About Us
Connecta Baby Carriers is owned and run by Hannah Hamer, mother of six young children, living in Hampshire, UK.
How the Connecta Design Evolved by Hannah Hamer
Before I designed the Connecta I had spent many months making Mei Tais in every different way possible trying different body shapes and sizes and styles and angles of straps, all for my youngest baby.
When it came to designing the Connecta I had a very specific set of criteria that I wanted the carrier to meet.
When out and about I wanted a carrier than wouldn’t have long straps that would drag on the ground.
It needed to be as comfortable for a front carry as a back carry. A problem I’d found when trying other soft structured carriers was that they just weren’t comfy for me on the front. There was either an awkward uncomfortable chest strap to fasten behind my neck, or if I crossed the straps in back the thin webbing would dig into my sides.
I wanted a carrier without a stiff waistband that would annoy me in a front carry and push my clothing down in a back carry.
I wanted to be able to roll up the bottom of my carrier so my baby could have her arms out or be enclosed for sleeping and it would be adjustable for tiny babies or big toddlers.
I felt there was nothing available that answered all these needs for me, so I set about designing what became the Connecta.
The easiest part was designing the body shape – after making all those Mei tais without a doubt my preferred shape was a curved rounded top which gives the baby room to move and is very supportive. I also wanted a wide supportive seat that would support a toddler, but not too wide as to be uncomfortable for smaller babies.
Coming up with a solution to how to configure the straps took lots of experimenting and prototypes. I wanted shoulder straps that would be padded and wide enough that they would be comfortable when crossed across the back in a front carry. On the other hand they needed to be adjustable enough that they could be pulled tight enough when the baby is on the back and the straps are worn rucksack style. This proved to be a tricky design issue to solve.
One early prototype used double rings to fasten at the side, another used a hook & d-ring system. Ultimately the solution I choose was a buckle and webbing system which allows quick and easy adjustments, but using very wide 50mm webbing with the maximum amount of padding possible. The 50mm webbing does not dig in uncomfortably either on the back or under the arm pits when used rucksack style.
The final design incorporates all of these features and filled a gap in what was available for my baby and I, and I hope will do for other mums and babies too.