iCandy x Tory McNidder - The Barmy Fox
Hi there! I’m Tory, an American living in the UK with my husband David, 9-month-old son called Miles and husky mix pup called Jessie. In the past I’ve been a nanny and a certified art teacher. Then I lived and worked in Shanghai, China as an English teacher and then as an Art Teacher in an international school, and eventually became Head of Art for the whole school. Now I’m an embroidery artist and teacher in my home studio just south of Kings Heath and create embroideries and patterns when I’m not looking after my baby!
When I spoke to iCandy last November about this partnership, I was 8 months pregnant, and I knew I wanted to make a banner to announce the birth of my little baby! We didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl, and I wanted to design something that would work for either.
We received the iCandy Peach (Dark Grey Twill) pushchair in December, and straight away put it together.
We immediately opened the box and it was so luxurious. The fabric was so lush and you could tell care was taken with each and every design decision. It was so easy to put together, and to be honest thank god for that because I was huge!
We easily set it all up and put the carrycot on it within the hour, and just seeing it waiting in the hall was making me even more excited to use! Little did we know that we would have to wait nearly two whole months before baby would arrive.
After having an unplanned caesarean, I was so worried about pushing the stroller and going out for walks. I knew I needed to be active and to move gently but I was thinking it was going to be difficult to push on the sidewalk and honestly that couldn’t have been further from the truth. It was amazing to push around, so smooth, and Miles didn’t even wake up when going over some of the uneven parts of the road.
Since then, I knew that this was the perfect stroller for us and it’s become a staple in our family. We’ve taken it to Warwick Castle over the cobble roads when my parents came and Miles was 3 weeks old. We’ve taken it to Devon on the beach and strolling through the town.
We went to Hoo Zoo where we went in the lemur enclosure. It’s been with me walking to swimming classes, the grocery store and out for pub lunches and dinners - we’ve taken it absolutely everywhere. It’s genuinely the most versatile pushchair I’ve seen, and being a nanny for over ten years previously, I’ve used a lot of pushchairs!
I’m so grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity over the past year to have the iCandy pushchair to get out and about. It’s really helped me to get out of the house after having Miles, especially because I don’t have my license to drive here in the UK. I’m delighted to be working on this project with iCandy and to be able to share a little bit of me with all of you!
OR watch my Instagram Live on @thebarmyfox on Friday 18th November at 16:30. You can watch the replay on my Instagram or head to YouTube and watch there! Search @thebarmyfox wherever you are on social and be sure to follow so you won’t miss it!
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to message. Enjoy your stitching!
It’s been a joy to talk about my experience with iCandy and hope you enjoyed reading it too. See you at the live on Friday.
Tory McNidder
Embroidery Artist and Teacher