Maternity leave leads to mother starting own business from rural Whanganui home

Chrissy Corlett, the mother of two behind Wooden Prints, has been working from her Okoia property for the last seven years. Photo / Supplied

What started as a hobby and something to fill in her time during maternity leave has turned into a fulltime job for a rural Whanganui mother.

And Chrissy Corlett has never returned to her nine to five office job.

Previously working in real estate, Corlett began making printed wooden signs for friends and family "just as a bit of a hobby" and to do something productive to help fill her time while on leave.

"Someone suggested I should start selling," she said.

The signs were an instant hit and Corlett was soon inundated with work, and a return to office looking unlikely and undesirable with a new business venture possible from home.

"I decided that was the way to go instead of returning to work after maternity leave. Now we send them all over the country.

"It's really grown in the last couple of years. It's really cool."

Working out of a sleepout on their rural Okoia property, Corlett runs the Wooden Prints operation on her own. Every print is homemade using 12mm plywood, with each piece then cut and sanded to the size and shape needed for each project.

After working a handful of part-time jobs during the early stages of the business, Corlett has been working fulltime for the past three and a half years.

"Running your own business gives you the freedom to be able to do all their school activities and beat the 9-5."

Being able to work from home has always been a dream for Corlett, allowing her to spend more time with her two children.

"I like to go to all the cross countries and school activities and put my focus on them. Working for myself I'm able to do that. You miss all those moments with the kids when you're stuck in an office."

While unable to operate under the Covid-19 lockdown as they couldn't get materials from suppliers, it gave Corlett extra time to spend with her children.