Purple Elm Baby
SUMMARY
From the subway stairs & snowy sidewalks of Brooklyn, Maggie created Purple Elm Baby, adding her own touch to the baby wrap movement.
WHERE THEY SELL
PurpleElmBaby.com/
It seems more & more that wrapping as a way to carry infants is becoming somewhat of a revolution; how did you become a part of it?
Maggie: Yes, I agree, wrapping and carrying your baby is definitely becoming much more common. Frank and I were living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn when I was pregnant with my first. We lived about 1 mile from the train and Evelyn was due in mid December. Not sure if you ever tried to push a stroller through the snow, but it’s pretty ridiculous. Not to mention I had spent lots of time caring for other people’s babies/children as a nanny, and I knew I wasn’t going to carry a stroller up the subway steps. So I researched baby-wearing options during my pregnancy, and decided to get a stretchy wrap: a Boba Wrap. I registered for a ring sling on my baby shower list and was given an old Ergo from my sister-in-law. The first time I wore my baby I remember thinking, “This is the most amazing thing!” I loved how it made my life so much easier. I was hooked. When she outgrew the stretchy wrap, I bought a woven wrap at a local baby-wearing store after trying nearly everything they had. I loved wraps. They were so comfortable and BEAUTIFUL. We moved down to Alabama when Evelyn was 4 months and I think it was about a year later that we decided to open up a store. It seemed like the perfect way for me to bridge my two loves: babies and art.
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Frank: You’ve got to have passion for what you’re selling, or you’ll get lost in a sea of competition. Maggie really puts her heart into helping people find the right baby-carrier for their style, and makes sure they know the proper, safe way to wear their baby. And she’s found a fantastic medium of artistic expression in creating exclusive designs and patterns with some of the manufacturers. If you’re passionate about what you’re selling, it creates a connection between you and your customers that helps you stay focused on keeping them happy. Because if your customers aren’t happy, they’ll let the world know, and all it takes are a few bad reviews to undo all of an e-commerce shop’s hard work. Being creative doesn’t hurt either. If you’re not creative, you’d better partner up with someone who is!
How has ShipStation helped you with your business?
Frank: It’s been a HUGE time-saver. When we added ShipStation to our workflow, our busiest shipping days suddenly took a fraction of the time. When you’re operating a small business out of your home, with a baby and a toddler, you don’t have a lot of “extra” time to throw around. ShipStation has helped us be the work-at-home parents we’ve dreamed we could be.
What’s your favorite ShipStation feature?
Frank: Hands down my favorite feature is the Orders page. It is really well laid out, super fast, and offers so much information with so few clicks of the mouse. Not to mention some fantastic sorting options. ShipStation has perfected the art of website usability. The problem is, now we hate using all of our other e-commerce tools! My dream is that some day, ShipStation will tackle inventory management (hint hint)…
ShipStation has perfected the art of website usability. The problem is, now we hate using all of our other e-commerce tools!
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