Our Story
It all started with a conversation on quite possibly the busiest playground on Auckland's North Shore, while entertaining 2 toddlers and a baby.
Mercedes: 'What if we started a marketplace for people to sell their outgrown kids clothes?'
Emily: 'There already is one - its called Lilo (Lie - Low) but its going to be closing down!'
We were both thinking the same thing, what if we could start our own marketplace, our minds began racing at the possibility, we were overcome with excitement, but wait? Where do we even start...
The next few weeks we were consumed with the idea and began researching, note taking and absorbing as much information as we could. It was very clear, very quickly that this was going to be a huge investment of our time and our savings.
Then the penny (or cent) dropped - Lets take over Lilo!
The creative mum
Hi I'm Emily
From a town in the East Midlands called Leicester (you may have heard of Red Leicester Cheese, if you're a cheese lover like me). I moved to New Zealand at the age of 22 after falling in love with the country on a 6 week stint in 2013.
My career is predominantly in Retail Management with having worked at many of the UK & NZ's well known retail brands like; Wilkinsons, Briscoes, Farmers and The Warehouse Group.
I'm a mum of 1 working full time, and in my spare time (haha what's spare time?) I am a preloved reseller myself. Knowing the importance of sustainable fashion and reducing overconsumption I believe in re-loving what is already in circulation.
That's why Lilo was a good match for me, bringing a collective of sellers together on one platform is powerful in the move towards being planet & penny conscious.
I play to my strengths in digital creative design, customer service & retail fashion.
The number cruncher mum
Hi, I'm Mercedes
Originally from a place called St.Albans (not the one in Christchurch, but the city just outside of London in the UK). I'm an accountant by trade but currently spend my days in the thick of my Property Management business.
As a mum of two, I know first hand the benefits of pre-loved clothing (thank you hand me downs) but yet, the idea of buying pre-loved is so daunting. On the flip side, I have SO many clothes the kids have outgrown but just don't know what to do with them. With limited people around me to pay it forward, I would love for the items to go to a new home plus put some of the money generated towards things for the kids.
That's where Lilo comes in, a welcoming space for everyday parents to both buy & sell their kids clothing.