Meet Shirley & Grace, the mama's and makers behind @robotanddino. Robot & Dinosaur makes pillows for moms-to-be, moms and children. All their pillows are filled with buckwheat hulls, which is a natural and sustainable material that make the pillows comfortable, breathable and amazingly supportive. Robot & Dinosaur's Mom pillows support your belly during pregnancy and your baby while breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Dads (and moms) also use the Mom pillows as body pillows.The Child pillows feature cute, kid-approved prints with child-proof zippers.
Do you have kids? If so how many & age?
Grace: 2 kids - ages 3.5 & 1 Shirley: 2 kids + expecting 3rd - ages 6 & 4
What's one thing people probably don't know about you? Grace: I’d rather listen to a podcast than watch something on Netflix.  (Still love Netflix though!) Shirley: I consume a lot of True Crime media: podcasts, TV series, investigative reports...
Are you a stay at home mom?
Grace: Yes. Shirley: No
What is your favourite thing to do for yourself?
Grace: Take a nap. Shirley: Go for an easy hike outside (with a well deserved nap afterwards!)
What is your favourite date night activity?
Grace: A nice dinner, followed by ice cream. Shirley: Board games
What's one thing you couldn't live without?
Grace and Shirley: Our family! And friends!
Who's your IG inspiration?
Grace and Shirley: There are sooo many inspiring mommy feeds, we wouldn’t be able to list them without missing anyone.
What advice would you give your younger self
Grace: There isn’t just one right way to do anything in life. You will find a way to make whatever decision you make work out just fine. Shirley: You’ll never know if you don’t try!
Where is business located out of?
We are a Toronto company and our pillows are all made here in Canada. Robot and Dinosaur is an online shop only - www.robotanddino.com. We also have an Etsy store by the same name.
How did you choose the name for your business?
We wanted to choose a name that was fun, unique and appealing to all. Robots and dinosaurs pretty much meet all these points as we are total nerds who love robots and dinosaurs, and feel that they are gender and age-neutral.
How do you balance having kids & running a business?
We have very supportive families. We get a lot of help from our spouses. Even our parents help with babysitting so we can attend markets and shows and make our pillows.
What advice can you give someone looking to start up their own business?
Find something you are passionate about and dive in! Often we are held back because of fear of failure, but you can’t succeed if you don’t try.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help! It’s a lot of work but family and/or friends can make things easier. Build a network of like minded fellow entrepreneurs who can help you out with business related questions. Be realistic! As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day and most small businesses aren’t either. We’ve made many mistakes along the way but we’ve learned and improved upon each one. It’s important not to give up but to be better.
What sets your business apart from others alike?
There are not many, if any, good natural solutions to pillows geared towards moms and kids these days. We were inspired to start our company when we were looking for pillows for our own families. The first thing we realized was that conventional pillows were usually filled or made with foam or other synthetic fibres that would smell (or off-gas) and quickly lose their shape and support. This led us to buckwheat hulls. Our pillows are filled with these amazing hulls, which are an all-natural and sustainable material. Due to their unique shape, they give our pillows an incredible ability to mold to our heads, bodies and babies while maintaining constant firm and cool support.  Another important feature of our pillows is that they are made in Canada and we source our buckwheat hulls from Quebec.
What is the most challenging part of running your business?
For us, the most challenging part of being entrepreneurs is having to handle all the unknowns and unexpected challenges that come up. When you run a small business and something very impactful happens (eg. the price of buckwheat hulls increases drastically or the local company you have hired to help sew cases messes up the large order right before a show), you need to figure out the next steps on your own. While it is the most challenging aspect of running the business, it is also where we have learned many valuable lessons.
Where do you get the inspiration for your clothing line?
We are inspired by our kids and families. We designed our pillows specifically for them and they are also our number one fans and users!
Dream vacation: Shirley & Grace: Anywhere quiet, sunny and with a beach
Dream job: Shirley: A job where I can be my own boss!
Favourite podcast: Grace: Freakonomics Radio, Reply All, Invisibilia….there are so many... Shirley: Criminal, Radio Lab, Planet Money,
Instagram: @robotanddino https://robotanddino.com/
@Camara.Crew stamp of approval
I always find it so difficult to find a pillow for myself that is comfortable and helps me get a good night sleep. What's been even more difficult is finding a pillow that is safe for my children. Lily didn't sleep with a pillow for a long time mostly because it gave me anxiety thinking about it. However, when she started to co-sleep with us we noticed that she enjoyed sleeping on a pillow.
Lily's Child Pillow from @robotanddino had to be one of the products I've seen her most excited to open! She couldn't wait to lye on it. She carries it around the house everywhere with her and it's always her #1 choice for napping on. I love that it has a child proof zipper so I don't have to worry about her getting into any trouble.
We also got a Mom Pillow which let me tell you I wish I had during pregnancy. It would have been the best body pillow for those many uncomfortable nights. It is so supportive but still incredibly comfortable. I love that it is long which makes it great for bottle feeding Mason. Mason does not like to sit still ever - but when I lye him on the pillow to feed him its like he melts into it and doesn't want to move. When we were breast feeding I definitely would have used this pillow to help us get comfortable. I think the fact that is is supportive but comfortable could have helped Mason and I get comfortable more easily during the breastfeeding process. We also like cuddling on the pillow together - there is almost enough room for all 3 of us. And yes, Lily steals this pillow from her brother all the time because she loves it so much too.
Here is a breakdown on the main reasons I love our Robot & Dino Pillows:
1) They are 100% Canadian Sourced - the buckwheat the pillows are filled with are Canadian sourced. How amazing is that?!
2) The inner case for Child Pillows are made with child-proof zippers! Try to get through that Lily! HAHA
3) The cases can be washed very easily! Super helpful for baby's who spit up often and keeping things clean.
4) The pillows are designed to keep you cool! This is so handy as Lily runs at a hot temperature like her dad so sleeping on the pillow keeps her comfortable throughout the night.
5) They are ADORABLE! The patterns offered are so cute and I guarantee you will find one that fits with your style.
