Im-peck-able!
A chook feed bag inspired my fashion designs
Topping up our glasses, my hubby, Stu, raised his with a grin. “To you, Kym, and your next big adventure,” he toasted.
“Can you believe it?” I said excitedly.
It was 2020, and I’d just agreed to a deal with mining giant BHP.
I’d built my business on giving women as many comfortable workwear options as men.
I didn’t have a background in fashion, but in 2013,
I’d spotted a gap in the maternity hi-vis market after working on mining sites and seeing my then-manager, pregnant, and struggling with a hi-vis shirt that didn’t do up over her belly.
Armed with innovation and drive, I built COgear.
And now, BHP wanted me to supply a full range of women’s pants.
“A dream come true,”
I said, “but the range comes in 12 sizes, and BHP wants every size to come in four di erent leg lengths.”
at would mean 48 pairs of pants! A hefty cash outlay like that was more than the business could handle.
As we sat brainstorming, Stu’s eyes lit up.
“Ever opened a grain bag, love?” Stu said.
Where’s he going with this? I wondered.
We’d both grown up on farms and I told him I had, for chicken feed.
“Remember how if you pull the thread on a bag of grain one way, it unravels the stitching and opens up?” he said.
Ding! It was a lightbulb moment.
I’d take the design concept from the chook feed bag and use this to solve my problem of making one pair of pants adjustable to four lengths, ensuring the garment remained perfectly hemmed.
e next morning, I set to work making samples. I tinkered away for hours at night and on weekends.
When it got hard, I’d channel Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx.
Over the years, I’d read everything I could about Sara and knew she’d built a billion-dollar business solving real-life problems.
A year on, I had a sample, and put the wheels in motion to patent my invention.
Sara believes in the importance of creating a new word, so I decided to call my patent-pending design HMZ – pronounced ‘hems’.
It took another year to get the design working in the factory.
But once my pants with the HMZ feature – a pull tab that lets you easily adjust pants to your height – rolled o the production line,
I knew I had a winner!
Super simple, can’t wait to wear these at work, a woman shared on my website.
I took such messages as a sign. I’d found a simple, e ective way to solve a real-life problem.
Just like Sara Blakely,
I thought, beaming.
Today, I’m excited about what’s ahead. is could revolutionise uniforms for the global mining industry.
I’ve got companies all over the world who are keen to use HMZ for their workwear.
But the design technique can be used to alter any type of uniform.
I can only begin to imagine how happy HMZ will make Aussie parents. ey’ll never need to hem a school uniform again!
Learning as I went, and being patient, are the two things that got me to where I am. And also, I embraced not being an expert.
It’s fun guring out how to do something. Sure, it takes time, but that’s all part of the journey.
Ding! It was a lightbulb moment
TAURUS Apr 21–May 21
You’re in a cycle where your dreams can come true – but you need to have the courage to commit to them. Don’t keep them hidden away at the back of your mind. Find someone who believes in you and tell them what you want.
★
LEO July 24–Aug 23
There are lessons coming your way about money this year. Pay proper attention – if you learn what you need to, you will be in good stead for the coming decade and a half.
★
SCORPIO Oct 24–Nov 22
If you’re not having fun yet, have a word with yourself. You might have a ton of commitments and duties hampering your social schedule but even you can squeeze some good times into your diary. This week in particular, seek out the fun people.
★
AQUARIUS Jan 21–Feb 19
The more you believe in yourself, the more others will believe in you. Whatever you’re creating is more likely to manifest if you think you can make it happen. Back yourself.
★ Work on your selfesteem right now.
Strolling through the grounds of our farm, I nattered away to my corgi, King. It was 1974, and I was 10. “I think Beleta was a bit down today,” I told King.
Beleta was my horse, and along with King, we also had cattle dogs, budgies, gold sh and cattle, and
I had a special connection with all of them.
I just knew what they were feeling.
When I left school in 1981,
I thought about becoming a vet, but the idea of seeing animals in pain held me back.
Instead, I wound up as a legal secretary, but with ties to local animal rescue groups, my home was always over owing with dogs and cats.
In 1998, I married a lovely man and we had a son, Jesse. Sadly, we split up when Jesse was two.
In 2001, I switched careers, retraining to work as a digital marketer.
I wanted to work from home so I could focus on
Jesse and my health, after a successful battle with breast cancer.
roughout all this,
I still took in any animal needing care.
One day, in 2014, I took in a gentle golden retriever called Fergie.
When I was around him, I’d cry buckets. Worried I’d have to return him, I spoke to someone at the rescue for advice.
“We should speak to an animal communicator,” the lady suggested.
“What’s that?” I asked. I’d never heard of one before and was intrigued.
She explained it was a form of psychic who specialised in communicating with animals telepathically.
We arranged a Skype session with an Aussie psychic based in Peru.
Before our session, I sent her photos of Fergie and questions, including why Fergie was afraid of water.
“He was thrown into a pool as a puppy and almost drowned,” the communicator told me during our session.
at’s why I’d been crying! As the session came to an end, I told the psychic about my own strange connection to animals.
“Do you reckon I could do this, too?” I asked her nervously.
“Yes, you’ve got the touch,” she replied.
I decided then and there that I wanted to become an animal communicator and started taking workshops after nding them online.
I spent thousands, using savings from my business.
e trainers taught me the most amazing things, like how to transport my mind into a lost animal’s body. Most importantly, I learned how to be a conduit for pets to express their innermost thoughts.
I practised a lot, providing free sessions to people and their pets through animal rescue organisations.
My family and friends
thought I’d gone bonkers, but supported me.
Once I started promoting myself on social media, things really took o .
I started charging people, and in 2018, I was nally able to quit my day job.
Over the last six years, I’ve done hundreds of readings on Zoom and connected with pets from all corners – even those who’ve passed.
I o er di erent length sessions, from 20 minutes through to an hour, and fees start at $90.
One of the toughest sessions was for a woman whose dog had died in a car accident, in which she was involved. She was devastated and had awful dreams about it.
When I tuned in, a name popped up.
“Jasper adores you,”
I told her. “He wants you to nd peace.”
“You’ve helped me turn a corner,” she sobbed.
Some animals speak through words, others ash images into my mind.
One dog, whose owners thought he was a fussy eater, showed me an image of blueberries.
“My dog wouldn’t eat that,” they said, laughing.
It was no surprise when they called a few weeks later. “Ta y can’t get enough of them!” they said.
Sometimes, pets send warnings.
I told the owners of an anxious dog that their pooch wasn’t
ighty but worried.
“A massive snake is living in the tree outside the house,”
I told them.
A few weeks later they found a snake.
Helping with wildlife has been amazing, too.
A carer once asked me about a sad baby roo that wasn’t thriving.
Looking at his photo, I knew straight o he missed his mum.
“Snuggle him in with some mates, and he’ll be ne!” I said.
It’s not just domestic pets I speak with. I’ve connected with horses, camels, rats, and even sh! I’m also teaching others who want to hear what their furry friends say.
Our animals are always talking to us – it’s just a matter of learning to listen! For more information, visit: donnadolittle.com. au or Facebook.com/ donnadolittle
I learned to be a conduit for pets