Guest Blog – The Tiddly Acorn Co.


The Tiddly Acorn Co. is a little home-grown side-line that my husband, Craig, and I have been working on since the birth of our second son, Harlan.

We had made our own height chart after having our eldest, Otis – and friends and family graciously bought or accepted further prototypes of these and various other wooden items as Craig honed his beautiful hand-engraving skills.

We have found the process of creating height charts to be really personal. First and foremost, for the lovely, unique personalisation's requested, but also because the piece of wood does not leave our hands for the entire time we have it. The timber is chosen purposefully and intentionally for its character and suitability, hand-engraved using a palm-router, sanded and oiled, before being carefully packaged, off to its forever home. Our greatest hope being that one day, a height chart we have made, might be passed down to another generation, filled with markings from the smallest and tallest, youngest and eldest.

(TW – miscarriage / loss)

Starting a home business has been a real learning curve for us. I quickly needed to figure out social media as a means of reaching wider audiences (...still learning 4 years on thanks to those ever-changing, pesky algorithms!)

Something that struck me as I networked with platform users, was the huge numbers of families that have suffered the devastating loss of a pregnancy, infant or child. After reading the moving tributes of so many, I realised that we needed to make options available for families to memorialise their loss on their family height chart. That these beautiful souls could not be measured earthside, they would grow eternally in our hearts and that had to be acknowledged. And so, we introduced custom symbols that could be engraved, free of charge, and also why for the month of October each year during which Baby Loss Awareness Week is held, we donate some of our profits to SANDS.

Being more active on social media has also shown us the importance of supporting each other. Coming across other small businesses and amazing accounts such as The Mother Hub, not only brightens our day to see the awesome creativity happening in our communities, but also gives us strength and a feeling of solidarity in a virtual world where you can often feel unseen.

We know only too well, the spinning of many plates. As a busy family, keeping a home, growing our business whilst working day jobs as a Locksmith and Breastfeeding Support Worker, can at times feel exhausting. But as we walk past our height chart, slowly filling up with markings of our growing boys we can pause for a moment knowing its all worth it. Our height chart is a visual reminder of all the loving memories we share as a family and we feel honoured that we can bring a little of that magic into others home too.

Thanks for reading!

Ellie Browne – The Tiddly Acorn Co.