press
release * press release * press release
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New
Arrival luxury for
Mum and Bub |
Catherine
3 weeks pre-Jacob |
Lush
Spa Collection |
The
Quiet Achiever
Australia's
first, and one of the world's ONLY upmarket concepts
for all things baby, is the talk of the town in several
countries offering huge retail appeal and sales to
match. Founded by Melbourne's Catherine Arfi in late
1993, baby WORKSHOP was handpicked to participate
as the ONLY infant skincare range at the recent prêt-a-porter
fashion event in Paris. Not surprisingly, enquiries
came in thick and fast from the likes of Galeries
Lafayette and Henri Bendel. Export markets already
include Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand,
Belgium, Holland, Norway, Finland, Indonesia, USA
and UAE, with most of Europe no doubt soon set to
follow.
Back
home, baby WORKSHOP's skincare range Aromababy, enjoys
unprecedented success as a result of acceptance through
select hospitals, as the FIRST natural based products
to be consistently used, sold and promoted through
various health facilities including Victoria's exclusive
maternity hospital, Francis Perry House.
Remarkably,
Catherine has never been one to exploit her obvious
success in the hospital arena, opting instead, to
quietly progress her work in the area of researching
the effects of chemical ingredients on neonatal skin.
Catherine
studied for a Diploma in Aromatherapy during her second
pregnancy 3 years ago, having been involved with the
product development of body products and accessories
for major Australian fashion retail chains including
Sportsgirl, Fiorucci & Portmans. A former part-time
model & beauty editor, this quiet achiever is
currently the face of the Australian Breastfeeding
Association's 'Breastfeeding, Close to my Hart' campaign.
She is currently studying for an Infant Massage Instructor
certificate. Catherine names her 2 sons Beau 8 and
Jacob 2 (currently the face of Aromababy world-wide)
as the inspiration for the development of her Brand,
with both boys never far from the office - the younger
of the 2 making his first trip in with Mum at only
6 days old. Both children enjoy regular use of Mum’s
in-house massage facility situated in their home set
on a tranquil 2½ acres in semi-rural Melbourne,
where the family grow their own vegies and are avid
composters and recyclers.
Despite
Catherine's busy schedule, she still manages to donate
her time to various organizations including several
Maternal & Child Health Centres, groups supporting
women and children with cancer and many more. Her
obvious passion and love for supporting both children
and women through pregnancy and beyond began many
years ago with Copelen Child & Family Services
(originally an orphanage) one of her first ports of
call when she commenced the business. These days Catherine
is still a regular attendee at various professional
midwifery and childbirth seminars. She is an avid
supporter of Australian’s Breastfeeding Association
(formerly Nursing Mothers), having breastfed her newest
son Jacob for 23 months whilst working full time including
having to stop and resume after travelling to Korea
for business during this time. Aromababy has been
a sponsor of the ABA for the past 5 years.
Whilst
Catherine's unique infant skincare has been the source
of many copy-cats over the past few years, most have
already failed in this extremely competitive market.
Catherine's flourishing enterprise, on the other hand,
features in a constant stream of publications including
(importantly) the ANZ Bank's business magazine. She
is often called upon as a spokesperson for a number
of organisations and waves proudly the Austrade flag.
Catherine travelled to Hong Kong late 2002 for the
official local launch of baby WORKSHOP and Aromababy
natural skincare there, where she spent time with
various health professionals, press and new Mums’
groups. Her products were again on show in Hong Kong
and Malaysia recently through Austrade events.
Aromababy
celebrity recipients to date include Sly Stallone,
model Jo Bailey, fashion designer Alannah Hill, multi-award
winner Lisa McCune and an extremely well-heeled New
York based photographer to the stars who made her
purchase online! Famous sister, Antonia Kidman, was
overheard at a recent expo saying "I love these
products!"”