photos: Jennifer Osborne
