Two Sisters, One Family Business, One School Morning Problem
My sister Maggie and I grew up around backpacks before either of us had kids of our own. Our family's stationery business bought, sourced and sold backpacks for years, so "back to school" was never really a season for us, it was just part of how the year worked. We're both graphic designers by training too, Maggie studied at university in South Australia, I studied at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW which meant we noticed design details most people would walk straight past.
Neither of us planned to build a kids backpack and lunch brand. It just turned out to be the obvious answer to a problem we were both living.
Two Different Mornings, Same Problem
By the time Maggie had her two young children, I'd already been packing lunches for two decades (yes 2 decades, I navigated a teenage pregnancy which turned out to be the best - being a Mum at 19, just after leaving home, while at uni! It was a fun time learning to look after and feed myself and a baby). Maggie and I compared notes constantly, and the same frustration kept coming up on both sides: gear that didn't fit together, didn't last, or just didn't work the way it should for an actual school morning.
What Growing Up in the Family Business Gave Us
Years of buying, sourcing and selling backpacks taught us what actually holds up to a school year of daily use, and what looks good on a shelf but falls apart by term two. Being designers taught us that good and functional aren't opposites, they're meant to be the same thing, and being a mum getting though the hectic morning rush to get out the door and to work and school on time taught us about systems, being organised, routines.
Why We Built It Ourselves
We looked around at what was available and kept landing on the same conclusion: nothing quite fit together the way we wanted it to. Nothing worked we way we as mums needed it to. So we did what designers & creatives do when they can't buy the thing they want, we made it. Bags, bentos, bottles and lunch gear designed as one coordinated system, not a shelf of unrelated products.
Made by Two Mums Who Live It Too
Neither of us claims to have mornings sorted every single day. Lunches still come home untouched sometimes. The difference is we're building the gear from the inside of the problem, not guessing at it from the outside.
Related Reads
- The morning that started it all: the hat clip story
- The 20-year view: 20+ years of packing school lunches
- The logic behind the whole range: one system, not ten containers
- Ready to shop? Start with our bento box buying guide.
Shop Backpacks & Bundles
FAQs
Who founded Spixal?
Spixal was founded by sisters Deanna and Maggie, both graphic designers and mums, who grew up around their family's backpack and stationery business.
Is Spixal an Australian, mum-owned brand?
Yes. Spixal is designed by two Australian sisters and mums, drawing on more than 35 years of family experience in school bags.
Keep reading: One System, Not Ten Containers for the thinking behind everything we build.