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!

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

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

 

 

Whole Foods Chelsea features Sama Baby! August 26, 2009

We were very excited to stop by Whole Foods Chelsea to see our items hanging beautifully and displayed nicely!

Whole Foods Chelsea is on 27th St and 7th Avenue in the Heart of Chelsea! It is also right next to where both CEO and VP of Sama Baby took classes – the Fashion Institute of Technology!

Whole Foods is such a great store – as the Whole Body of this store is separate than the Whole Foods itself in this area – this store has so many beautiful items, and great choices for every mom that wants to go organic!

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

The Dark Side of Conventional Cotton April 16, 2009

When we think about global warming, increasing cancer rates,  and sensitivites to chemicals, our clothes closets are probably not the first villain that comes to mind, but our clothes can be a significant, quiet co-conspirator.

Cotton evokes images of white, fluffy purity and many people think of cotton as being a natural, pure fabric.  Cotton is a wonderfully versatile and globally important fiber that is used for a vast variety of fiber and food products, making it one of the most widely traded commodities on earth.  Versatility, softness, breath-ability, absorbency, year-round comfort, performance, and durability are just a few of the qualities that have earned cotton its popular status.  Due to its unique fiber structure which can absorb up to 27 times its own weight in water, cotton breathes and helps remove body moisture by absorbing it and wicking it away from the skin.  Not only is cotton the most popular and best selling fabric in the world, due to its huge commercial value, cotton also represents an essential component of foreign exchange earnings for more than fifty countries.  The value and reach of cotton extends far past the fashion runway.

But, the global cotton industry has a worldwide Dark Side of which most of us are not aware as we fill our shopping bags with inexpensive cotton shirts from major clothing stores.  The simple act of conventionally growing and harvesting the one pound of cotton fiber needed to make a T-shirt takes an enormous and devastating toll on the earth’s air, water, and soil that impacts global health.  Also, policies and practices within the cotton industry from crop subsidies to garment sweatshops create poverty and misery that stretch around the world.

That is why Sama Baby is different. The CEO and VP go to India EVERY SINGLE YEAR to inspect the cotton. To go to the fields. To speak the language, to meet with the farmers. We go to make sure everything is completely organic following the HIGHEST level of organic cotton. We make sure that everyone is treated fairly, that we are supporting local villages, that we make sure it is FAIR TRADE!

Visit us at http://www.samababy.com

People buy our product because they believe in our story, they believe that companies should be hands on when making a product, and they are inspired by what our team does to ensure that we handle everything ourselves!

Pesticides in Produce December 26, 2008

Environmental Working Group published an article discussing pesticides in produce and gave the top 12 dirtiest produce, ones that we should buy organic because they have the highest amounts of pesticides used on them. These 12 are Peaches, Apples, Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Lettuce, Imported Grapes, Pears, Spinach, and Potatoes. They give more information regarding differing produce on their website www.foodnews.org. This is a great reminder of the amounts of pesticides in our daily lives, especially our foods. This list is helpful because I know that sometimes it is hard to buy all things organic and this helps us give priority to those which are heavier on the pesticides and although none is best, as I have said before…baby steps!!!