Inside Etsy: Store Owner Interviews: baby

Necessity is the mother of all invention, and I know that mothers of squiggly children's feet everywhere will love BirdyBoot's line of handmade soft soled baby/toddler shoes. Not only are they eco-conscious (made from upcycled and recycled materials) but they also look cute doing it! The elastic around the back makes sure that shoe ain't going nowhere! (Also available in a ballet-flat style without the elastic. And she has boy styles, too.)

But she has more than just shoes available. She has organic wood blocks, children's clothes, headbands, and more wooden toys. And that is just in her first shop, BirdyBoots. In her second shop, UpAndAwayPatterns, you can find the patterns behind some of her products so you can get creative all on your own.

I just love looking that the picture you use for your shop’s logo! It is hilarious. Very Maisy Mouse. Who thought this up?

When I first started my Etsy shop, I sold only children’s soft soled shoes so I wanted to base my logo around that…in about 30 seconds, I used a Sharpie pen to sketch out my ‘bird in boots’ logo and uploaded it to my computer. (I am not known for my patience.)

Have you made any adult-sized slippers? They look so comfy!

No, I haven’t, but I do want to make myself a pair when the weather gets cooler! My dad requested a pair last Fall and went so far as to trace out his foot for me, but I have yet to make him a pair!

Hmmmm...would she make these in adult-size also, I wonder?

Wow! You have your products from coast to coast literally. They can be found at Stoopher & Boots in NYC and at the Bella Vita Boutique in Oakland, CA. How did your products find a way into those two stores?

The owners of both of these boutiques found me on Etsy and asked if I would do larger orders for their shops...wholesale is a great thing!

Are you the one doing the hand-cutting on your wooden toys?

No, my husband cuts out our wooden toys. He also does the initial sanding and then I take over painting and finishing the toys.

I have to insert here that as the mother of a 4 year old, she wants everything pink. Yesterday she asked for pink alligator. Sadly, I had to tell her no.

My husband met on the job and we liked it so much we worked together a second time. Have you worked with your husband before or is teaming up with him on the shop a first-time thing?

No, this is a first-time thing... and I think it's good we still have our day jobs separate :) (big smile)

And here is her big smile (And what a wonderful smile it is):

Her two young daughters also make her smile, and her blog is dedicated to leaving them pearls of wisdom.

Follow her at http://www.pearlsformydaughters.blogspot.com/

and

FB – www.facebook.com/birdyboots1

She also runs sample sales of her clothes, for all of you moms who love a good bargain. (or aunts, grandmas, friends, or if you are a hoarder and just can't pass up a great deal, lol.)

Follow up post has been completed! Now for the full feature on The Wishing Elephant!

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I have to admit something--I never dressed my babies "cute". I was so exhausted working 50+ hours a week that they were lucky to get a bath and be dressed in matching clothes. But that's all behind me now that I'm a stay-at-home mom with nowhere to go except church two days a week. And I like it that way! I try be better about dressing them cute, especially my 4 year old girl, but to achieve maximum cuteness I would need to buy a onesie from The Wishing Elephant. She even has onesies that are perfect for twins and triplets.

I don’t have any experience with felt, outside of Sunday School crafts. I’m just going to throw out a bunch of questions into this one and you fill in the blanks. Is it pre-treated? Does it wash well? Fading? Is it sewn on? Preshrunk?

I use eco felt which is made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles. I love this fabric because it doesn't fade or run and it comes in a huge variety of colors. I wash all of the felt prior to use to make sure any shrinkage happens before it's made into an applique. My appliques are backed with a very strong no sew adhesive. I ask that the shirts are hand washed and line dried - treat your handmade goods with love!

Are you going to keep the white onesie as your primary backdrop or are other colors on the way?

I love the white onesie. I think it's clean and provides the perfect backdrop for many of my appliques. I can't imagine the Etch a Sketch on anything else. This being said, I am playing around with dying onesies. I have a handful of hand dyed onesies with matching burp cloths ready to applique. I'd love to have them available now, but it seems that my 2 week old has something to say about that!

I normally don’t ask about shop names, but why "The Wishing Elephant"?

Did you know that elephants mourn? I find that amazing. Elephants are these massive ethereal creatures, how could you not love them? I also love wishing on stars. In fact, my husband kept his sweaty hand on my engagement ring until I said the magic words "star light, star bright, first star I see tonight..." and then proposed. So, the wishing elephant is a combination of two things that I secretly find magical. My husband also designed my logo, which I adore (and does a pretty nice job of combining these the two)!

Are you working on any new items for summer?

I'm starting to dye onesies, and I'm always trying to find new inspiration. I'm desperate to make a narwhal applique, and I just finished a ship in a bottle. I also have a few monsters and fish made with Amy Butler fabric that are going to be hand sewn and put up on Etsy this summer.

The Wishing Elephant also has a couple of stand-alone iron-on appliques that you can purchase for your own crafting project. Here is her owl applique, available in four colors.

Following availabe at:

Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wishing-Elephant/120376701336656
Twitter twitter.com/#!/wishingelephant/
Blog www.wishingelephant.blogspot.com

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Original Post:

Our shop owner today is a little busy recovering from the birth of a new baby, so I'm going to go ahead and do the feature now then add the questions later when she has a minute to get them back to me. The nerve of her having a baby! lol Well, she's got lots of supercute onesies to dress her live doll in.

The Wishing Elephant

Told you they were cute! (But, thankfully, baby is not included.) She has much cuteness in her shop, making it very difficult for me to just pick out two or three to showcase. So get your "awwwww!" ready, cuz here are some "awwwwwesome" onesies.