Izabela lives her “accidental” dream! She is a big believer that women can take care of their kids and have a career at the same time. So she revolutionized the way women work by disrupting the conventional workspace organization and rules.  

Please introduce yourself and Bebemoss.

I am a French ex-pat living in Turkey for about 12 years now. I'm a mother of two boys (aged four and seven) and married to the love of my life. And as I like to call myself, I am an accidental social entrepreneur.  

Where does the name Bebemoss come from?

Our company designs and manufactures goods for babies and kids. For those fluent in crafts, more precisely knitting, therms moss stitch is a knitting stitch. It's one of my favourites to use for kids and babies since it makes a pattern soft to touch. Moss is also representative of nature and greenery, and we try our best as a company and a family to live in respect with nature.  

What inspired you to start making toys for children?

I've loved design and handicrafts from a very young age. My grandmother, and then my mother-in-law, were both seriously crafty women. So, I learned to knit and sew very young. I also hate mass-market products, especially plastic toys. When I became a mum I wanted my kids to have unique handmade items. I had complications during my second pregnancy that required me to be on bed rest for over four months. To stay occupied and sane, I knitted all the time, so much so in fact that I made way too many items for my new baby. Thus the "accidental" in "accidental entrepreneur": my husband came up with the idea of selling the rest online. The social part came at a later stage of this adventure when I was not able to care for two young boys and knit day and night to finish the incoming orders. Therefore I needed a team.  

Tell us a bit about your team.

Our team is a group of mums of all ages and all cultural backgrounds. The only thing they all have in common is that they live near Pendik, a suburb of Istanbul, and they are all very crafty and hardworking mums. Most of those women are really in need of an income, and all have families and homes to care for. The concept of having to choose between taking care of your kids or working is disturbing to me. I need lots of time with my kids and to be a hands-on mama, but I also need an outlet for my creativity and professional fulfilment.

Some of my team members have different reasons, whether it is economical, educational or cultural, that don’t allow them to work in a conventional environment. Together we revolutionized how women work by disrupting the conventional workspace organisation and rules. When you are a Bebemoss team member you can work as much or as little as you want or need, either at our atelier or from your own home. When you come to the atelier you can bring your kids along as we organized the space to accommodate them comfortably.

Interestingly, a local government employment agency in another suburb conducted a study recently, and they came up with the same conclusion: there is a need for women to work, but there needs to be more flexibility to help conciliate their caretaker and homemaker duties. We will hopefully soon join forces in creating another production centre. So if business continues to develop we will have 25 women in the Pendik area and another 25 or so in Beylikduzu (another suburb of Istanbul), all busy crafting Bebemoss goods.

Please tell our readers why fair trade and organic goods are important.

I could talk about this for a long time and give you a million reasons to buy fair-trade and organic goods: from the protection of the planet to human rights. I am sure many people are aware of what fair-trade practices mean; sharing the profits fairly, promoting sustainability, higher social and environmental standards and prohibiting child labour, etc. Using locally sourced organic raw materials ensures the respect of our planet and toys without harmful substances. But the most important reason is that we can, we can start taking responsibility and spending our money wisely. We have the power to change the world we live in. For me, consumerism is acceptable only when you buy with a higher purpose. 

What is one impact you feel this venture has had on you and your family?  

I've met amazing women who taught me tolerance and humility and showed me different perspectives on life and business, in addition to new values I share with my husband and try to teach my kids. As a family, we consume more responsibly, and we live simpler and, I believe, happier lives.  

*You can visit her page here: http://bebemoss.com/