Okay, so as soon as I finish this post, I am going to officially open my shop on Big Cartel. Am I nervous? Oh, yeah! You all know how I started sewing, but let me tell you the story of how this all started.
In 2008, we were about to embark on a family vacation in Disney World. We decided to drive there (we live in PA) and had a 20 month old and a 6 month old at the time. Crazy? Maybe, but it went really well. Before we left, I sewed up blankets for the girls to keep on their laps and I also made them each a snack bag. The snack bag became very handy when we were in Disney World. It attached to the stroller and made it easy for the girls to have their snacks at their disposal without dropping them constantly.
Flash forward to Kate’s 2nd birthday 4 months later. I wanted an idea for a functional favor for her birthday party. I decided to do snack bags. I made one for each of the kids and filled it with some snacks. They were a big hit. Since then I have made snack bags for friends and have gotten many requests for them. I decided it was time to sell them.
The snack bags have been through at least 3 design changes, although they look relatively the same. I’m starting a writing series on how I went about getting all the business end things accomplished so I’ll save that for another time. However, I am so thankful for my friends who willingly allowed their children to use their bags in multiple ways to test their durability & strength.
Recently, I’ve been thinking of ways to advertise my products using digital marketing techniques such as an email campaign for example. It would be quick, easy and affordable to get in touch with so many potential customers this way. My friend has suggested that I use a service like Mailchimp as there are a few different Mailchimp pricing tiers to suit the needs of a growing business like mine! Watch this space.
Back to matters at hand though, here’s a rundown of the bags:
The Tiny Bag is my favorite! It’s so cute at 4.5″ x 3″. I originally created it to hold our season pass to the local amusement part and $5. I attached it to the stroller and it was all I needed. I actually made one for all the guests at the sprinkle my friends threw for me when I was pregnant with Rebecca. Now I use mine as a wallet that I toss into my diaper bag. It’s big enough to hold my driver’s license, credit card, medical card, grocery store discount card, and cash. I could add more to it but it’s my simple wallet. My mom recently asked me to make her one to hold all her store discount cards (Why does every store need to have one? Can’t they just reduce the price?). Fabulous idea! I am going to make myself one for that reason, as well.
The Snack Bag is my girls’ favorite. It is 5″ x 4.5″. It holds their snacks (cheerios, goldfish crackers) and even lunch (cheese, veggies, even chicken nuggets & french fries). Some children use them to hold crayons, Polly Pocket dolls, and trading cards. The uses are endless.
The Sandwich Bag is 6″ x 6.5″. The Sandwich Bag was born for my friends Wendy and Angie. Wendy shared with me that she had a hard time finding eco-friendly sandwich bags to use for her daughter’s lunch. Angie has always been a big fan of the snack bag. She’s all but begged me for a bigger size that would fit waffles. And so a marriage of the two was created! The Sandwich bag fits waffles for breakfast & sandwiches for lunch and everything in between. My girls have confiscated some bags and used them for markers and princess dolls, as well.
First of all, the eco-friendly bags are made of 100% organic cotton material. All the bags have a fabric tag on them. I like the tag because it allows the bag to be attached to a car seat or stroller strap. It also makes it easier to pull the bag out your diaper bag or purse. The bags that are made out of organic cotton also have a tag made out of organic cotton. Each bag comes with a velcro closure. It makes it super easy for little hands to open and close all by themselves. It’s also strong enough to keep everything inside. All the bags can be embroidered with a name or an initial. All bags can come in any of the fabric choices. When the stock of fabric I have runs out, it will be replaced with new fabric lines.
All the bags are machine washable (a must in my house!). Wash them in cold water and dry them in the dryer on low.
If you see something you like and it’s not listed, please send me a message letting me know what it is you are looking for. You may email me at [email protected]
The site is still a work in progress and will be changing and growing over time.
Okay, now head on over and send your friends over too! (please?)
www.sewcurly.bigcartel.com
–k
Oh mah! Those are the cutest things I've ever seen! LOVE!
@momgosomething
So exciting! Very happy for you on your new adventure. Best of luck with your business!!! The product line is adorable 🙂 XO
Other than Big Cartel, I think you should also try your hand on Etsy to expand your business horizons. But just save it for now and wait until you go big. You know, you may think that your products all look the same. But when the time comes, you'll have a lot of unique ones in your selection!