Hello,
We have a new and improved website, and I will be writing blog posts on there from time to time. Check out my new blog here!
Cheers,
Jen
A Blog About Life, Love, and Young Children's Products that Embrace them Both.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Lots has happened!
Well, I knew it had been a while since my last post, but I didn't really realize how long until I read my last entry!
So much has happened.
My Life
My husband Brad has been really busy with Travergence lately and is definitely in the 'zone'. Our kids are all growing up really quickly. My baby - Cale - has lost four teeth since the start of the school year and suddenly seems closer to being 8 than being that cute little kindergarden boy I cooked with every day. Aidan and Jaidyn are in their last year of elementary school and are both very awesome and mature for their age. Avery is enjoying her school year and goes away for her first week long school trip next week. And Cam is growing up so fast in his first year of high school, some of his friends will be driving next year - yikes!
Oops, did I say my life... funny how that means my family now. Well, in my life, I have been working really hard too. Having the kids in school does give me more time, but like most moms, I could use a bit more 'me' time. My garden is shutting down for the winter, but my dahlias are looking amazing, and our Kale is taking over.
ABC Kid's Expo
Probably the most significant thing that has happened work wise lately, is that I went to the ABC Kid's Expo in Kentucky. It was a very interesting experience for me, I felt very 'small town' when looking down the aisles of the expo and not quite being able to see anything at either end, it was that big, over 1 million square feet. The best part of the experience was that I got to meet a lot of fellow exhibitors - being in the Naturally Kids section was a bonus - that had a lot of experience with product development, trade shows, marketing etc. I learned more about running this type of business at that event than everything else I had learned combined.
One of the big things I learned at the show is that we truly do have a very unique set of products. Store owners and exhibitors were attracted to our patterns and styles. It was interesting too, because I normally think of the Organic Teething Bonbon as our flagship product, but people new to our line were equally drawn by the other products.
Vancouver Island Baby Fair
We were really happy to be part of this great community event. Thank you to all those who came by and visited Emma at our booth. I wish I could have been there, but as luck would have it, that was right when I was in Kentucky. Anyhow I hear that Emma had a great time and really enjoyed meeting you all.
Regulations, Regulations, Regulations...
As some of you know, my mission has been to get awesome eco products into the hands of more people. And while lately I have been excited by some things, I am not so excited about the huge costs associated with the layers upon layers of toy and teether regulations. Some of the testing and regulations make sense to me as a mom I really want to know that toys are safe, but there is a lot of red tape that paints all manufacturers and crafters with the same brush regardless of the way products are made and what they are made from.
I now have my thinking cap on, as I try to figure out how to keep our products reasonably priced while insuring that we continue to have the best eco products on the market. I have been thinking a lot about maybe only having some products available for wholesale, or having two lines that are slightly different (one retail and one wholesale). In my last post, I said that we were going to stop selling retail from our website at the end of September, but given all of these new things to think about, I have decided to continue selling our regular products online an continue with the Boutique by Dress Me Up Etsy store.
New Fabric Under Development
We have also been working on developing some great new fabric! If all is well, we will start getting it printing early in the new year - it is a long process. I am very excited about the fabric as it will be printed on a beautiful organic percale fabric that is cradle to grave grown and milled in the USA!
Contact Me
I would love to hear from you, please feel free to post to this blog, or email me at jen@dressmeuporganic.com, I really do consider all of your comments carefully, and there has been more than one occasion where you have brought up a great idea that I had not thought of before.
So much has happened.
My Life
My husband Brad has been really busy with Travergence lately and is definitely in the 'zone'. Our kids are all growing up really quickly. My baby - Cale - has lost four teeth since the start of the school year and suddenly seems closer to being 8 than being that cute little kindergarden boy I cooked with every day. Aidan and Jaidyn are in their last year of elementary school and are both very awesome and mature for their age. Avery is enjoying her school year and goes away for her first week long school trip next week. And Cam is growing up so fast in his first year of high school, some of his friends will be driving next year - yikes!Oops, did I say my life... funny how that means my family now. Well, in my life, I have been working really hard too. Having the kids in school does give me more time, but like most moms, I could use a bit more 'me' time. My garden is shutting down for the winter, but my dahlias are looking amazing, and our Kale is taking over.
ABC Kid's Expo
Probably the most significant thing that has happened work wise lately, is that I went to the ABC Kid's Expo in Kentucky. It was a very interesting experience for me, I felt very 'small town' when looking down the aisles of the expo and not quite being able to see anything at either end, it was that big, over 1 million square feet. The best part of the experience was that I got to meet a lot of fellow exhibitors - being in the Naturally Kids section was a bonus - that had a lot of experience with product development, trade shows, marketing etc. I learned more about running this type of business at that event than everything else I had learned combined.
One of the big things I learned at the show is that we truly do have a very unique set of products. Store owners and exhibitors were attracted to our patterns and styles. It was interesting too, because I normally think of the Organic Teething Bonbon as our flagship product, but people new to our line were equally drawn by the other products.Vancouver Island Baby Fair
We were really happy to be part of this great community event. Thank you to all those who came by and visited Emma at our booth. I wish I could have been there, but as luck would have it, that was right when I was in Kentucky. Anyhow I hear that Emma had a great time and really enjoyed meeting you all.
Regulations, Regulations, Regulations...
As some of you know, my mission has been to get awesome eco products into the hands of more people. And while lately I have been excited by some things, I am not so excited about the huge costs associated with the layers upon layers of toy and teether regulations. Some of the testing and regulations make sense to me as a mom I really want to know that toys are safe, but there is a lot of red tape that paints all manufacturers and crafters with the same brush regardless of the way products are made and what they are made from.
I now have my thinking cap on, as I try to figure out how to keep our products reasonably priced while insuring that we continue to have the best eco products on the market. I have been thinking a lot about maybe only having some products available for wholesale, or having two lines that are slightly different (one retail and one wholesale). In my last post, I said that we were going to stop selling retail from our website at the end of September, but given all of these new things to think about, I have decided to continue selling our regular products online an continue with the Boutique by Dress Me Up Etsy store.
New Fabric Under Development
We have also been working on developing some great new fabric! If all is well, we will start getting it printing early in the new year - it is a long process. I am very excited about the fabric as it will be printed on a beautiful organic percale fabric that is cradle to grave grown and milled in the USA!
Contact MeI would love to hear from you, please feel free to post to this blog, or email me at jen@dressmeuporganic.com, I really do consider all of your comments carefully, and there has been more than one occasion where you have brought up a great idea that I had not thought of before.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Boutique by Dress Me Up
Hello!
I am really excited to let you know that we have started up a new Etsy site called Boutique by Dress Me Up. This site will be for one of a kind products that are designed and handmade by different members of the Dress Me Up team. Right now, we have several products available on that site made with colour grown organic fabric, using no dyes! More products will be posted next week.
As of September 30, 2011, we will no longer be selling our regular products directly to consumers on www.dressmeuporganic.com, the products from our main line will only be available from retail stores. If you have a favourite store in your area that you would like to see carry Dress Me Up products, please let me know at jen@dressmeuporganic.com. Information about our products and our list of our retailers will continue to be available on our website. We are also currently working on our next exciting fabric for the line!
I really hope that you will all be as excited as we are that there will always be new unique products available from our new Boutique store! I would love to get your feedback on this idea, are there any products that you think we should always carry on the Boutique store?
Enjoy the sunshine!
Cheers,
Jen
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Product Testing - Complete!
There is no shortage of rules for the testing of products for young children. Ever since the massive recalls of products from China that were deemed unsafe, being a manufacturer of children's products has meant a whole slew of red tape, even if you are hand making products from all natural fibres!
Anyhow, we have now completed all of the testing required in Canada from Health Canada and in the United States under the controversial CPSIA legislation and ATSM. Our products all passed with flying colours, as I expected they would.
Here are some of the highlights, all our products are:
- lead free
- mercury free
- phthalate free
- naturally fire resistant
- choke free
- durable through multiple washings
None of our products ignited despite being exposed to flames for various amounts of time. The testers were surprised that even after removing the outer covering, the interior of the toys did not ignite at all, yea to the power of wool!
They also subjected our samples to a huge amount of mechanical tests including washing, and there were no issues at all with any of them.
I have always been really proud of our amazing products, and now I am proud to say that I know without a doubt that all of our products are safe for kids!
Feeling full of love and joy!
Jen
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Looking for Part Time Sales Reps!
Do you love our products?
We are currently expanding our salesforce and would love to hire part-time reps who are interested in visiting stores in their area to highlight our products and maintain relationships with existing accounts. Ideally, the people we hire will be passionate about our products and will have a sales background. Access to a computer and the ability to use web based programs is required.
If you are interested, please email me at jen@dressmeuporganic.com and let me know why you think you would be good at this and what area you will be interested in covering.
Pay is 100% commission based.
We are currently expanding our salesforce and would love to hire part-time reps who are interested in visiting stores in their area to highlight our products and maintain relationships with existing accounts. Ideally, the people we hire will be passionate about our products and will have a sales background. Access to a computer and the ability to use web based programs is required.
If you are interested, please email me at jen@dressmeuporganic.com and let me know why you think you would be good at this and what area you will be interested in covering.
Pay is 100% commission based.
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