Coming Soon. . . A Website!?

Yes!  After much deliberation and stressing out I have decided to take the plunge and dive into a website with 1and1.  They offer a nice beginner business website with a shopping cart for $11.99 a month, designed for brand new businesses!  Even better they have a three month free trial!  How awesome is that!  So, for the moment I am waiting for a confirmation email and then will shortly begin to get my site up and running. 

For new entrepreneurs here is the link I found to this great deal!

I can't wait to get started!  I just signed up and they said within 24 hours I should be able to get started making my site ready for viewing.

I'm not sure I can wait that long.  In fact, just since I started writing this post I've double checked my email 3 times.

******Edited to add*******


THIS JUST IN!  I JUST GOT THE EMAIL!

Well, I suppose I"ve got about an hour to kill before I have to make dinner and head out for the evening bible study, so I"m going to go take killer pictures to post on my site!!!!!

Open House

If you haven't heard already, I'm hosting an open house with a guest vendor Danni Lee Baby Boutique.  Danni Lee has some wonderful items for every baby!  There's bows and headbands, clips and tutus and more for little girls!  Bottle caps for all, ties and more for boys! 

The open house starts at 2pm on Saturday November 5th.  During the event there will be baby sitting for kiddos that are comfortable being away from mom and treats for all.  At 3pm, for those interested there will be a live demonstration on using and caring for wool soakers and covers.  Other than that the entire time will be open to shopping and conversation! 

The first person in the door will get a free LamBums one sized fits most fitted diaper for testing.  There will be an additional drawing for another free tester.  Everyone else will have the opportunity to receive a free tester diaper with the purchase of $30 or more in any product, whether it be from The Sleepy Sheep or Danni Lee Baby Boutique.

I will outline Host/ess benefits for hosting a LamParty at the open house! 

I can't wait to see who makes it out!

Info:

Saturday Nov 5th 2011
2pm- 5pm
214 Maple St
Louisville, NE 68037
402-298-5595

LamBums and Something Called Zorb

 Here is a LamBums on an old Baby Alive doll.  (maybe 10 yrs old if anyone really cares. . .)  The diaper seemed to fit fine, though my plastic model probably couldn't complain if she wanted to!  I would say that the rise is a little high and the diaper overall is a little bulky for a newborn.  Personally I prefer infant prefolds with a snappi for noodly newborn legs, though I would say that this diaper should fit well enough to use.  The diaper is snapped down to it's smallest size.

 On my cranky 1 1/2 year old.  he is roughly 20-25lbs and this is a great fit for him.  Though I have to say that as he's on the skinny side, I should think about making the diaper for chubbier babies.

Here my favorite LamBums is on my Favorite 3 1/2 year old.  He let me put it on him but couldnt' wait to get it off.  My 30lb kiddo is just too big to be comfortable in this.  I think the rise is perfect overall, but adding adjustable elastic in the legs and more room in the waist would make an easier fit for more babies and toddlers.

Just had to show off the my favorite side!  This diaper is not for sale.  I've fallen completely in love with this little Monkey Butt!

 Well, with the help of a few friends and family I have decided on the name LamBums for my upcycled fitted diapers.  Each of these fitted diapers are made of at least 75% upcycled t-shirts.  The other 25% is sewing notions and a material called Zorb.  I am using Zorb on a trial basis.  My first set of diapers will not have any Zorb added to them, but after this batch is sewn up and sold I plan on using Zorb for the long fold over doubler for maximum absorbancy.

I have included links to articles on Zorb above, but here is the rundown.

1. Zorb is made up only of materials already found in most AIO diapers.  These fibers are 'tangled cellulose fibers of Bamboo/cotton/viscose and poly micro fiber' (quoted from What is Zorb?  Do you know?)  Viscose is becoming synonymous with rayon.  Poly Microfiber is the microfiber found in inserts and other diaper making materials.  You should note that microfiber should not ever be used next to the skin as it will leach the moisture right out of the skin, causing burns/rashes.  Most all in ones inlcude microfiber on the inside of their diaper, using fleece or other fabric in between the micro fiber and skin.
2.  According to Wazoodles, Zorb is made in the US and Canada in modern facilities safe for workers and the environment.
3. Every 2 layers of Zorb could replace either 8 layers of flannel, 6 layers of french terry, 5 layers of cotton fleece or 4 layers of sherpa.  As far as thickness goes, it's about the same as 3 layers of flannel or 1 layer of sherpa.
4. It is said that compression leakage is much less, due to the ability to quickly move liquids around.
5. It's Hemp free.  Why?  I don't really know.  Wazoodles is against using hemp in diaper or healthcare products.  I'm assuming it's because they are against the use of pot as a medication, but maybe I'll do some research and post on it.

This post is based on the less expensive original Zorb.  I am posting this in formation to see what kind of reaction people have to zorb.  It's not entirely natural and is man made, as well as not being upcycled from previously loved materials.  I'm not sure why I struggle with using new materials.  I have to remind myself that thread and elastic really aren't salvageable!  

Are my prices really fair?

Overall I've had a few people question my prices, but most people realize that I'm asking competitive prices for the products I"m selling.  I usually check on Etsy before making a final price, looking to see what others are selling them at.  The reason I think some are shocked by the amount that I'm charging is because I"m using 'old' items found in the thrift stores.  However, I still have to purchase them along with the necessities to make them into the final product. 

I thought that this might be a good time to let people know why I charge what I do, and what kind of money goes into making the final products.  The amount in green is the starting price for each group of items.

Soakers & Longies:  $5-$10 in materials for each one, plus 1-2 hours of time spent making each.  $14
LambLegs:  $2-$3 in materials, 3-6 made in one hour.  $6
LambKlips (coming in November): $2 in materials, est 3-6 in an hour.  est $5
LamBums:  (testing to begin November):  est $5+ in materials, est 1 an hour.  Est price after testing:  $12-$15

The cost in materials does not account for various business expenses like business cards or brochures, taxes etc.  It does not account for booth fees, website costs, bank fees for transactions etc.  In starting this business, I'm learning a lot about overhead.  Will my prices ever change?  Unfortunately they probably will.  For instance if I start selling on Etsy I have to pay even more fees.  If I start a webpage with a shopping cart, that's going to start at $20 a month, for a bare bones site.  If I start accepting credit cards that's going to add more banking fees.  If I get a cell phone (I don't have one at all at this point) that's another raise in my business costs.  It's not cheap or easy to run a business. 

When I first started shopping for unique handmade items I noticed how expensive it was.  I was very naive and thought "Wow!  What are these people thinking?  I could make that for half that price!!"  And I could.  However most of the time I was looking at hours of learning how, a few hours of making it and enough of the cost in materials to make it much easier to buy it already made for the 'super expensive price'.

This is why I"ve written this post.  I wanted to share a little that I've learned by starting up this business.  People don't just spend money on the materials to make the things you purchase from them.  They purchase special tools in a lot of cases, plus, if they're taking their crafting seriously and turning hobby into business, they have a lot of other costs as well. 

So next time you look at a price tag, go ahead and gasp horribly, on the inside, and give a friendly smile to the vendor!

On The Drawing Board

 
On the drawing board I have The Sleepy Sheep's newest product:  The Fitted T-shirt Diaper.  I know what I want in a diaper, but YOU are the customer.  So tell me, what do YOU want?

Here is what I need you to know about the final pattern.  Unless special ordered each diaper will be serged with an extra long doubler.  The doubler may be attached by serging or have snaps for easy removal.  I find that  I never take my doublers off and for that reason I'm more likely to just serge it together with the diaper itself.  However, if I get enough requests to have them removable, or possibly entirely separate then I will heed your requests!  Should the doubler be attached to the front or the back of the diaper?  The other option I would like your input on is whether to have long skinny wings or short fat ones.  I prefer the short fat ones as there is less material to fight with.  I will also make each diaper with snaps, though I"m possibly going to offer diapers with no snaps as a economy style, and sell them for less.  These diapers would be easily secured using pins, a snappi or boingo diaper fasteners.  You could also add your own snaps, velcro or aplix.  Joann's fabric offers a local place to get items specifically for making cloth diapers.

Here are three of the latest diapers I"ve made, and following each picture is a short description.  

This diaper is serged, with short fat wings. 

This diaper has an an extra long soaker, serged right to the back of the diaper..

This one has a hem.  This seemed to add to the amount of time and work that was needed, and was not as nice as a finished product.  Therefor I will not be offering this other than as a custom order.  Note the long skinny wings of the diaper. 

For good measure, here's a picture of the back.

The soaker for this diaper would be snap in.  I also made it only as long as the diaper itself, thinking that maybe I'd offer two doublers with each one, for maximum flexibility.  However, at this time I plan to make longer ones to fold over.  Less pieces means less work for the laundry-doer in your house.

This is my personal favorite design, and I conveniently forgot to add the elastic at the right time, so guess what? We're keeping it.

As you can see the doubler is serged into the front of the diaper.  This gives a very trim look in the bum.  I would challenge you to tell the difference between a cloth and sposie diapered baby wearing jeans over this.  You can fold it so that  more absorbency is in the front for boys or crotch for girls.  Also note the shorter, fatter wings.

The final picture shows the where the doubler is serged to the front.  If I put a tag on this diaper, again it would be in the back. 

Now leave a comment on what features you prefer.  I'd also like to know if you'd rather have a one size fits most, with the possibility of adding a newborn size later or a two size system.  A two sized system might mean it fits from birth to 18lbs and 18lbs to 35.

Fall Festival

The Fall Festival at Circle Me was great!  I loved being there and seeing all those cloth diapered butts:)  During the festival I made a few connections with others interested in doing business in the natural world!  One connection was a beautiful woman with her adorable kiddos.  She's ECing in order to help keep her 6mo's very sensitive baby skin dry and rash free.  We discussed maybe coming up with something woolie made especially for Elimination Communication.  Another family wanted to go into business doing holistic medicine and is looking to brain storm some ideas!  Another like-minded mom was showing off her beautiful baby shoes that we may get in touch over selling at my booths!

Can't wait for the next Sheepish adventure!