Keepin' the faith...

As you can see from the date, my upkeep with the blog has been mediocre at best. The good news is, it's because BabyHipWear is really starting to catch fire. The bad news? When I do write I feel like I am going to forget something major so I wrack my brain, and get a headache. I've been analyzing, as I always do with everything in my life, what has changed in the past month that has sales climbing, inquiries hitting my inbox daily and overall awareness peaking? The answer is simple. Google.

Whereas before, when you would type in keywords like "hip dysplasia clothing" or "spica cast clothing" you'd get some random dog dysplasia sites, some support group sites like the fantastically helpful http://www.hip-baby.org/, and then, if I were lucky, me. Now with all of the increase in press, the bloggers writing about BabyHipWear and my own online support group (see links on right side), it is reflected on Google what has been true all along- BabyHipWear OWNS the market for hip dysplasia clothing. Which brings me to a recent email exchange I had with a fellow 'hip' mom......

J's son is 4 years old and has cerebral palsy. As a result he deals with a lot of ortho issues. Currently he is wearing a spica cast for his latest surgery and we are in the process of custom making pants for him to deal with the bar in between his legs that is attached to the cast to keep his legs apart. His mom is nothing short of awesome and has been through a lot with her son in his short life. She was ecstatic to find that a company like BabyHipWear exists. In her own words: "I just couldn't accept that no one has clothing for children in casts and I believe in the law of attraction. If you believe something is out there then it will be. Works for me."

Works for me too J. I'm glad you searched, found us, and that we have the honor of creating some 'hip' clothing for your already hip little boy.

POWER in numbers...

As you have read in my earlier post, the CPSIA law that threatens all mom and pop shops that make clothing, toys, bibs etc. for those children under 12 is looming. February 10th 2009, now dubbed "National Bankruptcy Day" because of all those small businesses put out of business by this extreme law, is creeping up on us. I just got word that BabyHipWear's story was featured on upscalebaby.com. It is critical to keep getting the word out and to do it QUICKLY. Time is a tickin' and the more people that know about the repercussions of the law and the more people motivated to DO SOMETHING, (write you local congressman/woman, sign the online petitions) the better.


In the slightly modified immortal words of John Lennon, "Power to the 'little' people!"

http://upscalebaby.com/blog/cpsia/specialty-store-for-babies-with-hip-dysplasia-threatened-by-cpsia/

BABYHIPWEAR HITS THE AIRWAVES!

Thank GOD I have experience in radio broadcasting because this am I literally had 45 seconds to get myself together (that's a whole other story) before I went on-air with music god Matt Pinfield on 101.9 RXP. For those who don't know Matt Pinfield, he used to be one of the most knowledgeable MTV V-J's (you know, when they used to show videos) in history. These days, he is hosting the morning show on NY's RXP and sharing his wealth of music knowledge with rock and roll loving NYers. Matt is a great asset to the small business community. Each morning he features a local business and today was our lucky day! Matt and Leslie (his AM co-host) seemed really interested and supportive of BabyHipWear and I loved the fact that he pointed out the clothes are great for any baby/toddler who just want to be hip and comfy. Matt even pointed out that name could go either way (trust me, not everyone I encounter gets it :) ).

I got to plug the website and give out my number. Right after the show, I got a very heartwarming call from a father by the name of Jeff whose daughter has endured three surgeries for hip dysplasia. He was so ecstatic to hear that there was a company for clothing now and wished he knew about us back in March. That is what I always get the biggest rush from - when people say "YES, there is a need and thanks for filling it." It is the reason why I give up all my free time to ensure this company is doing the best it can and what it set out to do- help the 'hip' community! Rock on!

FOCUS people, FOCUS....

The Focus Group surveys for BabyHipWear have been coming in and the 'hip' moms that volunteered have some great ideas... and most touching to me, they are all expressing gratitude that I started BabyHipWear. That in and of itself means everything to me. I love reading their feedback, be it painful or praising! That is what research is all about- you may THINK you have a great idea, but it's only a great idea if other people feel the need for it. I am glad to see, at the very least, that these moms feel I am making a difference in the hip dysplasia community... now, if we can just get that CPSIA law amended, we'd truly be rocking!

On a separate, yet somewhat related note, SpicaHips and the HipCape launched Monday. I already have moms so interested in the SpicaHips and the 'test' results of the prototypes have come back with praise... the pants are great because they velcro open on one side, so it's easy on and easy off with the cast. I hope to post pics of some SpicaHip kids soon!

The thorn in my side is the CPSIA law...

I must confess....It has been hard to be excited about BabyHipWear these past few weeks due to the looming, unnecessarily severe CPSIA law. This law will require mandatory lead testing of all items for children under the age of 12 come February 2009. I am all for keeping our babies and children safe, but this law is a rash, not well thought out response to the China lead scares that occurred last year. The lead testing is being passed onto the manufacturers who in a lot of cases are moms who have a craft or idea and have followed their American dream to bring it to the public. The ramifications of this testing will kill the mom and pop shops in droves. .. and the negative economic repercussions won't stop there. The 'big dogs' like Carter's are already passing along an increase in pricing to their customers to compensate for the testing costs. The online community is rallying, the 'mompreneurs' are sharing information and we are looking to get this law amended. The lack of media coverage is sickening and unfortunately very much needed to help raise awareness. All we can do it write to our congressmen/women, sign petitions and wait.

What happened to my muse?

Now and Then....

When I first launched BabyHipWear I couldn't get Emma to stop smiling as I snapped away getting the shots needed for BabyHipWear. Now, not so much. The latest photo shoot was a total disaster. All I needed was a shot of Emma in the new HipCape and what I got was, well, a lot of tears as you can see.

Welcome to the world of BabyHipWear!

On July 4, 2008 I launched a company online called BabyHipWear. Aside from the birth of my daughter, this was the proudest moment of my life. There is NO OTHER company out there like BabyHipWear and our mission is to provide clothing for babies with hip dysplasia as well as raise overall awareness for hip dysplasia. Starting a company (heck, keeping the company GOING) is not easy, so I am starting this blog to take you behind the scenes of BabyHipWear and to provide insight on just how much blood, sweat and tears goes into keeping it alive.