Marketplace: Featured Mom Business

Featured Mom Business: Bugalug

Canadian Designer Takes the Frustration out of the Morning “do” dilemma.

The hair gods can be cruel to parents.  Each morning as they struggle to push back bangs or finagle a finicky fly away strand into a barrette, the inevitable transpires – that stubborn piece of hair slips out of the clip!

Sundi Hoffman, an entrepreneurial mother of two from Calgary, has seen this happen far too often.  This hair-do dilemma inspired her to create Bugalug hair accessories – the fashionable clip that says put.

 

After hearing the frustrations about hair clips and accessories that quite simply would not stay in little girl’s hair, Sundi’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and it became her mission to come up with a solution.  She was determined to find a way to ensure that her hair accessories stayed in place and felt comfortable on even the tiniest head.  She finally found a unique material that tested well and gave the results she was after, topped it off with fun, fashionable designs and thus emerged Bugalug hair clips and headbands.

In addition to being available in over 200 stores in Canada, Bugalug has recently been noticed by Hollywood starlets when Jayneoni Moore (better known as the Fairy Godmother to many of the famous tots in Tinsel town) chose this Canadian Designer to show off her products to Hollywood’s A-list moms at a prestigious New York event. 

 

 

Due to the overwhelming success of the NY event Bugalug was then asked to include product in the exclusive Boom Boom Room’s Hollywood Breakfast Club Gift Boxes that were hand delivered to Halle Berry, Marcia Cross, Jessica Alba, Courtney Cox, Chris North (Mr. Big), Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani, Ali Landry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes and Christina Aguilera. 

For more information about Bugalug please go to www.bugalugbaby.com

Featured Mom Business: Paisley Baby

Here at the urbanmoms.ca Marketplace, our mission is to share with you the many stories of amazing Canadian mom entrepreneurs. This week, we're thrilled to bring you Maria's story:

My mother Dianne and I started Paisley Baby in 2002. When I was a little girl my mother made all of my Barbie clothes. We never looked back! Paisley Baby is a combination of my love of fabric shopping and Dianne’s 50 years of sewing experience. Together we design and create unique baby accessories and funky fabric handbags.

Our first product was a hooded towel. When my first baby was born I received several hooded towels as gifts. They were so small and the terry was so thin that they were virtually useless. So we bought some nice 12 oz. terry, grabbed a cute print from my fabric stash and turned it into a hooded towel that can be used for up to two years (instead of two months) in the bath, at the pool or at the beach.

Gorgeous fabrics, quality craftsmanship and careful attention to detail are featured in everything we produce: bibs, burp cloths, hooded towels, baby blankets, totes, bamboo handle purses and much more. We want our customers to know that we hand dye all the coordinating trim on our hooded towels. Our market bags are cut smaller than the average cloth shopping bag so they do not get too heavy. Our goal is to provide our customers with products that are functional and beautiful at the same time. We handcraft all our products in Canada though we do have customers all over the world.

Local guest artisans are also featured at www.paisleybaby.ca. Hand knit accessories and handcrafted shawl pins from creative knitting enthusiast Arlene Lund (cousin of Maria and niece of Dianne) are currently available on the website under Modern Hand Knitting. Arlene describes her philosophy: “I love taking this traditional craft and giving it a truly modern edge by using a wide variety of luxurious fibers in today’s favorite colours.”

All the Paisley Baby products are available at www.paisleybaby.ca. Design parties, gift certificates and gift baskets can also be arranged and purchased through the website.

Featured Mom Business: Designs by Mimi & Lola

Located in Richmond Hill, ON, Designs By Mimi & Lola Ltd. has been creating a quality line of fleece blankets & pillows for babies, toddler and kids since September 2006.

Laura D’Urzo and Lidia D’Alberto both make up the creative team behind the Designs By Mimi & Lola label.  Their main focus is to make durable and stylish fleece blankets.  Since both women are mothers themselves, they certainly understand the importance of creating blankets that can maintain their softness even after multiple washings.  They are also committed to creating age-appropriate blanket patterns with unique, stylish designs that are fun for boys and girls, from babies to kids.

The Designs By Mimi & Lola team design these beautiful blankets to be both versatile and practical as well.  That’s why they have created three blanket sizes that are a perfect fit for newborns, toddlers and kids.  The women strive to make sure that you will find that perfect fleece blanket suitable for your little one.  They also have created the option for you to personalize your blanket collection by adding your child’s name to make it a very special gift.

On March 31, 2008 Designs By Mimi & Lola’s blankets received the PTPA Media Award of Excellence in parental products.

Please visit our website at www.designsbymimiandlola.com