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!

Designing – What Inspires You? November 4, 2009

 

Designing: Inspiration – What Inspires You?

 

What inspires you? What makes you think in the morning when you get up? What are you thinking about when you are getting ready for work?

 

These are all thoughts. Do you have a thought journal? Do you have a place where you right down all your ideas?

 

So, if you want to know how I am inspired – food, colors, thoughts, people, air, plants, ideas, philosophical concepts, spirituality, teachings, and life inspire me.

 

Sounds like a lot.  But these are all the little things that go into a Sama Baby collection.

 

Leave a comment. I’d love to know what inspires you to wake up every morning too!

-Neha

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

 

 

The Day in the Life of a Children’s Fashion Designer – and no, not like Paris Hilton Style! October 28, 2009

You may think that the way I design may be similar to this:

Paris Hilton and Little Child!

But.. I don’t. I dont create miniature versions of adult clothing… which is the misconception – Sama Baby is a playful, childish line with a beautiful inspiration from India!

So, as a designer of a children’s clothing line – I have been looking at the trends of which moms buy products. Sometimes I even ask moms in airports, boutiques, grocery stores – why did you put that on your child? (of course, in an inquisitive manner, not insulting!) What is it about that garment that makes your child comfortable, and what is your favorite silhouette?  Now, I know that may be weird to you – but who knows – you might be sitting next to me on a plane with your cute little one, and I might ask you these same questions.

I have figured out a few things that moms focus on. If you have any other suggestions, please comment because I will incorporate it into my next collection.  Every mom’s voice counts when it comes to Sama Baby!

1. Accessibility – how easily can I slip this on and off my child?
2. Comfort – how comfortable is my child in this? Does this make them itch? Are they allergic?
3. Size – does this fit my child well? Too well? Too loose?
4. Warmth – will this garment keep my child at the right temperature – keep them warm when needed or, keep them cool when needed?
5. Price – is this a good price for the quality I am getting?
6. Design – is this designed with good materials? Is it beautiful? How will my child look in this garment?

So, these are the top six pointers I use when designing a collection. Every single garment I create, I use these points to figure out how to create something that is beautiful, well-priced, comfortable, and easy access.

A Thank You to All Moms out there! September 25, 2009

Everyone has one. I mean literally everyone I know has one. A cute little Coach wallet or a demi purse. How cute?

Well a little secret here in the Sama office. I used to help design those. Like pick colors of the leathers, the hardware, the edgepaint on the side of the hangtag. The hangtag shape – you name it. I was a design developer, and I loved my job.

But you know what I love even more. My job now. Working with family, having a flexible schedule so if I am needed anywhere I can run if necessary. Working into the wee hours of the night, and not feeling that I am checking in, or really trudging along. Instead, I followed my passion to do exactly what I wanted – and we are getting great response.

So my way of thanking all of you – moms that love my product, moms that take photos of their children in my clothing, and put it on their facebook page, moms that get my gifts, moms that are so inspiring to me – this is my way of giving back to you.
Now what’s the hardest job in the world? Being a mom. So you know what, splurge a little bit. Buy a beautiful Sama outfit for your little one. Why not get a cute $200 Coach Wallet in your order. That’s my way of saying to ALL you moms out there that I meet, and moms I don’t meet: “YOU DESERVE IT!”

Thank you for supporting me! For letting me jump off the corporate ladder, and really focus on being green and promoting fair trade, eco-friendly dyes, and designing clothes that are inspired by India, made in India, to benefit India! So go, and visit http://www.samababy.com and get your chance now – one in fifty customers this week!

Love you all,

Neha

Sama Baby at ENK NYC! August 27, 2009

Hi,

ENK is the children’s industry main trade show – the show to be at when you are a clothing line.  It is where hundreds of buyers come, including Barney’s, Saks, Neimans, and much more. For us it was such a success – it was our first time doing the show, and people just LOVED our items – and of course, our pricepoint. In today’s economy – people are looking at every single dollar they spend – not just as a consumer, but as a buyer of a boutique.  They know that moms are looking for a good product – fairly priced, beautifully designed adorably soft.  And of course, the moms that are organic minded, and focus on organic cotton clothing – love our line – since we price everything reasonably against any other normal conventional line in a boutique!

Building a brand in a small space can be tough, 5 X 5….but when you give two greenista fashionistas a chance – -this is what it looked like!

A beautiful video with our lovely Sama Mama’s in their amazing a fashion items from Sama Baby, a wonderful hand-made grid – made by none other than the Sama Mama team, and of course our beautiful baby clothes hanging.  We of course featured our great top press from Vanity Fair!

Doing the show was great – we learned so much from everyone around, and got to really connect with a lot of other owners – and meet some of the coolest female entrepreneurs.

I would love it if everyone did this exercise. If you had to fit your entire personality, drive, or ideas into a 5 X 5 space – what would it look like? What would you highlight about yourself? What would you focus on as your self?

Take A Walk Inside the VANITY FAIR office… August 24, 2009

Hello Everyone!

On our trip in NYC – I was so excited to walk into the Conde Nast building.  It was very similiar to the lobby of the Devil Wears Prada… as I have watched the movie repeatedly over 100 times – and probably can recite it to you..

Beautiful outfits, wonderful summer dresses, expensive handbags, and great little flats that coordinated all the way down to a pair of earrings. Fashion in NYC is absolutely unbelievable, and as I was walking into the VANITY FAIR office, I saw every type.  The place has SUCH high security – that your day pass will change color by the end of the day when you walk out – so that you can’t come in the next day – now talk about high tech!

Alexis Bryan Morgan, Assistant Fashion Editor of VANITY FAIR was there to greet Shivani and I – as we met with her in the headquarters.  She was bubbly, excited, and loved our line.  She really loved the fact that we were family run, kept our company with high integrity even while growing exponentially.

Of course – we would never leave without gifting her cute items….
We gifted her with our new pink halter dress – at http://www.samababy.com/product_p/ss-g3619.htm

and some yummy elephant accessories in pink – http://www.samababy.com/product_p/ec-b619.htm

It was wonderful to meet her and share our story about Sama Baby – and our passion for organic cotton, green, and natural products for babies!

-Neha and Shivani