Do people drive you crazy? Or do they inspire you? Joanne King? November 9, 2009

People – now this is def. where I get a lot of inspiration – the way people lead their lives, the way they care for one another, and often times, what they wear.  I look at people constantly and look at what they are wearing. Now you might be surprised, but on a daily basis, I dress very simply. I actually show most of my love for colors on my nails! People are a great way to get inspired, to hear their life stories, and thoughts, and ideas. I have a friend named Jacqueline Gartland-  Jacks to All Trades – who is full of culture, art, and love.  Whenever I hang out with her, I literally feel ten times better.  Surround yourself by people like this, and you can’t go wrong.

Mireya, Jacqui, and Joanne King

Anyways, these are just a few of the things that inspire me. I am always inspired by other people’s fashion ideas, moms views on children’s clothing, and much more. I just thought I’d share with you some of the basics of what can jumpstart, and inspire you to follow your passion in life, as I did with mine.

Share your thoughts to everyone! A beautiful Testimonial! November 6, 2009

Thoughts – I am constantly thinking. Not always about my list of things, or work, but about how I feel, what would be cute on a child, what doesn’t work on kids. I am inspired from within. My Spring 2010 collection was based on my thoughts, of what I thought was cute, what I thought would be a new addition to the market, and what I thought would be perfect in terms of design for us to go up to toddler. Thoughts and confidence go hand in hand – if you are confident about what you think  – you will go far.  Write it down.

Here is a thought that was e-mailed to me by one of our most valued moms – Elisa – she sent me an image of her little one in Italy this past summer in Sama Baby!

Little One in Tuscany, Italy wearing Sama Baby!

She is writing her thoughts down to inspire the world!

Looks like she inspired someone!

Toooo cute!

That one thought – brightened my day! Sama Baby is officially internationally around the world!

Share your thoughts with people!

-Neha

Sama Baby at Houston’s First Green Community Festival! November 3, 2009

 

Wrap Up about Houston’s First Green Scene Community Festival!

Sama Baby had a great fashion show and event coverage – by Yolanda Grene’s WB Channel 39 – Going Green show! It was on this past weekend!

What: Community Green Festival

Where: Last Organic Outpost, 711 North Emile Street, Houston, Texas

Why: This event will focus on Green Living and include educational activities for children of all ages, food, vendor booths, workshops, demonstrations, and entertainment.

Who: All things green in Houston: businesses, organizations and individuals will showcase their products, services and talents!

Baby Fashion Show featuring organic baby clothing presented by Sama Baby

How to build a Composting Bin demonstration by Brittani Flowers of NotTrash.Houston

How to make your own Natural, non-toxic cleaning products demonstration by Mona Metzger of Urban Green Clean

Electric Car Showcase by Houston Electric Cars

Silent Auction and Raffle featuring local, green products and services sponsored by Houston Green Scene

Environmental Art Workshop by Artist Charles Washington

Balloon animals for kids with bio-degradable balloons by The Bug Man

Featuring Garden Art by Recycle Artist Phil Waldrop

Recycled Structures proudly constructed by Green Construction Company, Bright Side Construction

Special performance by poet, performance artist and author of Haiku2u:101 select poems on love, trial, triumph and trust Jerome Vielman

Special Appearance by Recycled Home Builder Dan Phillips

Interactive garden games provided by United Wellness Center and Last Organic Outpost

Casserole Cook-off Contest made with local ingredients from the garden by local celebrity chefs and area restaurants

Remember to pick-up your Holiday Green Guide featuring farm fresh recipes from the Last Organic Outpost compliments of Houston Green Scene

Family activities and Kids Corner provided by Last Organic Outpost

Top Models in Sama Baby

Sama Baby supports Local Elementary School! November 2, 2009

We support local schools!
West U Elementary Bazaar:

I want to tell you about the beauty of talking to your neighbors, and how things can work out organically! One of my neighbors had mentioned that their son goes to West U Elementary.  I thought that was pretty interesting, and one day they needed a ride to go pick him up.  I offered, as I thought it would be nice to see the school – and helped him get his son! In the process, we ran into a set of parents that were also picking up their kids – and my neighbor was mentioning that I owned an organic baby line called Sama Baby.  The parents immediately responded and said, “I read about you on the front page of our community newspaper a few months ago – congratulations – that is so cool!”  I had no idea how much people actually remembered reading that article – as it was posted in December of 2008!  After that, my neighbor proceeded to put Sama Baby postcards at West U – at a little table in the front area.  After three days,  he went back just to see if people had picked any up, and there were only three left. How crazy is that?  If you know that your school has any little area for postcards, please let us know by commenting – and we would love to have you put postcards with a discount at your school.  Moms apparently love our postcards, and think they are so interesting – as it talks about who we are, why we do what we do, and what clothing we have to offer!

BIRTH FAIR Houston – Wrap Up! October 30, 2009

BIRTH Fair took place at United Way from 11am-4pm in Houston, Texas. The event was focused on BIRTH, and all the opportunities and ways you can get involved in Houston – with midwives, doulas, and birth centers. It was amazing to meet so many other female business owners in Houston – who were focused on children, natural approaches to birth, and organic.  We had a wonderful little fashion show featuring 15 models in Sama Baby. It was daunting, but being the MC was quite a bit of fun – I spoke about each outfit, as well as each child’s favorite activity! One kid’s favorite food was tofu and broccoli. Sounds like my kind of kid!

BIRTH FAIR

Many moms purchased Sama Baby outfits, and were so excited to see such young entrepreneurs focused on all natural, and organic products for children. It was also wonderful to build a partnership with Bay Area Birth Center – the same area I grew up in when I was a young child in Houston.  They will be putting postcards in each of their birth bags, and leave our postcards at the front with discount codes for moms in the area! We love parterning, and if you are a midwife, doula, birth center, boutique, wellness center, we would love to cross-promote and partner together!  We even built some relationships with West U Wellness and are going to talk about doing a fun little Bollywood Green Chai Chat for their center – since I have grown up in West U for such a long time!

BIRTH Fair was a wonderful way to connect with other moms, and other hospitals, mom groups, and much more!

 

 

Do you care about the impact a product makes? October 29, 2009

Organic Cotton? How do you make a garment out of this?

Cotton Fields in India

To this product?

After my travels to India over the past three years and researching at trade shows regarding organic cotton – I have found so many different versions of organic, that I thought I might just let the bloody truth out of the bag.

 

So, what does it mean to go organic when it comes to fabrics? You deserve to hear it from an expert.  Sama Baby has been part of the Organic Exchange and many other certified organic organizations focusing on defining and bringing awareness to organic textiles.

 

1. Did you know that when you take your child to the doctor, for issues regarding eczema, skin rashes, skin diseases, or skin irritations, one of the FIRST things they recommend is switching to organic cotton?  I do not understand, why do they not preach early on as preventative care for babies to wear organic cotton? Why is it always a remedy AFTER the fact?

 

So how do we produce an organic cotton garment at Sama Baby? Well, first of all, Shivani and I go straight to the mouth of where it is being created. India. We go OURSELVES.

 

When we go there, we hand-pick our factories that we work with.  I would say that probably 1 out of 5 of our competitors are as hands-on as we are.  We work so closely with our factories, that we even have a family-owned factory that we produce some of our garments in.  That is the level of quality we expect in every aspect of our lives, and therefore, deliver that level of excellent quality to you.

 

We make sure that our organic cotton is grown in a specific area – away from conventional cotton.  The cotton is then grown with absolutely no pesticides, no chemicals, no fertilizers, nothing. Everything that touches that cotton is organic, water, earth, sun, and happiness!

 

Another aspect to organic cotton – that most people forget, is the dyeing process. People forget that to create a garment, it is not just about the actual fabric, it is about the PROCESS.

 

Then, that cotton is taken to the factory, and spun into threads and weaved into fabric.

 

With our fabrics, we use the highest level of eco-friendly dyes in the market.  These are the most gentle dyes available, so that your baby’s skin is well protected.

 

The fabric is later taken to the factory to create each garment. Our factory has employees of age, pay fair wages, and work in a clean environment.  In addition, some of our workers actually have the opportunity to stay for classes in the evening, and have a safe home near the factory to live, if needed.

Yarns and Weaving

Our factory is also partially powered by wind and solar energy – another little factor that makes Sama Baby organic and green start to finish!

 

So, that is how we make an organic cotton garment at Sama Baby.

 

Remember, it is the journey and process that matters when it comes to creating a product. How much of an impact are we making when creating a Sama Baby product? Who’s lives are we effecting in the process, and the customer?  These are all HUGE questions when you are buying from a small business – and are all integral in the way we work at Sama Baby!

Journey and Process

 

 

Giggle, Giggle, Giggle and Kelly Rutherford! August 21, 2009

Shivani and I visited the Giggle store in NYC – and ran into KELLY RUTHERFORD from Gossip Girl!

As we were walking in, she was walking out -and of course I just froze and stood there.. it was quite hilarious.

Here is a picture of Shivani under the Giggle sign…. one of her favorite stores to purchase baby items – great service, great choices.. we are hoping to get picked up by this store! If you have one near you, ask them about Sama Baby – tell them to write it down and tell the manager! It would be great to see what a grassroots effect would do!  They are def. interested in carrying us – as they have talked with us over the past year – and love our mission, story, and line!

and if you look closely in this picture – the woman in all black, and black leggings is Kelly Rutherford – she looks amazing in person! She loves to shop at Giggle- as you can see by the big shopping bag she is carrying!

I can’t believe I have literally run into the entire team at Gossip Girl in NYC – they are all so beautiful in person!

Anyways – just thought I would share you that fun tid bit!

Did someone say Cookie? August 20, 2009

We absolutely love Cookie Magazine – the photography is designed beautifully, and people love the fact that it is so fashion forward, and has great celebrities on it.

We were invited to visit the Cookie Magazine headquarters in NYC and meet with their fashion team – as they loved Sama Baby and our affordable new denim line. Cookie loved how beautiful our items are – and were happy to meet the two sisters that made this company out of their own home!

We loved their offices – beautifully designed lobby and happy employees! Cookie magazine is a great resource as well!

-Neha

Reading Up on the Industry August 19, 2009

As most people do – we read up on what is going on in our industry – what are moms thinking about, talking about, reading about!?

Well Kiwi Magazine is a great place to get a lot of great resources – people love reading about ways to green their home, how to gear up for another back to school August, and what is fashionable!

Here we are at a yummy little French Bakery – eating our fine herbes omelettes and wonderful hot chocolate – reading up on Kiwi Magazine. The childrens industry is such a happy place – and its great that we are in an industry where people are out to help nurture healthy happy babies – as we like to do at Sama Baby. Sama Baby is an organic cotton line that focuses on this as its sole mission – and providing great service and design!

Chica Chica Mama! August 17, 2009

One of our favorite things is to feature our press that we have received!

Blogging is an interesting form of writing. We believe that the editors at Mamaista truly have developed a TRUE VOICE online. The one for hip moms, that are all about finding new products, those unique items that the baby next door does not have!

We love the editors at Mamaista- as they are also female entrepreneurs with a similiar vision – providing sound information to moms around the world regarding products.

Luckily, in NYC we met with these great moms, and after visiting our booth at the ENK Trade show in NYC – they featured us within 24 hours! TALK ABOUT A SUCCESS!

They love our line – our story, our fashion concept, and our story.  Check out the article here titled GLOBAL APPEAL:

http://bit.ly/13HYBl

Have to say – the writing is witty and hilarious. Talk about a great way to talk about Sama Baby – I def. chuckled..

-Neha Gupta