Making a Memorable Impression

Meet the Adelaide couple helping preserve your baby's memories

Ever looked at your baby's tiny feet and hands and wished you could capture their beauty and innocence forever? Now, thanks to an Adelaidean couple, you can! Meet entrepreneurs Natasha and Ken, the artists behind Memory Lane Impressions. The unique South Australian enterprise is a baby hand and feet casting company that goes beyond just photography to create unique, personalised products to preserve the memories of your loved ones. In a conversation with SA Baby, owner Natasha Worden talks about their foray into the casting business, the challenges they faced, and their plans for the future.

Preserving your memories

"We love the work we do, helping people preserve the memories of their loved ones, and providing them with quality products that will stand the test of time. At Memory Lane Impressions, we are constantly adding to our range of keepsake products. There are the popular hand and feet casts of course, but we also offer hand painted standalone sculptures and the newly introduced newborn photography,” says Natasha.

Describing the process involved in creating her masterpieces, she explains "The customer thinks it starts and ends with the casting appointment in their home, but it is a time consuming procedure that takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete. It involves filling the mould, peeling off the casting material, drying the final product. They come out with slight imperfections like the odd air bubble and it's a labour of love preparing them to paint and perfecting the finish."

The husband and wife team work hard to ensure that their customers get their money's worth. “A couple of hundred dollars is a lot of money for some people so we want to make sure that our customers feel they are making a quality investment," says Natasha.

An emotional job

Natasha points out that some casting requests can be quite emotional. “Some days we get calls asking us to do a casting of an angel baby (one who has passed away before or soon after birth), or of someone who is in palliative care. That's just heartbreaking!” she says.

“There are days when we do hand sculptures of a parent or a grandparent who is on life support or has just passed away. These are not easy moments for us, but the ultimate joy is returning the final product to the customer."

The rough start

Before taking over Memory Lane Impressions Natasha, it would seem, lived an enviable life. She had an excellent job, a baby on the way, and a loving husband. But life took an unexpected turn when she was due to return to work after giving birth to her son, Archer. “Like many new mums, returning to work was not the easy transition I thought it would be. The conditions of my return were changed a few days before I was due to return. With virtually no time to adjust childcare arrangements it just wasn’t going to work for us.” she says.

Soon after, the couple was dealt another blow. "Ken was let go from his company. And with that we were forced to re-evaluate our lives and the plans we'd made," she says.

Disheartened, Natasha was considering her options when she made a phone call that changed her life. “We just had a baby and I needed to work but going back to that job suddenly wasn’t viable anymore. That’s when I made a phone call to Esther, my friend from high school. She asked me if I was interested in taking over the company she started ten years ago while on maternity leave. I loved the idea! Baby casting is a unique activity, and the creative person in me couldn't let the opportunity go. I said yes, and we haven't looked back since," she says.

Fuelling their creativity

The opportunity to work for herself not only helped the couple overcome their tricky situation but also fuelled their creativity and ingenuity. “I think we fell in love with the company because we have always been DIY enthusiasts, and love creating stuff with our hands. For our wedding, I made my own cake, bouquet and centrepieces. At home we needed an entertaining area so Ken drew up plans and built a huge shed and pergola including a handmade pizza oven. Making things is a big part of who we are, so taking on this business seemed like the perfect fit,” says Natasha.

"Ken has always been handy and creative, so he was able to take over the framing side, reducing our biggest overhead. He does a lot of research, watches a lot of videos online and is driven by his desire for continuous improvement. We both are."

Natasha adds that though the couple is elated to be doing something they love, building Memory Lane Impressions has been an uphill task. “The first three years of any business is the hardest, and we have two years under our belt now. When we started, the website needed an overhaul, and we had to be more active on social media to create visibility about our work. We also introduced new products and exhibited at the Pregnancy Baby and Children’s Expo. So, I’d like to think that the next year won’t be so hard because we have covered a lot of the groundwork,” she says.

Juggling work and baby

When they are not working, the couple's two-year-old son keeps them on their feet. “Running a business with a baby in tow is tough. Sometimes I have to juggle phone calls with a toddler in the background and respond to emails during his nap time. But I believe perseverance and flexibility are the keys to success. I try to take at least one day off during the week to spend time with my son” she says.

Some days the pressure of being a mother and a businesswoman would get to Natasha, and she would break down. “There have been times when I have turned to Ken and said ‘What are we doing? I don’t think we can keep doing this.’’' But my husband has always remained calm and practical. He reminds me that things will get easier,” she says.

Natasha is also grateful to her mother and father for being one of her biggest support systems. “They have been such a help! They make themselves available to look after Archer on days when he is not in daycare, or when Ken and I are unavailable," she says.

The entrepreneur adds that she doesn't want to come across as an unavailable mother to her son. “Customer service is essential for my business, but my family is so important to me. It’s a bit of a battle sometimes between being responsive and ensuring my son doesn’t see me with a phone in my hand all the time," so she recently made the increasingly popular choice among business owners to outsource her social media management.

“I just can’t dedicate the time that it needs, especially on the weekends and in the evenings.

The road ahead

Natasha says that though the couple is looking to expand their business, they are cautious. "Plans to expand are definitely on the cards - we could open it up to franchisees or employ someone who will look after a company branch at a regional level. But we are quite wary as we don't want to dilute our standards by making a wrong decision. We have worked hard to build our quality brand and can’t afford for someone to come in and spoil all our hard work. We will grow the business, but on our terms," she says.

The couple also plans to have another baby. "And, take a holiday! We have worked really hard together on creating a great business and now we deserve a small break before baby number 2." she says.