Moving Karma Baby to Boulder!

Karma Baby is moving to Boulder! We are so, so happy to be moving back to the place it all started. You really can't find a more beautiful town than Boulder. It is nestled right in the foothills of the mountains. People are outside all the time, the sun is always out, and natural living is the norm.

We are so glad to be going back. I envision setting up Karma baby in a contemplative way, with great employees and a more relaxed atmosphere. Really, it is stressful running a business, and I think this is really going to help. Plus Elijah (2 years old almost!) is going to be so happy there. Wish us luck! I will update the blog when we move.

Sewing Set Up

Most of our slings are currently made off-site at a sewing house and a factory, but we still have a full-time seamstress to sew last minute and special items for us. Since we are moving to Boulder in a month and are going to phase out this part of our business, I thought I would post some pictures.
This is our cutting table. Let me tell you, it is a pain to cut all this fabric! We rigged it so that we can cut two rolls at once. Pictured is both sides of the Kiwi-Charcoal Reversible Micro-fleece sling.
I am putting up this picture so you can see our scary fabric cutter. This thing is massive, and very dangerous. I would obsessivly come in and look for the cutter in case Elijah somehow got close to it. We have since retired it and are using the electric scissors again, per a worried mama's request:)

A Baby Sling Photo Shoot

Here are some snapshots I took while the photo shoot was going on (someday I will figure out how to put these pictures in an aesthetically pleasing way):

This is my favorite part of the business. I want to be an amateur photographer, I just don't have a good camera yet. Someday soon I will get all the equipment I need and set up a little studio so that we can take all of our own pictures. For now, we have a fabulous photographer in Atlanta that has done most of our photos.

Basically, it is three hours of total chaos for me, but a lot of fun for the models. At this particular shoot, we had planned on shooting in Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. When we drove in we found there was some huge football game going on nearby, and the streets were crowded and there was no parking. For a half an hour in the car I had to frantically call the photographer and models and try to get them to all meet elsewhere. We ended up shooting on the Emory University campus, where we had shot before, and it ended up being great anyways.

Most models have never worn a sling before, so when they get there I have to quickly size them and show them how to use them. These mamas are natural. Don't they look like they have been babywearing for forever?

I get one person ready and the photographer sweeps her off for the first photos. I get the next one ready and then am just quickly switching them in and out for three hours. The babies do exceptionally well. You would think they would get fussy, but we have been lucky in getting really calm and happy babies that like the sling from the start.

The hardest thing is matching the sling to the clothes that the mother and baby are wearing. Sometimes it is challenging. This model is absolutely gorgeous and her baby is adorable. But the red that the baby was wearing clashed with a lot of our slings (ie the brown fleece). We ended up getting fabulous photos for the Bella sling with her though by pulling the sling up to cover most of the red and throwing on a white sweater.

My favorite pictures were the Eyes of the World Organic ones. I just *love* this baby. I can't get enough of all that hair after my own baby being bald for 1 1/2 years. We call her "Suri-baby" at KB headquarters because she looks just like Suri Cruise.

Meet the Karma Baby Team!

Here we go! My name is Stacey and I am the creator, designer, and owner of Karma Baby Slings. I created the Karma Baby Sling in 2005 right after my son, Elijah Sirius (pictured with me left) was born. Everything grew very quickly (perhaps due to many 80+ hour weeks) and we are now carried in stores throughout the world. We are still a small business run by women, though, and hope to keep it small for some time. I am a single mommy, so having a business that I can run with my son running around is the ideal situation.

I feel so lucky to be able to work with such wonderful women that work so hard and still take the time to play with and nurture my son. Elijah is our most helpful employee.

He regularly helps Jessica with shipping, so if you see some scribbles on your packing slip, that is because you got the VIP treatment:)

We have two U.S factories making our slings, but need to supplement our supply by having a full time seamstress and home seamstresses. Nikki is our current resident seamstress (pictured below). She is also wonderful with Elijah as he often helps her unroll entire spools of thread.

I will be updating this blog frequently to give you a little peak into the workings of a small, mom-run business. Thanks!