Castle & Cubby founders Kellie & Jonathan

Castle & Cubby: a business built on sustainable play.

From backyard project to booming business.

For Kellie and Jonathan, Castle & Cubby began as a simple yet powerful idea: create beautiful, eco-friendly cubby houses that spark imagination, and promote sensory exploration and outdoor adventure. It all started in 2013 when they built their first cubby from recycled apple crates for their eldest son, Jethro, as they prepared to welcome their second child, Shepard.

When the cubby house was complete, the response from friends and family was overwhelming, and what began as a passion project quickly turned into a thriving business.

“We put an ad up on eBay and sold 10 cubbies in a matter of weeks,” Kellie recalls. “We just got hooked.”

Since then, Castle & Cubby has grown into a team of talented designers and builders, bringing children’s dreams—and the visions of families, schools and businesses—to life through handcrafted, sustainable play products.

Bringing structure to creativity.

As with any great adventure, Castle & Cubby’s path from passion to thriving business wasn’t always smooth and linear. And Kellie and Jonathan knew that creating lasting business success would require more than just creativity and hard work.

And that’s where Kearney Group was asked to lend a hand.

“Kearney Group has really helped us understand our numbers,” Jonathan explains.

“We’ve worked hard on understanding our operations, our product, and our customers—Kearney Group has been really instrumental in helping us stay organised, look ahead with a project focus, understand our cash flow, and plan for the future.”

The goal? To create a business that not only thrives but also allows Kellie and Jonathan to enjoy the life they’ve built.

“Doing business well means we’re less stressed, more present with our kids, and able to enjoy the rewards of our hard work,” Kellie shares.

Integrated Advice for business and life.

For Castle & Cubby, finance and business advice isn’t just about numbers—it’s about life goals. That’s why integrated advice has become such a key part of their journey.

“Integrated financial advice has become really important to us,” says Kellie. “Our discussions are about the business and cash flow, budgets and performance—but the other part of our meetings is about our personal goals and how we’re going.”

“Having that full-picture advice means we can make smart decisions for both our business and our family,” she explains.