Home is where the work is

Toowoomba mum Angela Smith runs her own children's sleepwear business Rube & Harri from home.

Laura Hunt

EVEN though she's busier working from home than she ever was when working at a law firm, Toowoomba mum Angela Smith wouldn't have it any other way.

Recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show women now make up 75% of part-time workers, while numbers for at-home workers also have risen due to greater possibilities from emerging mobile technologies.

Mrs Smith said she loved the flexibility that came with her business and liked having the time to spend with her three children.

She started her children's sleepwear label Rube & Harri two years ago and has since seen the idea grow into a bona fide business.

After seeing a lack of high-quality kids' pyjamas on the market, she decided to create her own line.

"After I had kids, I looked for pyjamas but couldn't find anything that I liked. It was all licensed stuff," Mrs Smith said.

"I left work to have my first child Ruby and then decided I didn't want to go back, but would rather work from home to spend time with her."

The range is now sold in 45 stores around Australia, including Hanna's in Toowoomba, as well as a store in Hong Kong.

Mrs Smith said the business now weaved, printed, dyed and knitted all the fabrics.

The bureau's figures also highlighted that women's participation in the labour force had almost doubled since the 1960s.