a holiday treat just for visiting our blog... now through december, save $10 on any order $50 and over! just use code spare10 at checkout. or save $25 on any order over $100! use code: spare25. what are you waiting for? hurry in for best selection! and happy holidays to all!
check out today's exclusive steal at babysteals.com. this is a fantastic deal on a cozy three-piece spare outfit and travel case. perfect for gifting or keeping as the perfect emergency outfit in daddy's car. enjoy!
our thanks to jana of babysteals for making this happen during this crazy holiday season!
in case you missed the l.a. morning news yesterday... the baby planners are at it again! and this time, featuring babysparewear on TV! check out ellie & melissa's picks for best holiday travel products for children! click here to watch the video.
we would like to say thank you for your continued support with a special offer for you. save an extra 20% on any purchase of $25 or more, PLUS for this weekend only get FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $25, too (usually free on orders above $75!
use code: THANKS at checkout. valid now and only until monday, december 1st. hurry for best selection! now is a great time to try our ecochic line or grab some spare sale items...they're going fast!
check out the ultimate gift guide from peekaboo picks. our organic peace kit is the #1 gift on the fashion & accessories list. take a look for a special savings discount promo code! and as always, thank you for the continued support for ours and other mom-owned businesses!
for more info visit www.peekaboopicks.com
babysparewear will be exhibiting at the wholesale mom2b tradeshow this friday, saturday and sunday. stop by booth #123 to see what's new. our new organic line is on display as are our new acrylic counter-top displays with headers. it's a nice way for our local stores to see the full line of babysparewear brand products. come pick up a new catalog, too.
this is the show's first time at the california market center. (we are thrilled the show came back to los angeles, after a stint in vegas.) as an all maternity and baby show catering to a higher-end market, mom2b is always one show we look forward to doing every year. it is small and well-run and not-to-mention offer the more contemporary hard-wall booths which make set-up a breeze for us.
*local retailers please note, we have a show special: all orders placed at the show receive free domestic shipping. see you there.
babysparewear, inc. is now a proud member of the Organic Trade Association. OTA is a membership-based business association that focuses on the organic business community in North America. we strongly support the OTA's mission to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy.
the OTA is a fantastic organization for businesses to learn and network with other like-minded businesses. the OTA also provides an excellent resource for consumers to learn about the benefits of going organic as well as related issues in the news. there is even a fantastic directory of member businesses supporting the organic cause. check out the directory at www.theorganicpages.com
Baby Bites Brooklyn is Brooklyn's only social and educational program for moms and moms-to-be. A franchise of Baby Bites New York, this helpful group provides expectant, new, and not-so-new Brooklyn moms a forum where they can connect, share, learn and grow. We were recently contacted by the Baby Bites Brooklyn as a "must-have product for new moms" to be featured at one of their events. Thanks to Chana Balk and her fabulous mom network for the support and interest in the babysparewear brand. We look forward to working with you again soon! Visit www.babybitesnyc.com/brooklyn for more information.
we all know the challenges of leaving the house with little ones. packing the diaper bag, gathering the gear, feeding, changing, etc. it's enough to make you want to stay
home... well, babble.com freelance writer nicole feliciano (also, of momtrends.blogspot.com) has compiled a helpful list of products that reduce parents' common to-go frustrations. guess who made the babble list. check out #16.
we are thrilled to announce babysparewear's first international distribution agreement in the netherlands. headed by the savvy Mastos R. Aerdts, the pearl bodyfashion group will represent and distribute the babysparewear brand in the netherlands, belgium and luxembourg. pearl bodyfashion shares our vision of simple and functional style across the maternity, lingerie and baby markets. we welcome this exciting opportunity to share the babysparewear vision globally. we thank mastos for seeing the global potential of our brand and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship.
no freezer bags in the preschool cubby for smart celeb-mom courteney cox arquette... coco arquette is our latest celebrity toddler prepared with a spare outfit for any on-the-go wardrobe emergency! our toddlersparewear kit in fuchsia is inside little coco's pre-school cubby to simplify those inevitable toddler mishaps. thanks to coco's peeps for the sweet note.
we were recently surprised by the ladies at swell pregnancy guide when told we were a company highlighted on the swell list, a list which features innovative pregnancy and baby products. we were flattered to see a photo of our pistachio tie-dye babysparewear kit on their spread of "products you can't have a baby without!" (check out page 25 of the 2008-2009 los angeles edition) thanks, hillary...we think you're swell, too! the guide is not only a local directory for expecting women and new moms, but also includes informative articles and coupons, too. the swell guide is currently published in los angeles and las vegas but will soon also be published in eight other cities. visit www.swellpregnancyguide.com for the online guide and for information on how to get your local copy.
the l.a. fashion market holiday/resort '08 starts tomorrow friday, august 8th at the california mart. so, local retailers will want to be sure to visit michael at metropolitan kids suite #A632 to view our entire line, including our eco-friendly organic babysparewear kits.
and apparently michael's skills extend beyond savvy sales professional... be sure to visit michael's fabulous new website www.metrokidsla.com
thought i'd post photos of our space at our l.a. mart showroom rosalie and friends, suite #750. like our products, our display is simple and to the point and shows off our babysparewear offerings: from our ecochic organic line to our 3-piece fashion fix kits to our 2-piece mini makeover and toddlersparewear kits to our stand-alone spare travel bags—all concisely within a vertical 4 x 8 space.
our display can be viewed from the front window which is pretty awesome. and we were assigned a display area which faces a collection of best-selling elvis presley licensed products. how can you go wrong hangin' with the king, right?
(besides the fact that my late brother was a life-long elvis fan, so we consider that a hunka hunka burnin' luck...)
also, check out the newly & glamorously redesigned main lobby of the l.a. mart®/l.a. mart design center. this last january 2008, the center "commemorated it's 50th year as one of los angeles' mid-century icons" and the building continues to show it's commitment to the design industries with its fresh perspective on the modern lifestyle.
we are pleased to announce another exciting expansion of babysparewear's sales efforts. we have signed with the L.A. Mart gift showroom of 26 years, rosalie and friends! the impressive 4000 square foot showroom is run by dynamic duo: rosalie and daughter robin, two industry professionals who quickly made us feel right at home! their showroom represents a multitude of top branded merchandise in all categories, from toys to books to candy to gardening supplies. this is especially exciting to us since this expands our brand's exposure to new industries with rosalie and friends' client base of gift shops, hotels, zoos, museums—all perfect venues for babysparewear travel kits. and if that isn't cool enough, the showroom is supported by an amazing team of 15 road reps! we are excited to be in such capable hands.
if you are a gift store buyer on the west coast, visit www.rosalieandfriends.com for more information on viewing our line in los angeles.
introducing two new earth-friendly styles in our ecochic by babysparewear line.
peace and love: even more essential than the spare outfit...
our organic kits are available now. 100% certified organic cotton jersey outfit and organic canvas zippered travel case, too. non-toxic low impact dyes, water-based graphics and 100% recycled paper hang-tag, too. eco-friendly spare outfits are good for mom, baby and the earth...
the wait for our organic kits is almost over...we promise. look for our three new styles on our web site next week.
photography by gretchen easton photography
early this school year my six-year-old was asked by a contest at school how she "can make a difference." she responded by writing a letter to the president. she proceeded to sum up her simplified version of political and social issues at hand. we were quite touched by her innocent, yet deep understanding of the world we live in. we framed the letter and it now has a place in our home for all of our friends to read. she even won an award of merit from the los angeles school district. we did not send the letter to the current administration...but feel the sentiment is worth sharing with you.
i have tried not to have the babysparewear blog become a blog about my life with three kids (not an easy task since that is such a big part of me). but with the historic advancements of our current presidential race, and today's important announcement from barack obama regarding his path towards true independence from a broken system, luna's letter seemed appropriate and timely. maybe we will send the letter one day soon.
so, here's the guy who makes all my dreams come true: 3 beautiful daughters, a happy marriage, a lovely home, and all the support i need to continue on this unwavering path to building the babysparewear brand... he's not only my best friend of over 18 years, but the best father my girls could ask for. happy father's day. we love you. (sorry, i know you hate that i just posted your photo...get over it.)
to my own father/papá, my biggest fan (he must be the only one who has read this blog in its entirety...) though i must say, our relationship is one of mutual appreciation. felÃz dÃa!
to tatiana's father, whose memory and many wonderful qualities live on in his daughters... and to all fathers and grandfathers whether near or far—or with us just in spirit, your role as father is more important than you may ever know. happy father's day.
monsieur minouchet
as promised, here is a sneak peek of our ecochic™ by babysparewear recycle symbol kit. our 100% organic cotton line will include a screen printed long sleeve tee and pant as modeled by our toe-gripping fit model logan. both super-soft garments will be packaged in a coordinating reuseable organic canvas travel case. our three new eco kits available later this month will offer three hopeful messages for a better tomorrow: spare the planet, spare peace and spare love.
and for those very patient stores on our organic waiting list, we promise we will have actual product photos really soon! just finalizing some details... you will not be disappointed.
so another bit of exciting news to share: babysparewear has made the sweet pea baby planners favorites list! this is quite an honor to receive from a savvy business dedicated to finding and providing references for only the best must-have
baby products to their extensive list of expecting clients in colorado. thank you!
founder april beach is a pretty motivated entrepreneur. in addition to starting a baby planning business, she took it a step further and helped start the national baby planners association. april is now the vice president and director of manufacturer relations for the association with over 15 members and growing! baby planners are merging all over the country and the association is receiving requests every week for new businesses to join. right on, april! but wait, there's more. april is also launching an online boutique in july. as a consultant, she will only be selling goods which are hard to find, exceptional and not offered by local retail partners. look for more details soon.
a lot going on here at babysparewear... we are pretty close to showing our ecochic™ line, sooo excited about that. see, our hang tags are almost done, too. we have quite a list of interested retailers and can't wait to get these babies into the stores! we are very pleased with how these eco kits have come together. stay tuned.
also, not sure if it is the work of all of our amazing online reviewers (thanks again, ladies.) or this fine blog we have added (as if), but our online store has been quite busy since march. we are talking an increase of over 100% the sales figures of previous months. so we are finally starting to feel that snowball effect...or at least a light drizzle. and, need we say we appreciate the word of mouth from our customers tremendously. we are finding that the majority of our gift recipients return to buy gifts as well. clearly, the best testament to our products by far. keep 'em coming, and we'll keep gift wrapping!
our fashion fix kits in the baby animal graphics style are doing quite well, so we have begun yet another production run of these kits which we customize only with water-based silk screens and low impact dyes. production always means lots of driving: to the cutter, the sewing house, the dye house and the inevitable visit to downtown l.a. for elastic, labels and trims. not to mention buying textiles and coordinating with our bag factory in texas. the up side is our little network of people we love working with: from our amazing garment cutter (fabulous argentinian gentlemen with over 30 years experience) who always makes time for us, to our sewing house run by two lovely ladies for over 25 years—simply the best. and of course, the icing on the cake: working with our moms (hi, mami!). tatiana's mom does our book keeping and my mom handles order fulfillment and keeps inventory.
and, we are getting ready for our first major photo shoot with a talented children's photographer here in los angeles gretchen easton photography with real live models through a casting group and a killer location (thanks to the bergs). did i mention we are also in the process of upgrading our website software and server? (thanks for all the help david & john.) oh, and we have a new international retail partner and affiliations with other fantastic businesses. more on that later. we are busy busy busy. i would not have it any other way.
blogging mom melissa of now what baby recently contacted us to do a review of babysparewear. now we get many such inquiries weekly, but i thought it was quite innovative of this young mom to kick it up a notch with video reviews and slideshows. yep, reviews that allow her readers to see the product being reviewed...in action. luckily melissa has a willing participant: her adorable three-year-old son conner. and we also got a little bonus on our review, melissa's friend's beauty of a baby: daughter jaden! (wearing our custom sky blue outfit) she is all of 8 weeks old. so sweet... 
thanks, melissa. i think you are brilliant. now i get some fun shots of our outfits to blog about. so right back at'cha! hope you and conner enjoy your toddlersparewear kit in tangerine. happy potty-training!
from a personal perspective, i am always impressed with women who find a way to incorporate their specific interests and talents with motherhood. it is important for us moms to continue to grow as individuals and maintain that healthy balance between mom and "me." and as the kids grow, i see how inspiring it is for our children to see their mothers from a different perspective, too. bravo, melissa and all you other mom bloggers out there. keep up the good work.
we are thrilled to say that our new organic line is finally underway. at just about a year in the making, it has been a labor of love for us... as we strongly believe that as manufacturers we have a responsibility to do our part for the planet. we have taken great care in selecting only the best-quality fabrics with SKAL and Global Organic Trade Certification. as you might already know, certified organic cotton is grown without pesticides or chemicals under international standards for sustainable textile production. this means gentler fabrics for baby’s soft skin while reducing pesticide use, preventing soil erosion and protecting water quality to help spare the planet. our ecochic™ spare outfit kit will include an organic cotton long sleeve tee and pant in a beautiful quality organic canvas travel case. we wanted our organic kits to be more than just another organic basics line, so our kits will feature custom-designed silk screens with our three symbols of hope for a better tomorrow: spare love, spare peace and spare the planet. we are currently evaluating specific charities with which to tie each specific kit theme. in addition to certified organic cottons of the finest quality, this eco-friendly line will feature low-impact dyes, non-chemical, water-based silk screens (as always) and sustainable reuseable packaging. and we are proud to say that our products are still made in the usa. we are excited to share this new line with you. stay tuned for a sneak peek later this week. and please remember to spare your mother [earth].
we met sharon a couple of years into our business at an abckids show... tatiana and i were walking the show and we were stopped by sharon's gorgeous diaper bags. her line has since expanded to other lifestyle bags which are just as exquisite in detail. we got to chatting with sharon and seemed to bond over the challenges of manufacturing and general frustrations of running your own business. we have remained friends through the years and have really appreciated sharon's generous friendship and willingness to offer sales leads, overseas sourcing experience and general related know-how. and we try to share with sharon what we can, too. we've shared a booth space at enk children's club in new york and at the mom2b show here in los angeles to facilitate the high costs of trade shows. sharon has even stayed in our home while exhibiting in town...because if you are a small biz, it is SO about the costs.
i think it is really important to meet and support other women who are dedicated to building a business while still maintaining a family life as we are. it makes the uphill climb a little bit more bearable... and as sharon would say: it creates good karma.
if you do not yet know haiku bags, check them out. my girls still love their haiku to-go bags and don't leave to an overnight sleepover without them.
thank you pregnancy magazine for another awesome feature of our babysparewear travel kits. (jenny you are the best.) we so appreciate the support! and what a better issue than the july travel issue in which to be featured?
the july 2008 issue is on newstands now and probably at your local obgyn office, too. pick one up. there are some great articles this month, including "5 things no one tells you" which details the not-so pretty side effects of pregnancy. and another article i also found interesting is "big girls do cry" which discusses the merits of an occasional cry. kleenex, anyone?
our choice for shipping babysparewear orders to customers and retailers has long been usps priority mail for reliability and pricing, but now there is an even better reason: sparing the planet! yep, usps priority mail shipping supplies are eco-friendly. they have been awarded cradle to cradle silver certification for their material content, recyclability and manufacturing characteristics. not only are priority mail boxes and envelopes complimentary, but they compliment babysparewear's philosophy of less waste and a cleaner planet. so, even though we are down with brown, we're going clean with green...
"cradle to cradle certification is awarded to products that pursue an innovative vision of ecologically-intelligent design that eliminates the concept of waste."
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