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Today’s Topic: On Teething, Jewelry & Celebrity Baby Showers

July 14, 2011

If motherhood is the necessity of invention, then today’s Wired Momma Experts should be pictured next to the phrase in the Dictionary. Frankly, our experts are an example of worlds colliding for me. First these women had me at teething, then they had me at jewelry but then to add on celebrity baby showers – it’s like putting the hot fudge on top of my already decadent sundae. I couldn’t wait to speak with Kendra LaDuca, who along with her business partner Amy Maurer Creel, founded Teething Bling right here in Silver Spring, MD.

Amy Maurer and Kendra LaDuca with their baby teething rings

If you haven’t heard about or seen their necklaces, they are fabulous and stylish but also safe for babies to chew on. We all know how aggressively a teething baby goes after our necklaces, breaks them, chews on them – the idea is genius. Kendra and Amy are a classic and wonderfully reassuring example of how you can take your career in a different path, start something utterly new, inspired by motherhood and caring for your babies, and build it into a business that is sold internationally, as well as hob knob with pregnant celebrities at their baby showers. Read on to learn how to take an idea from concept to reality, how motherhood can really inspire your inner-entrepreneur and for some great advice on embarking on your own business adventure.

First question, how did the idea for Teething Bling come about?

I really think our story is a great mom story. Becoming a mother is a natural segue into new things, including new ideas and new friends. Me and Amy were new moms at the same time and we struck up a friendship at a baby playgroup. I knew I didn’t want to go back to work, I was really looking to do something different because my priorities had shifted. I had a background in events and project management and Amy had a background in marketing. I think becoming a mom and being home on maternity leaves affords you the opportunity to not just meet new people but meet new people from all sorts of business backgrounds who you might not otherwise have been exposed too. I had the initial idea of teething jewelry because we all know how the babies grab for your jewelry, try to chew it, and sometimes break the chain. We both liked the idea and embarked on a long idea stage of prototyping our concepts.

Did you know how to prototype something?

No! Not at all. I just started doing research first to see if the product already existed and discovered that it didn’t. I couldn’t find anything else like it on the market. Then we had to research what teething toys are made of, which as it turns out, is silicone. We learned that silicone is safe for babies – it’s what teething toys are made from – and we can do any color with it. Next we started shopping around to different jewelry stores to really find out what’s out there, what could be viable and then we sketched it out.

Ok. So you had a concept, you’d done some background research, and you don’t have any experience in bringing a product from concept to market – so what did you do next?

We really just started making lots of phone calls to silicone companies, sometimes we’d find people who couldn’t help us but would point us in the right direction. Because we knew how important safety is when dealing with products for babies, we started looking into industrial design firms, specifically those with experience in baby toys. We found a group in New York City and reached out to them. They couldn’t help but they did put us in touch with a client of theirs and he was interested – he became the liaison to factories.

Amazing. So to give us all a realistic sense of the timing of this – how long did it take from idea to the first prototype and how you got it from the factories to the stores?

Well, it took us about 18 months from the idea to the first prototype. We realized that the first design was too big for the mom’s chest and the colors weren’t quite right, so we had to tinker with it. In terms of getting our finished product into mom’s hands, we went to craft shows, local fairs like the Flower Mart at the National Cathedral, Christmas fairs and we would cold call stores and send samples. We really loved doing the fairs and craft shows because we would interact with our customers and we loved getting feedback from them. It’s very motivating. Cold calling stores is really impersonal. Things started to take off and then we went to big industry shows, like in Vegas. The shows are where you meet with stores who are selling to maternity stores, children’s stores and so on. The word also really started to spread which is wonderful because our customers began doing our marketing for us. We would hear about customers walking into stores wearing our necklaces, asking them if they sold our necklaces and then the store would call us.

Tori Spelling with her Teething Bling necklace

That’s fabulous. So I have to ask because I’ve seen this on your Facebook page – how did you end up at a celebrity baby shower and what is that like?

Basically what happens is someone organizes the baby shower for the celebrity and they invite vendors, at your own expense, to provide free stuff at the shower. Whoever is organizing the shower for the celebrity pitches it to the celebrity as the best products available on the market for the mom-to-be or baby and if the celebrity likes the product, she’ll pose for a picture with it. We’ve done Tori Spelling’s shower and most recently Jewel’s baby shower. The truth is, the celebrity baby shower is how we generate the highest traffic numbers to our site from Google. Also, what’s fun is, every once in a while our jewelry will pop up randomly in shows. For example, last week someone spotted it on Days of Our Lives. I guess there was a fussy baby in one scene and in the next scene, the baby is playing with our necklace. It’s not product placement driven by us but it works out great.

So where are you sold and do you have staff?

We are sold in over 27 countries and we have international distributors in 6 regions. We work with a fulfillment center that is a small family business as well. For a long time we worked right out of Amy’s basement here in Montgomery County but we just couldn’t handle the volume after a while. Now we have a few customer service reps, an accountant and then me and Amy.

What parting advice do you have for any women out there who are thinking of launching a new business or feel like they are sitting on a great new idea?

Doing your research is so important. You don’t want to find out that it can’t be done or that it’s already been done.
Be realistic. It takes a long time to get where we are. We started this in 2001-2002.
Me and Amy are a good balance for each other. It’s a lot of work and we have to remind one another that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It really takes longer than you think it’s going too.
You need to have a vision and want to end up there. I sketched Teething Bling with my daughter’s Crayola pencil, so it really started from scratch.
And finally, don’t lose sight when it feels overwhelming. It’s important to really savor the moment and appreciate it.

That’s great advice, thank you Kendra. Hopefully if there are women out there inspired to start something new, this will help them get going.

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Celebrities, DC Moms Expert Series, DC Parenting Blogger, Moms/Entrepreneurs, Motherhood, Washington Mommy Blogger

Potty Training….A Premature Declaration of Independence from Diapers?

July 12, 2011

“My daughter is potty trained!” I proudly declare one day in late spring.

“Wow, congrats!” exclaims another friend. “So she doesn’t need a diaper at all? Not even for naps?” Her motivations for asking me this question automatically seem suspect….why must she knock me off my proud pedestal, I wonder. We both know the answers.

“Well,” I begin to concede “She needs a diaper for naps and for night-time and well, she isn’t pooping on the potty but she’s not wearing a diaper now!” I add hopefully. Probably a little too desperately. This time my confidence is deflating as we both stand there realizing that the fact that she’s not wearing a diaper now means that I could be changing her underpants any minute. Is she potty trained? Or is it just dumb luck? Perhaps the better question to ask me is this: Why has my daughter gone from wearing shorts to only summer dresses (read: less laundry bc she just pees on her leg instead of through the shorts) or how many pairs of extra underpants have I stashed in my purse (therefore demonstrating my true lack of confidence in just how potty trained she is.)

Along the path to potty training, I think there’s a sliding scale of loose definitions of the phrase that we use to make ourselves feel better when we’re secretly worried that they won’t make diapers big enough for our kid who actually really isn’t fully potty trained. The question really is: When is a child potty trained, like actually potty trained, like you really aren’t buying ANY diapers instead of you are buying fewer diapers and definitely buying swimmer diapers. Do we declare our independence from diapers publicly while behind closed doors, we really have a closet full of diapers for occasions other than just pee during the day when the child is awake?

Not quite the blissful image of potty training I'm experiencing

Clearly I have been stuck in the slippery, sliding, deflating, frustrating, demoralizing slope of potty training for a while now, with my 2.5 year old. Am I obsessed? Maybe. But I’m obsessed more with how we label it and how, in reality, it’s actually a continuous process. Sure, we’ve all heard of those miracle kids who potty train themselves and never have any accidents and poop on the potty right away and none of it required any work for their parents.

Back in the day, I would have secretly hated those people and wished ill-things on them like lots of tantrums or sleepless nights. And while a few unfavorable thoughts might flash in my head as I’m mopping up another accident on my carpet, really I’ve concluded that it all evens out in the end. The marathon of parenting ebbs and flows differently for all of us and while I’m in a dark place and someone else might not be, theirs will happen another time. So who am I kidding, I’m still kind of evil when you tell me great things about your kid that don’t mash up with my own version of misery and hell.

So back to the dark black hole of potty training – can I really call her “potty trained” with it comes with the following caveats: won’t poop on the potty, needs them for naps and night-time and I wouldn’t dream of sending her to the pool without a diaper. I mean, am I kidding myself when I proudly tell myself that both my kids are potty trained? But I know I’m not alone.

And then there’s the set backs and the ways kids handle being potty trained. Some of it is comedy and some of it has forced me to actually quit motherhood. Are the setbacks a natural part of potty training? Do they regress to test our patience and our deep love for them? Why are a few pee pee accidents on the carpet a few days in a row after a few weeks of no accidents – why is it so demoralizing and frustrating and disappointing? Because for me it is. The potty training regression was the final straw in my decision to quit motherhood the week before July 4.

I didn’t quit for long but making that declaration of independence was actually really satisfying and somehow about as real as the declaration of my child’s independence from diapers. One wonders if my declaration meshes with my daughter’s behavioral declaration of DEPENDENCE on having accidents.

And then, is my kid potty trained when she actually sits on the potty to pee but fails to realize that she needs to pull DOWN her underpants, therefore soaking through them?

Or how about the lack of boundaries on where going potty is appropriate? My friend’s kid was in Buy Buy Baby when she was potty training her and her daughter saw the potty’s out on display for potty training, whips down her pants (at least she was clever enough to whip down her own pants) and pees in the potty in the aisle at the store. In her young mind, she went pee pee on the potty, right? No one said WHERE the potty needed to be.

Bill Cosby nailed it last month, as we sat under the stars at Wolf Trap, and listened to his 2 plus hour monologue that was both hilarious and shockingly felt like he’s an observer in all of our lives and marriages. In one part of the act, he spoke about his grandchildren and the challenges in parenthood. He cleverly noted that children do not know how to conjugate verbs. So when his 3-year-old grandson declares “I go potty!” – you gotta move and move fast because does he NEED to go potty, did he ALREADY go potty, is he ABOUT to go potty, is he GOING potty when you are rushing him there? It could be any of the above. He’s three. He doesn’t conjugate correctly.

And perhaps the toddlers aren’t the only ones who don’t know how to conjugate the verb. Perhaps we adults get it wrong too. Afterall, if I still have diapers in my closet, is my child “potty trained” or is she “potty training”? A process that could take months, if not longer? Have I declared our independence too soon? And how many more times will I quit motherhood along the way?

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DC Parenting Blogger, Motherhood, Potty Training, Toddler Antics, Washington Mommy Blogger

Charlotte’s Web at Adventure Theatre: Some Play!

July 10, 2011

On Saturday I took my eldest to see Charlotte’s Web at Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo Park. To say that it was a delightful treat would be an understatement. First, the chance to go see the play prompted us to pick up the book and start reading it together. I last read Charlotte’s Web as a kid and this is the first real chapter book (read: not Junie B Jones) that I’ve read with my daughter. Reading this book together, in anticipation of our date to the theatre, has been wonderful. Because she is only 5.5, I’m not sure I would have thought to start reading this book to her just yet but I am grateful that I did. I’d forgotten how sweet and sad the story is and how E. B. White weaves important lessons on the cycle of life, unlikely friendships and death effortlessly through her sweet tale of Wilbur and Charlotte.

Upon entering the theatre, we were both giddy over the beautiful barnyard set displayed on stage. We couldn’t wait to meet Charlotte, Wilbur, Fern, the barnyard animals and even Templeton, that evil and sneaky rat. I counted six actors in the play, each taking on at least 2 roles throughout the production, and my daughter and her friends had no idea that Fern also played the mother goose, for example. The actors brilliantly portrayed each character, either through movement like the animals or conveying the emotional sensitivity of Fern or the brusque but gentle manner of Uncle Homer. We all laughed out loud over the goose and gosling’s repetition of words, Wilbur’s innocent and physical playfulness and even Templeton’s insatiable hunger and greed.

Charlotte & Wilbur

I read that Deidra LaWan Starnes, who plays Charlotte, helped prepare for the role by reading parts aloud to her own two children and I thought she beautifully conveyed the wisdom of Charlotte, her loyalty to Wilbur and the smooth rhythmic movement of an actual spider. I also thought each of the actor’s costumes were very creative and original despite the fact that none of them were wearing animal masks, fake ears or really anything beyond regular clothing. The use of the rain boots for the goose and gander and the old sheep’s Scottish plaid hat along with his white wool sweater were convincing enough for all of us, especially the kids, to get lost in the tale of Charlotte’s Web. I also read that the actors made a visit to a farm in Oxon Hill, MD to help prepare for their roles by observing the animals and how they interacted with each other. Clearly no detail is left unturned when it comes to an Adventure Theatre production, between the actor prep, the wooded and comfortable barnyard stage, the creative displays of Charlotte’s sewn words each displayed in different textures, and the costumes.

We’ve seen so many plays at Adventure Theatre and one of the things I always appreciate is how they get the length of the production exactly right. This play succinctly weaves together the story in about an hour, before the kids, even the younger ones, get too fidgety and before they start asking for lunch or snacks – which in and of itself is no small feat (at least for my snack-obsessed kids).

Happy theatre patrons on stage after the wonderful play

The play runs through September 5 and it would be a shame to miss it. Wilbur is some pig and this is some play! Tickets are $17 each and can be purchased online or by calling the box office at 301-634-2270. It’s a great way to beat the heat for an hour and get lost in a wonderful and sweet tale. Up next at Adventure Theatre: Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse from September 23-October 31 and the Christmas-classic and favorite ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas from November 18-January 2, 2012.

Disclosure: I received tickets from Adventure Theatre to attend the show. The comments expressed here are all my own.

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DC Events with Kids, DC Parenting Blogger, Motherhood, Summer Survival with Kids, Theater for kids, Washington Mommy Blogger

Get out and play: Activity ideas with the kids

July 7, 2011

Here are some great ideas to beat the heat, enjoy it in the shade, or otherwise keep your kids occupied and pretend it’s not hot out:

Every Saturday is “Free Summer Saturday” at the Corcoran and they have a line-up of fabulous kid-friendly events. This Saturday’s event particularly caught my eye, its theme is “Edible Color Wheel” and from 10:30-2pm, kids can use icing to learn how to mix primary colors into secondary colors and make their own edible color wheels. They had me at icing…..
One of my all-time summer favorites kicked off last week, Wolf Trap’s Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods. New this summer, buy admission for one show and you can stay for the second show for free. Tickets are $8 and shows run Tuesdays through Saturdays at 10am and 11:15am. If you haven’t been, the setting is lovely, the shows fantastic and you can spend much of a day there if you pack a lunch and have a picnic after the show. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so I do try to get there a bit early. I’d also recommend bringing some bug spray. Here’s a link to a fab YouTube video to give you a great sense of what to expect when you hit this lovely park.
If you live downtown, Georgetown Harbour offers kids activities every Tuesday from 10:30-noon
If you like music outdoors, the downtown Silver Spring Swings Concert series kicks off tonight from 7-9pm and runs every Thursday through the month of July. Head down with your kids in their suits and let them enjoy playing in the fountain and dancing to the music and I’d also recommend the new FroYo that recently opened – the frozen yogurt if fat free and delicious, the toppings include fresh fruit and the prices are so reasonable because you pay by the ounce.
If you have little ones, ranging from 12months – 5 years old, Adventure Theatre has started a Preschool Playlab series. Classes are broken down by age group and theme and are offered every weekend and some week day evenings at 6:30pm. The themes strike me as creative and very age-appropriate (Dora Diego theme for 2-3 year olds, for example). The drop-in rate strikes me as somewhat steep at $24, with a pre-register rate of $20. The location is fabulous, however, and you can spend much of a day at Glen Echo Park if you hit one of these classes, then the carousel, playground and pack a lunch.

Have a great weekend! Next week’s posts will include more activity ideas, another DC Expert Series featuring a local mom and her amazing business she’s launched, and of course, some rants from moi! Stay cool…

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DC Events with Kids, DC Parenting Blogger, Motherhood, Puppet Shows for Kids, Summer Outdoor Music, Summer Survival with Kids, Theater for kids, Washington Mommy Blogger