From Oma's Spray Bottle to a Hawke's Bay Bathroom Brand
A little spray bottle by her Oma's toilet in Germany seemed unremarkable. Decades later, buried in wet wipes with her own kids, Leslie turned it into TinyBum.
In her grandmother’s bathroom in Germany, there was always a little spray bottle sitting beside the toilet. When dry paper did not quite finish the job, you gave it a spritz. Nobody made a fuss of it. It was as ordinary as the soap by the sink, just the way the house worked.
Leslie Crasborn carried that memory across the world without really noticing she had it. She settled in Hawke’s Bay, built a life as a graphic designer and photographer and had children of her own. Then one day she was standing in the bathroom helping with yet another clean-up, working through what felt like a never-ending supply of wet wipes. Packet after packet, into the bin, off to wherever wipes end up.
That was the moment her Oma’s spray bottle came back to her.
A Simpler Version of an Old Habit
“I thought, surely there’s a simpler, nicer version of this for kids? Something reusable, where you’re not constantly buying and throwing away packet after packet of wipes.”
Leslie Crasborn, founder, TinyBum
The more she thought about how many wipes one family gets through, the more the idea stuck. There had to be a way to keep the useful part of that childhood habit without the plastic packet and the daily trip to the bin. That was the start of TinyBum.
Pump It, Wipe It, Flush It
The product itself is refreshingly simple. TinyBum Foam is a gentle, no-rinse foaming cleanser you pump straight onto ordinary toilet paper. Pump it, wipe it, flush it. The paper does the job you were already going to do, just a little better, so there is nothing extra to throw away.
The bottle is designed to stay. Instead of reaching for a fresh packet of wipes every few days, you top it up with a refill. As the brand sums it up: clean bums, less waste, one less thing to worry about. It is aimed squarely at parents of little ones, the years of toilet training and endless small clean-ups, though the same logic works for anyone tired of buying wipes.
The economics are part of the appeal. TinyBum reckons one bottle of foam replaces more than 14 packs of wet wipes, so what looks like a small swap is designed to add up to real savings over a year of toilet training. Leslie describes the formula as low-tox and gentle, without the plastic that rides along in most wipes.
The Unglamorous Part
Using it is easy. Making it was not. Leslie is honest about the learning curve between a good idea and a finished bottle on a shelf.
“I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of formulations, manufacturers, packaging, branding, websites and all the things you don’t realise come with creating a physical product from scratch.”
Leslie Crasborn, founder, TinyBum
As a designer and photographer, the branding was the part that felt like home. “The branding bit has probably been the most fun part,” she says. “Figuring out how to actually make the thing has definitely been a learning curve.” She built the brand largely on her own, around the daily chaos of raising a family, the kind of quiet, on-her-own-terms build that runs through the stories of many New Zealand women in business. The result is made in New Zealand.
Why a Small Swap Matters
Wet wipes are one of those quiet household habits with an outsized footprint, the kind of everyday thing a wave of eco-minded New Zealand brands has been quietly rethinking. Most are not flushable whatever the packet claims, plenty contain plastic and they add up fast in a house with young children. A reusable bottle and a refill is a modest change, but it is the kind that tends to stick, because it is easier than the thing it replaces rather than harder.
What gives the story its charm is how neatly it loops back on itself.
“TinyBum has come full circle, from a little bathroom habit I grew up with in Germany, to something I rediscovered through having kids and turned into a NZ-made product here at home.”
Leslie Crasborn, founder, TinyBum
Not invented so much as remembered, then made a little better. TinyBum is still being made ready for its first release. You can see where it is up to, and follow along as it launches, at tinybum.co.nz or on Instagram at @tinybum_nz.
