Babywearing seems to be a very modern thing and many thing it’s over the last few years that young mothers have started to wrap and carry their newborns. However, carrying babies is the oldest way of taking care of a little one. If you want to have your hands free and, at the same time, keep your child close, you should undeniably try babywearing.
Benefits Of Babywearing As A Starting Point For a Business
There is a whole spectrum of benefits for babywearing: the experience of hands-free closeness, a possibility for a newborn to slowly adjust to a new reality, a chance to build a unique relationship with a parent from the very beginning, to hear a mother’s or father’s heartbeat or to even feel the warmth of an adult – all of these are important. When, in 2011, Maria Urabńska-Bąk was pregnant with her daughter, she knew that she wanted to carry her child after the birth. When Ania was born, Maria borrowed a wrap from a friend and their babywearing turned from theory to reality. A young mom and her girl loved spending their time together, so Maria was excited to get her own wrap as a gift. The Internet forums, message boards, and Facebook groups gave her a whole range of new babywearing possibilities – friends, opinions, patterns, colors and blends. Maria wanted to try different wraps as long as Ania was willing to be carried; Maria wore her girl in wraps from all over the world. The overall babywearing experience was a trigger for Maria to establish her own business, which was an online shop selling wraps. When it launched in 2012, she was pregnant with her son Rafał.
A Turning Point – Pellicano Baby Brand
Maria entered the babywearing world full of ideas and fresh approach. She wanted to realize one of her wrap projects – to cover a jacquard warp with a multi-color thread – but none of the existing companies was interested in weaving it. She was satisfied with the results of her online store, but she was eager to allocate her energy in a new area with her creative visions of unseen projects. Maria made a decision to weave her own wraps and establish her own brand. This came to existence in July 2014 and it is called Pellicano Baby. The first release was Maria’s dream come true wrap – a rainbow jacquard with black diagonal tiger stripes. The Zamira collection turned out to be a huge success and the company quickly reached a position as one of the most exclusive babywearing companies. Their wraps are exclusive because of the price (around $200 per wrap) and elusive because Maria’s wrap were sold in highly limited numbers. The amount of people who wanted to purchase the Zamira pieces shocked Maria because, at the time of release, the company’s website was overloaded with traffic. The spectacular success was maintained by other colorful wraps with an animal-inspired pattern and a multitude of possibilities were guaranteed by different blends. Apart from 100% cotton, the offer was expanded to include linen, merino wool, cashmere, silk, hemp and bamboo blend wraps. Everyone could find something to match their personal preferences. The Zamira, a striped pattern, and the Zoya, a Cheetah, Jaguar, or Leopard spot pattern, are the most highly sought Pellicano Baby prints.
A Changeable Babywearing Market – Sensimo Slings Brand
After two years of babywearing, the market has begun to gradually change. A lot of new companies have appeared and a need for an extra product was inevitable. Maria and her co-founder established a Sensimo Slings brand, which is targeted at people who want to purchase a beautiful jacquard wrap at a more accessible price ($99 per wrap). Both Pellicano Baby and Sensimo Slings have the same quality policy supporting these high value, local products. Maria personally choses yarns that are twisted according to her preferences. What’s more, Maria wanted to further expand and she decided to start teaching others how to wear a baby correctly in a wrap, quickly becoming an advanced instructor of ClauWi Babywearing School.
The Babywearing Stories
Maria offers a product that helps a parent in the initial stage of parenthood and allows her to establish a bond with her baby. When Maria received flowers and gifts for her products, she was excited to know her wraps fulfilled their aesthetic expectations and practical aspects. As a matter of fact, Maria couldn’t believe her eyes when she also started to receive movies which showed positive emotions while opening a package with an unique piece, giving mothers a chance to keep their babies close. Once, a father send Pellicano Baby a movie where he bought his wife a Zamira wrap for Christmas. The woman was thrilled to see this surprise and she cried when she realized that she has got something exclusive that she could previously only admire on the computer screen.
The Babywearing Future
Maria’s company is currently based in Poznań, Poland, and it is this city that she has also opened a showroom in. Apart from wraps, one can purchase fanny packs made of wrap scraps, blankets, skirts and a babywearing consultant service. In the future, she wants to sell handwoven wraps. However, it is the contact with a client that gives her the greatest satisfaction in her job – the photos, movies, personal stories and talks are the best source of inspiration for her ideas to provide a product which can positively affect the early stage of parenting. If you’re curious about how to wrap a baby sling, take a look at the Parenting69 babywearing bloggers movie below.
Image Credits: http://pellicanobaby.com/ , http://www.sensimoslings.com/
