ABOUT US

Founded in 1992, Dimples from its inception has set the benchmark for innovative quality baby wear in New Zealand. Inspired by her own family of 14 children, founder and CEO Jane McAllister has driven the design criteria for the company that has seen the product range grow to become a baby wear fashion icon recognised by its distinctive signature motifs such as the now famous Dimples Bee.

The company that began life as a passion and a hobby and celebrated its tenth year in 2002 has become New Zealand’s most loved baby wear label with classic, timeless designs. With a Dimples Boutique in New Market Auckland, countless stockists world wide and a highly successful website, Dimples has grown tremendously since its first beginnings.

The Idea

Jane McAllister is one of the most famous mothers in New Zealand with an undeniably large family of 14 of her own children. Perhaps there could be no better qualified person to know exactly what modern day mothers need in a garment. Combining this wonderful practicality of years of motherhood with a flair for style, culminates in an irresistible range of baby wear under the Dimples brand.

Hers is the classic story of necessity being the mother of invention. “I made clothes for my own children when money was scarce and I found I couldn’t buy simple, practical, quality gear.”

The idea for the company began in 1990, when a friend suggested that maybe the young McAllisters had more than enough clothes and that it was time Jane considered going into business that Dimples was born. Jane’s vision for a new baby clothing brand began to take shape.

Getting Started

Her clothes quickly began to attract attention and she was encouraged to create her initial range of Dimples in the form of baby berets which were introduced into exclusive retail boutiques throughout New Zealand. She initially received an order for 10 hats from a local store. “I’d cut, sew and hand-embroider them myself.” When demand increased, Jane Anne enlisted the help of her ever-willing mother. “We’d even send the hats down to her while she was on holiday in the South Island,” she laughs.

“I then got ideas for ranges, and it has been a progression from there. I went from asking shops if they wanted my product, to now shops asking me if they can stock my product! The clothes have always sold themselves, it’s never been something that needs pushing”.

Demand for the product quickly saw the range expand to include over 90 designs today.

The Early Days

In the early days it was quite common to see Jane cutting and sewing while pregnant and a baby on the hip. Jane would often burn the midnight oil and work late into the evening when her children had gone to bed. When starting out, she cut her designs by hand. As the orders increased, so too did the layers of fabric Jane found herself cutting through. This progressed to the stage where she made the decision to invest in a ‘time saving’ cutting machine. For Jane, this was quite exciting. She recalls a day when things were not running to plan; children were sick and needed extra tending to while she had the added pressure of a big order to be fulfilled. With babies being juggled and children calling from all corners of the home, Jane’s promise of ‘time saving’ was shattered when she accidentally cut through the cord of her precious investment. Never one to give up, out came the scissors resulting in the fulfillment of her first ‘big’ order.

Ten Years On...

Once Dimples was being stocked in retail shops throughout New Zealand, and the Dimples website was fully established, in order for customers to see and touch the products they were buying, in 2006 Dimples by Jane Anne opened the doors to their first store in the chi-chi shopping precinct New Market, Auckland. The boutique boasts the most extensive range of Dimples babywear available in-store. Jane said “Opening the Dimples Boutique has been in response to a strong demand from customers; we have created what we believe is the first exclusive ‘one label only’ baby wear store in the country.”

2006 proved a year when Dimples made significant strides; they got the green light from Harrods in London. Dimples became the first New Zealand baby and toddler clothing range to be accepted into the exclusive London department store.

In the early days Jane was selling small amounts of products, she now manufactures more than 80,000 New Zealand made pieces exporting throughout eight overseas markets.

Currently Dimples stocks main high end department stores throughout New Zealand plus specialty gift and children’s wear shops. They also stock in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, the U.K, Denmark, France and Switzerland, as well as negotiating with Korea and America, also new and expansive markets.

What’s more, Dimples product range has diversified and expanded according to the needs of its loyal customers into making nursery furniture under their new brand called Babybliss.

Product Range

The evolving Dimples collection features classic shapes, pure colours and six unique hand embroidered designs, the bee (the trademark of Dimples by Jane Anne), the rosebud, the soldier, the ladybird, the rabbit, and the boat. View our Classics range.

Simplistic and stylish, the various Dimples designs are iconic and almost universally recognised for their intricate and unique hand embroidered character and consistent quality. The finishing touches are applied to each item by a team of 25 hand embroiderers exclusively trained and employed by Dimples. This training and the ongoing monitoring ensures that stringent quality standards are maintained.
The Dimples range also consists of essential baby accessories from delicate hand embroidered wraps through to face cloths, towels and bed linen. It has gained an international and loyal customer base including many high profile celebrities.

A natural extension to Dimples core products are their stunning handcrafted Babybliss bassinettes and change tables to complete the perfect Dimples nursery. View Dimples Furniture.

The design of baby wear for newborns through to 2 years requires a high level of convenience and practicality that Jane can understand as a mother over the last 33 years. Jane has encapsulated this in every Dimples garment by combining leading edge innovation for the selection of the latest fabrics with classic timeless designs.

Seasonal fashion ranges are launched twice a year; these too capture Dimples enduring elegance and timelessness.

All garments are manufactured in New Zealand using soft textured cotton-rich fabrics, the finest 100% certified organic cotton and merino wool, and natural silk for those special occasions.

Key People

With her father as a role model, Jane is no stranger to creating and running businesses, “I come from a small entrepreneurial family. My father was always into new, ‘hands on’ businesses”. It would be Jane’s mother, Patricia who gifted Jane her ‘artistic, creative flair’.
Jane acknowledges how lucky she is with members of her family “all pitching in”. “My daughter Felicity helps run the business, keeping the cogs of the industry turning. I have another daughter Emma who nannies my children and grandchildren. I have a son Chris and daughter-in-law Karlene who runs the website and their own business. My husband Sam who runs his own business also has good input, he is extremely supportive and is a great sounding board; quite often we sit up ‘till late discussing exciting new ventures and ideas. My daughter Rebecca fronts our boutique store in New Market, she enjoys the contact with our customers”.

What’s more, the Dimples models are Jane’s own children and grandchildren!

Brand Values

Dimples by Jane Anne retain a firm grasp of its core values, identity and philosophy. They are consistently committed to supplying impeccably designed products that are of the finest quality.

Jane believes her passion for baby wear has made the difference. The Dimples range is one hundred percent New Zealand made and Jane considers this to be extremely important.

Jane Anne adores children and feels the need to do what she can to preserve our world for our future generations. Dimples are absolutely committed to expanding their already extensive organic ranges.

Jane’s core values and priorities continue to revolve around family. “We have started to outgrow our home in Titirangi. But I like the fact that my business is at home, especially for my children. That keeps us here”.