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

Food – What Inspires You? November 5, 2009

Food inspires me. It inspires how I design. How I feel, think, act, and much more!

 

Food – as a home-made chef who loves to cook for anyone around them – I absolutely love food. I’d call myself a foodie, and in Houston I am known as  Houchie – Houston Chowhound.  Everytime I cook something – I am inspired by the fragrance, the colors, and the tastes. All my senses are heightened. I was recently at dinner with a friend of mine who only eats meat and bread. He watched in wonder while I combined my lettuce, with a little bit of rice, a nice little touch of salsa, and a slice of avocado.  Watching me eat, was almost artistic for him, and all he could say was “what an extensive taste pallete!” Experiment more with food – if you don’t like it, give it to someone else.

 

Cooking at an Early Age!

I Love Veggies!

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

 

 

Oprah, Sama Baby, Aishwarai Rai and Abhishek Bachan! September 30, 2009

So, you may not know, but Oprah is one of my favorite shows to watch.  Did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? Of course, one of the best shows I’ve watched in a while from her!

Oprah featured Bollywood, not for the first time this year, but the SECOND! She had Aishwarai Rai Bachan and Abhishek Bachan on her show – talking about how hot India is – how festive the culture was, and how interesting it is.

As someone who has grown up here with an Indian background – it has been wonderful to watch the unveiling of Indian culture! It is wonderful how welcoming Oprah is and opening up everyone’s perspective on some of the most major actors around the world!

Our inspiration for Sama Baby  – Organic cotton baby clothing is straight from India. The rich colors, the prints, the ideas behind our design are specifically straight from my culture.

I am so happy to see that our culture is so beautifully accepted and expressed – and everyone loves the how exotic and festive our culture is!

I wanted to give you an inspirational trek on how I designed one of our items!

If you see our kimono top with beautiful ruffles, I used the ancient motif of the paisley.  If you look at Aishwarai’s sari on the show – she is wearing a beautiful sari that features beautiful paisleys.  She is sticking to traditional motifs and prints – beautiful little embroidered motifs that feature Indian culture!

Our kimono top is rooted from Indian motif design featuring the paisley, the organic nature by including little specs of green leaves, and the western favorite colors of chocolate and pink for little girls.
This piece was a way for me to combine the whimsical style of a kimono top, with my passions and culture!

look at the paisleys at the bottom of her outfit!

Sama Baby Paisley Print!

Xoxo,

Your Favorite Head Designer

Gigi Chang, CEO of Plum Organics! August 25, 2009

If there is anything that females should support – it is other females.

At Sama Baby Organics we believe that babies should be clothed in soft, luxurious, organic cotton – designed beautifully, and affordable.  Organic Cotton is not a trend, it is something that will be staying for a long time in today’s market. Moms want natural, moms want organic, moms are creating an awareness about this movement.

We had no idea that sitting down with other female entrepreneurs – we could meet like-minded, interested women, that have the same drive and mission that we do at Sama Baby!  To find hard working, compassionate, innovative women that are entrepreneurial in spirit, than why not partner together?

That’s why Sama Baby had lunch at Fig & Olive to discuss with Founder and CEO, Gigi Chang, of Plum Organics to discuss possible ways we can partner to promote healthy living inside and out for babies all over the world.

We loved meeting with Gigi. She had vision, drive, and most of all passion for her business. She believes that developing the taste palette fo your child is so important.

At Plum Organics, they  believe that introducing babies to real food with interesting, flavorful tastes and textures as early as possible create a foundation for a life time of healthy eating. Our foods are cooked just the right amount as compared to other processing methods used by conventional jarred baby food that expose foods to high temperatures and lengthy cooking times.

Overcooking food results in less texture and flavor which is evident in its appearance. The natural nutrients are also lost through this process. Research has shown that eating a variety of healthy foods and minimizing the intake of processed foods with additives and preservatives can help avoid health concerns later in life such as allergies, obesity and early onset diabetes.

They have a belief that by exposing our babies to real food at an early age, their palates are conditioned to accept and appreciate real foods with flavor, variety and healthful benefits. We believe this will encourage your growing child to experiment with new and exotic tastes for years to come.

I absolutely loved this philosophy.  As a cook, I truly believe in the mission of Plum Organics – provide nutritious foods, organic, and simple, but full of health, life, and vitality!  It’s also great to talk with someone else who is also in Whole Foods too!

More to come on this. Watch as Sama Baby and Plum Organics find ways to partner – as we promote healthy babies inside and out!

-Neha Gupta

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!