Loving our new prints...

So thrilled to have replenished BabyHipWear's inventory this past week... some super cute prints are now kickin' it on the website. Monkey Around, Keep On Truckin', Ms. Ladybug, Madame Butterfly, have made their debut this past week. All are designed to make shopping for the 'hip' kids fun. That is what it is all about. Being a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle etc. of a 'hip' kid is stressful enough so we always look to lighten the load just a little bit.

On another note, I am eagerly (translation-anxiously) awaiting a mockup for the new BabyHipWear site. "Bobbie can you hear me?" I have a March 10th deadline otherwise we go dark.

NOT hip in any way, shape or form... stay tuned...

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

MIA is what I have been since the decision (and not so hard decision I might add) has been made to completely overhaul the BabyHipWear site. The designer, Bobbie, at The Nifty Studio has been feverishly working to meet our March 10th deadline. The new site will be much more user friendly and will include new features such as how to coordinate the 'hip' outfits and *gasp* store access from the home page!! The fact that the previous site builder I worked with when I launched the company did not have that feature still baffles me to this date... so stay tuned. Good things a'comin'!

International Baby, International!

Is it crazy to have guilt about a blog?? Well, I do. Being the overachiever that I am, I cannot help but feel guilty with each passing day that I am not updating what is going on with all things BabyHipWear. First, foremost and of utmost excitement is we just added a 6th country to our sales total. Ireland has now joined the BabyHipWear community. Thus far, BabyHipWear has received orders from Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, the UK and the good ol' USA (obviously). Ireland was what I'd call a "personal" goal in that I married an Irishman and 90% of his family still resides there. Now if a 'hip' Italian would buy (my country), I would be one happy paisan!

Since we have been selling out of so many sizes, we are adding a boatload of new fabrics come end of February. I am very excited for some, including Madame Butterfly, Monkey Around and Ms. Ladybug.

For now, ciao! (hey, I have to send the good vibes out there- you get back what you put out so c'mon Italy!)

The Squeaky Wheels get the grease...

There truly is power in numbers.

After what I imagine to be much pressure regarding the CPSIA law, the members of the Consumer Products Safety Act voted unanimously to suspend the law for 1 year while they review 4 proposed rules which will somewhat redefine what the initial law stated. I translate this to mean more 'make-sense', relevant rules on lead testing. I shudder to think of what would have happened if this stay of the law wasn't granted, but you know what? It was. Time to move on and keep on truckin'... speaking of which...

The BabyHipWear frenzy continues as we continue to sell-out of existing fabrics and are looking forward to replenishing with our Fab Feb Fabrics all launching on the site on February 14th! Keep on Truckin', Madame Butterfly, Monkey Around and Very Violet are a few of the new Fab Feb Fabrics to be debuting this month. We've already started taking pre-orders for those 'hip' folks that just can't wait!

Thanks for your support of BabyHipWear and to all those that signed the petition to amend this law that would have crushed our company. All we want to do is provide 'hip' clothing for your 'hip' kid and now, we will continue with pride.

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!