no spare time...

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.

eco-friendly shipping supplies from usps

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."

happy cinco de mayo!

in mexico, cinco de mayo is the day commemorating the victory of the mexican army against the french at the battle of puebla on may 5, 1862. in the united states, the 5th of may has become a holiday to celebrate all things mexican: the food, the music, the people and yes, the margaritas... for me, the day is a reminder to stop and pay tribute to my latino heritage.

my father, the second oldest of nine children, came to this country from a small town in jalisco, mexico in the early 1960's. my mother, a third-generation migrant farm worker born in gilroy, california spent her younger years traveling back and forth between california and mexico following the crops with her family. my parents married in 1965 and together they were determined to build a family in the land of opportunity. life was not without its challenges. my father was deported after only a few days of marriage leaving my poor young mother to track him down in tijuana at his sister's home, with no address and only a vague recollection of its whereabouts. there were many challenges ahead, but none to large.

my father worked as a busboy and in car washes early on. and it amazes me to think, given our country's current economic situation, that my parents were able to own their own home after only a few years. my father was always a traditional man and insisted my mother stay home with my brother and me while he worked, often two jobs. we spoke only spanish at home since my father did not want us to pick up his broken english. (gracias, papá.) my mother was a seamstress and did a bit of sewing work from home, but mostly focused on giving us the benefit of her traditional home-cooked meals, peaceful disposition, natural talent and amazing creativity (sewing, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, quilting, gardening, and even macramé in the 70's). my father spent most of his career working as a cook, but still managed to send his children to private schools—and later college and went on to own his own business, homes and new cars, and live a modest yet comfortable life.

today, my parents continue to offer my half mexican/half italian children the same richness of our mexican culture and traditions that i hold dear while keeping pace with modern America: my father is an avid collector of mexican stamps and is hooked on ebay (buying and selling) and my eco-conscious mom just started composting! my parents will retire this year...a well-deserved break from a long life of hard work. i admire my parents greatly and am thankful for their gifts of work-ethic, creativity and determination. and while natural humility still often clouds my parents' perspectives, i can only hope that they will one day realize how truly accomplished their lives have been. i know i am definitely feeling that mexican pride right about now.

confessions of a gift-giver...

i love gifts. but more than giving them, or receiving them for that matter, i love to wrap them. it is a well-known obsession of mine. i love the added sense of anticipation a nicely wrapped gift offers. my friends and family can usually recognize my work on a gift table from across the room. perhaps because my gifts never resemble anything from behind a department store counter. most of my ribbon is vintage or unique salvaged designer goods i collect from flea markets or downtown fabric shops. my paper is usually recycled or re-purposed. some consider the effort a waste of time. and it astounds me that to most, the act of gift-wrapping is considered a chore. for me, it is therapeutic. i am soothed by the ease in which colors, textures and muted tones take on another life with just a few quick ties. i see gift-wrapping as just another opportunity to find beauty in simplicity.

if you honor us by sending a gift from www.babysparewear.com, just say the word and your gift will receive complimentary gift-wrapping and a gift message. and be assured, no baby footprints in pastel colors will ever adorn your purchase. i will make sure of that. : ) and if you need further proof, i am the same woman who will forego purchasing paper towels for the household if the only ones left at the market are the ones with printed designs...

visit us at baby celebration LA this weekend!

babysparewear will be exhibiting at baby celebration los angeles this saturday and sunday, april 12 and 13 at the LA Convention Center, South Hall, Hall K. show producers promise "a fun, fresh day for hip, new moms & trendy tots." come by and say hello to tatiana & myself. especially if you already know our products. we love to hear your feedback. not to mention, it's always fun to talk to other moms and meet other small business owners. for more information on the show click the link above or go to the show website at http://www.babycelebrationla.com

(my cousin sandra just found out she is having her first baby boy and is so totally excited about attending. congrats again and see you there, prima!)

babysparewear attends WITI networking event

tatiana (attorney and co-owner of babysparewear) had the great pleasure of attending a WITI networking event last week. WITI (women in technology international) was founded by carolyn leighton in 1989 to "empower women to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformations through technology, leadership and economic prosperity." WITI's mission is to build, empower and inspire women in technology and across all business sectors by supporting each other as women. thank you for the invitation david (president of WITI and son of the amazing carolyn leighton). tatiana had the pleasure of meeting other brilliant, well-educated, talented women and believes WITI is a phenomenal resource for all women. We look forward to continuing our involvement with the organization.

click the headline above to watch the video of carolyn leighton. so inspiring. she speaks of her mother being her role model and inspiration from the time she was ten-years old, recalling how she used to sit and watch her mother work and run her own business. her experiences and philosophies are definitely those with which many of us can relate.

a good partnership is the key to any success

tatiana and i have been good friends for over 20 years now. we are alike in many ways: professional latinas with similar values & beliefs, political views, aesthetics and style (sometimes we meet for dinner wearing the exact same shoes purchased independently without each other's prior knowledge.) other times, we call each other having had the same thought moments before. and our husbands share an uncanny sharp wit which makes for a good night out. a business partnership's strength, like in any marriage, is measured not only by the ability to see eye to eye, but also the ability to rely on one's strengths to make up for the other's weaknesses. tatiana's strength is in her legal training, business savvy and ability to make the right-brain decisions. if it wasn't for her, i would give babysparewear away for free to every baby i know and have no set business goals... needless-to-say, tatiana controls the bank accounts, invoicing, and legal stuff. i have tremendous respect for her and faith in her abilities. as she does in my creative abilities. otherwise, this blog would include many more words like: pursuant, aforementioned...and herewith.

(tati & david, take note of the headline in the photo on the wall to the right.)

all work and no play makes mom...an entrepreneur

while it can be argued whether or not this is my "best" side, my children (and husband) can tell you with most certainty that on many days...this is mom's only side. orders to ship, production to manage, e-mails to answer, a web site to maintain, sales and marketing materials to develop...not easy things to accomplish within a 6-hour day. yes, the goal is to work while the kids are in school, but i'll be the first to admit that it's not exactly easy balancing a business, a home and the busy lives of three children. on most days my daily deadline is that 2 o'clock pick up time (and the second shift begins after they are in bed). some days, i find it downright defeating. but then i overhear my 8-year old proudly telling a friend, "my mom has her own business. babysparewear is in over 200 stores." to her that sounds like a lot and she is proud of me. how cool is that? this along with the fact that i am teaching my three girls the value of hard work eases the guilt a little. and though i find being an entrepreneur and owning a business immensely rewarding, and I may often become distracted with the daily demands of a growing business, my girls will always know I am first and foremost their mom. a mom always searching for that perfect balance. now c'mon girls, let's go make some pancakes!

a tribute to the border grill

no tale of babysparewear could ever be complete without details of...the incident. my first child was about eight months old at the time and i was already feeling like a veteran parent. zianna was an easy-going baby. i felt like i knew this tiny human inside and out. i understood what she needed before she needed it and could anticipate her moods. i had the whole mom thing wired...or so i thought. one fated weekend, grandma and grandpa asked if we wanted to have dinner with them at the border grill in santa monica. outings were no longer a big deal for me and my husband, so we accepted confidently. zianna had napped sufficiently that day. she was happy, healthy and cheerful. we timed her solid food feeding so that she would be fine at the restaurant. i grabbed a bottle, a diaper, wipes, and a light sweater (it gets chilly in santa monica) and headed out with the family. we arrived at the restaurant and had to wait a bit for a table. we sat the baby in her stroller and handed her a bottle. we noticed she was drinking it rather quickly, but thought nothing more of it. we were seated at a table and the staff was kind enough to suggest that there would be plenty of room in the restaurant for her to remain in her stroller while we dined. we sat and chatted in the busy restaurant for a few moments, glancing down occasionally at our perfect first child sitting quietly in her peg perego...and that is when it happened. i was startled by the sight of my sweet little baby's mouth projecting a stream of liquid better suited for a firetruck hose. my disbelief could form only one thought: could this torrential, white downpour be the result of a mere eight ounces? my husband quickly mopped up the baby, stroller and restaurant surroundings with all dinner napkins in close proximity and i rushed to the bathroom with my sopping wet baby. i was mortified..not only at the thought of having imposed my daughter's bodily functions upon a room full of diners, but at my failure as a mother for not anticipating such an event. i had not packed a spare outfit. i wiped my daughter clean, dressed her in her cardigan (i was prepared for a chilly evening...), wrapped my sweater around her bare legs and swore i would never again leave the house unprepared. little did we know that the mother of all messes would one day be credited as the mother of invention. (thanks so much to the border grill staff and their speedy recovery of the situation. and thank you, zianna. to this day, you always give it your all...)

the learning curve

to say that we have learned a lot is an incredible understatement. it took us about a year before we had a product line to sell. sourcing in small volume was the biggest challenge. we wanted to make the product high quality yet affordable. not easy to do when you are bundling three made-in-usa baby garments in a non-china travel case. thanks to the internet and some helpful people along the way, we managed to source what we needed. our initial production run was for 500 kits in three sizes and a choice of pink, blue or white logos. where there is a will, there's a way. even if it takes way long...

it builds character

i have to say that owning your own business brings you many experiences, both wanted and unwanted. we started out small with a minimal investment each. great for risk factors but what this also meant is that we had to pinch wherever we could. we had to barter (thanks jim, david, and sacha), schlepp our own roles of fabric to the cutter, and stay up many long hours emailing potential stores and press leads (we were it as far as a sales team and p.r. department went). frankly, tatiana and i are both over-qualified for many of the jobs we do in the name of babysparewear. but we do them anyway, like a sacrifice made for our growing child... there was the time we received a less than stellar production run (before we switched sewing houses) and we sat for hours checking garments and trimming threads until we could not see straight. and then there was that first trade show tatiana had to man for a few days by herself due to schedule conflicts with the girls' school... but it's hard work like this that makes us strive harder and really feel those tiny pings of accomplishment when they do come. here we are back in 2004 at our first product photo shoot in my father-in-law's sunroom (thanks, dad.).

birth of a business...

it was back in 2003. i was fortunate enough to be home with my three girls under 7, enjoying motherhood immensely...yet subconsciously missing that creative collaboration from a former life as a copywriter/creative director. one day i received a frustrated phone call from babysparewear, inc. co-owner and long-time friend Tatiana. she was a recent partner at a law firm, and we were both a long way from our care-free days in the late eighties as fellow vertigo club-goers. the call went a little like this "aaaaghh, i don't only want to be an attorney for the rest of my life. i want to be an entrepreneur. let's start a business." (those of you who know tatiana, not only know the stress-induced "faux yell" quite well, but also how convincing she can be...) i immediately blurted out, "sure, come over. i have some ideas." being a mother with a creative side and a desire for simplicity and smart design, i went on about all of my aggravations du jour with potential to become our next business venture. one such relevant frustration was the inability to keep a diaper bag stocked with the appropriate spare outfit in a neat and simple way. a versatile yet stylish designated spare outfit: two shirts and a pair of pants pre-packed in a compact travel case for those little emergencies on the go. "and we can call it something like, babysparewear," i went on. tatiana loved the concept (and the name), but being familiar with proper branding protocol, I insisted on giving her a list of about 100 other names before deciding on the first, simple and self-explanatory brand name: babysparewear. we quickly moved into the product development and branding phase during which we created the babysparewear "SW baby" logo as our identity with the brilliant collaborating talents of jim bridges design. here is a scan of the original sketch.