When Jennifer Ludt was pregnant with her daughter, Sophia, she received a burp cloth with a ribbon sewed onto it as a gift and thought, “I could do this so much better.” So she bought a second-hand embroidery machine from eBay and dug out an old sewing machine and Baby Sophia Gifts was born. “(At that time,) I had no idea how to even work the sewing machine!”
All of that has changed since the launch of the business two and a half years ago. Determined to create a high quality product that not only looked great, but would also stay around for as long as a child uses a bib, Jennifer chooses decorator weight fabric on almost all of her bibs. “Some of the canvas fabrics are even meant for outside use, which means they are very stain-resistant. Great looking can also mean long lasting.”
What else sets Baby Sophia Gifts apart from the rest? “You’ll never find a bib with a “Dora” print on my site. No offense Dora, my children love the show! But I will not sell anything that I don’t deem as classy.”
As for her hottest selling items, the bib and burp cloth sets are very popular. Jennifer sells a lot of the Pink Dragonflies Bib/Westbrook Pink Stripe Burp Cloth for girls and the Little Cowpokes Bib/Red Dots Burp Cloth for boys.
Until recently, Jennifer made every bib and burp cloth by herself. “But because of demand I now have my neighbor (and great friend), Debra, helping me sew the burp cloths. I do all of the embroidery, but I can now concentrate mostly on the bibs (which are more time consuming!)”
What’s next for Baby Sophia Gifts? “I’d like to launch a line of burp cloths made from the same fabrics as the bibs – I’ve sold a few prototypes to friends and they have been received incredibly. Other than that, it’s really hard to say. Someday I’m going to have to make the tough decision about whether to really go for it and expand. I love the intimacy of my business and I’m not sure I’d even like to go that route. But at the same time, I don’t want to turn away business – I adore my customers.
I have the most loyal customers….they keep coming back over and over again. I don’t ever want to disappoint them. For now, we’ll just take it day-by-day!”
Visit Baby Sophia Gifts online at www.babysophiagifts.com
Pictured right: one of the gifts that Jennifer Garner received at her baby shower.
Baby Sophia Gifts is located just outside of Philadelphia in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Jennifer is a Clever Parent to Sophia, now 3, and Cooper, 15 months.
By Kris on 09/24/06 in 2006 Business Spotlights, Featured, Gear, Parentrepreneur
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