Bring on the babies!

I am so excited!  

Puddlefoot is having a "semi-official" photo shoot next week. 

My friend Rachel is extremely talented at photographing children and producing vivid "in the moment" shots of kids (she took the photo above of her son Henry in my "Stalky" tee)... she volunteered to take some pics for my website and I can't thank her enough.  

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

She is such a sweet, colorful mama and I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Cuddle of the Week

I just received an email from True Cuddles, an online company that reviews baby products and features a favorite every week.  They want to feature my Sweet Beet and Celery tees!  I am so excited because they actually are purchasing 16 t-shirts and that means I get paid upfront for a change.  Their site is very cute too, clean and colorful with quality products.  My day is looking bright!

Crickets!

Business has been so quiet this week... I think I can hear crickets...CHIRP! CHIRP!...CHIRP!

Meanwhile, I have been joining Yahoo! Groups to get the word out, mainly WAHM/Cloth Diapering Groups.  I'll keep you posted.  

Good night!

CHIRP...CHIRP, CHIRP!

My new business cards arrived!

I am so excited! I got my business cards and I actually like them.  I have had others in the past and have never been quite satisfied with them... so this is great.  They are kind of wild, but I like them.

Cotton dreams and hemp wishes...

Took a break on the biz today... been geeking out on cloth diapers by Sustainable Babyish instead.  I can't wait to get them in the mail.  I'm just gonna hug and squeeze them to pieces. 

Back to the real world tomorrow... promotion, promotion, promotion!  I think I will call Cynthia from the Ojai Farmer's Market and see what it takes to be a part of those festivities.

Weird Good/Bad Day...

Today has been kind of weird.
The good news...

I heard back from a few online companies that want to put my tees on there sites. Most want to use the drop shipping method which is totally fine with me... since all I want to do is get my product out there in all forms. 
Look for Puddlefoot on these sights soon:
www.shopsparrowLA.com
www.naturallytrendy.com
www.mammasbaby.com
www.90210organics.com
www.PAXbaby.com
www.newbornmom.com

The bad news... the CPSIA's new lead law.

I have been trying to inform myself for the past week on the subject and have found the whole thing to be very frustrating.  I am hoping that the CPSIA will amend the new law so that small companies like me won't have to do expensive lab testing, but will be able to get certification from the ink and dye suppliers. For now, though, I am going to probably go ahead and get my tees electronically tested for lead and PVCs through the Eastern Applied Research Company with their XRF machine.  I think that the law says that companies have to do "reasonable" testing... and this seems reasonable enough for me.  It costs $5 per ink color and per dye color. Not expensive, but extremely annoying. Thanks Bob Moll for making me feel a little better about the whole process.

Other bad news... I hate dealing with the dye house I used... they are uneducated, unorganized, and rude.  Tom Stanton is a jackass and LA Dye and Wash is incompetent!  I will NEVER use them again.

Sparrow LA here I come!

I got my first boutique invite from Sparrow boutique in LA! It is an adorable store and I feel lucky to have my tees there.
Check out their website: http://www.shopsparrowla.com.

Fishing...

NO bites yet... boohoo. I'm so impatient...

Email, Email, Email...

Today I am emailing up a storm. I am trying to contact about a zillion boutiques to try and get my tees in their stores. I attached my wholesale brochure and hope that I get some response. I hate to admit, but I love this kind of detail work:) I'm a nerd. Wish me luck!

My BIG splurge...

Today I splurged BIG time!
I registered with EcoMall.com and Feminist.com... two really well-known eco-directories out there.....PHEW! Wipe the sweat from my brow... I think that it is good to take chances and to do whatever it takes to get the word out about your company. I am very curious to see if this exposure boosts my business.

Puddlefoot Grand Opening!

Hello Everyone and welcome to Puddlefoot's first blog entry!

Let me tell you a bit about my company.

Puddlefoot is a mother owned and operated company based in Southern California selling originally designed, screen printed tees for tots. Every fun little character was designed by me, Suzi MacDougall- owner, artist, wife, and mama to two very young boys. My organic cotton tees are sewn and grown in the USA. I only use non-PVC, water-based inks and the dyes meet all of the Global Organic Textile Standard's qualifications. These details ensure my tees are soft and stretchy with a wonderful vintage feel.

My first collection is called the "Veggie Patch" and includes SIX adorable vegetable designs. These include a yam, beet, squash, onion, eggplant, and celery. All of my shirts come in sizes 0/6M, 6/12M, and 18/24M.

Starting a new business can be a challenge and frustrating at times, but I have found it to be very satisfying and exciting for the most part. This blog is a way for me to document Puddlefoot's journey in todays retail market and all the adventures along the way. Thanks for reading... check back soon.