What is Eight Legged Octopus?

Our Story

Eight Legged Octopus was born out of a joke when my oldest was a new baby. Being the ocean enthusiast I am, I wanted baby clothes and toys that would entice her to love the ocean too. To my dismay, most of the products available were overly cutesy and even worse, epically inaccurate. It was a rare moment when I came across an octopus that actually had eight legs. And so the original blog was born, focused on finding scientifically accurate depictions of ocean creatures on kids products.

After shelving that in the overwhelm of small children, work, and going back to school, I came to realize that I missed it. And so the new Eight Legged Octopus was born in the craziness of 2020, this time to bring together my passions for the ocean, for people, for community, and for the idea that a business can be part of building the type of future I want to see for all our kids. We are a registered benefit corporation in New Hampshire.

In 2021 we expanded from a blog and online shop in our first bricks and mortar space in downtown Dover, New Hampshire. At the shop we carry a range of products that align with our vision, mission, and guiding principles (see below). The blog continues as a home for my musings on being mom and my imperfect attempts at living light on the planet (feel free to reach out if you’d like to be a guest writer too).