Today I would like to introduce you to Corrie of Peace Baby! Batiks. She is a fellow team member of SAHM of ETSY a great team of stay at home moms who sell on ETSY.
Corrie is offering a special discount to my readers, simply enter livlou10 at check out a 10% discount in her shop.
LL&Co.: What is your specialty?
PBB: Hand-dyed batik clothing for babies and toddlers. I also have a small selection of tees for bigger kids and adults, but my main focus is sizes 5T and smaller. I do short- and long-sleeve T-shirts, onesies, and dresses. I can do any size – baby, kid, adult – to order, and I love to work with customers on custom things!
LL&Co.: Where are you from?
PBB: I live in Waldorf, MD, about 20 miles south of Washington, DC. I am originally from northern New York State.
LL&Co.: Do you have a day job?
PBB: My day job is being a mom to my awesome three-year-old son. I also do some freelance writing from time to time.
LL&Co.: What inspires you?
PBB: My son inspired me to start Peace, Baby! in the first place. I also take inspiration the things I do and places I go – I’m always on the lookout for a new design that might make a cute tee.
LL&Co.: How did you get started?
PBB: I kind of took a strange route getting here. Many years ago, pre-kid, my mother-in-law gave me a gorgeous batik skirt from Indonesia. I love it, and my original business plan was that I was going to make and sell batik wrap-around skirts. Well, I can’t sew well, and my first few attempts at making skirts weren’t that great. So, the idea laid dormant for a while. And then I had a baby and thought again about batik. I made him a couple of onesies, got some great compliments on them, and started to think, “Hmmm – I wonder if these would sell?” I opened my Etsy shop in November 2009 and did my first craft show the next month.
LL&Co: Where can people find your products?
PBB: I sell online at
http://peacebabybatiks.etsy.com (or
http://peacebabybatiks.com will get you there, too) and at craft shows here in Southern Maryland. Locals can find me every month (May through December) at Maker’s Market at Annmarie Gardens in Solomons. I also have shirts and dresses at Just Between Kids, a children’s consignment boutique, in Mechanicsville, MD. The best way to find out where I am is to “like” my Facebook page (
http://www.facebook.com/peacebabybatiks).
LL&Co.: Do you have any advice for people who would like to sell their own hand made items?
PBB: I’m so new at this, that I hesitate to give advice. I would tell them to research. How many other people are selling what you sell? How can you set yourself apart? I also spent time researching prices on similar items by other sellers and doing the math (which I hate) to make sure I wasn’t pricing my items too high or too low. My best advice would be to go for it: sign up for a craft show, look for all the free advertising opportunities you can, and just try it.
LL&Co.: Tell us about your family.
PBB: I’m married to my best friend. We have a three-year-old son who is endlessly entertaining and fun and two cats who are really the ones in charge.
LL&Co. What does a typical day look like for you?
PBB: I get up early with the intention of exercising (happens some days ) and spend the time until my son wakes catching up on email, Facebook and Etsy; doing anything I need to do for my batik business; or maybe taking a little time for myself to read, watch the news, or scrapbook. Once my son wakes up, I really try to limit how much time I spend on the computer or working. There are steps of the dyeing process I can do while he plays, and sometimes I will do those if he’s happy playing alone, but I really don’t like having hot wax going while he’s awake. Besides, I’d rather play, read or cook with him! I work on business stuff or hobbies while he naps or takes some quiet time in the afternoon, and I will do more in the evening if I am preparing for a show or need to work on a custom order. I am really trying to keep everything straight and not let my business get in the way of my family.
LL&Co.: Describe your creative space.
PBB: My creative space is my kitchen and a table in our garage. We don’t have a basement, so when I need to make new tees, I haul my wax, stencils, and dyes into the kitchen and work at my stove and sink. I store everything in plastic bins in the garage. In my dream world, we have a basement, and I have a separate stove and sink down there.
LL&Co.: Do you have other hobbies?
PBB: I love scrapbooking, reading, movies, vegetarian/vegan cooking, and baseball. I worked in online media in my pre-mom life, so I also try to stay on top of current events and politics as much as I can.
LL&Co.: How did you come up with your shop name?
PBB: don’t remember! It started out as Suburban Cottage and then Suburban Hippie, but neither of those had the personality I wanted. Peace, Baby! just kind of came to me. I like that it works on two levels: yes, I sell baby clothes, but it sounds fun and hip, too, and doesn’t limit me to kids’ stuff.
LL&Co.: How do you promote your work?
PBB: I do a lot on Facebook and with the SAHM of Etsy Team. I also participate in craft shows here in Southern Maryland and at a local children’s consignment sale that happens twice a year. I just started a blog (http://peacebabybatiks.com/blog), and I carry business cards with me everywhere I go. Of course, I also dress my son in one of his batik tees as often as I can. He’s my best billboard!
LL&Co.: What are some of the goals you have for your business?
PBB: I started Peace, Baby! because I want to be able to stay home and be flexible after my son starts school, so my practical goal is for it to be successful enough for me to do that. I want to eventually move to buying blank tees made in the US as much as I can. I’d also like to be greener – buying more second-hand onesies than I do and offering more organic options, for starters.
LL&Co. What is your favorite item in your shop right now?
PBB: I love this black and fuchisia onesie: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65510504/infant-fuchsia-and-black-bodysuit-with. It started out white; I dyed it fuchisia before applying the heart stencil. Then, I dipped the whole thing in black dye. The black made the fuchsia almost purple in some spots. It’s a cool effect.
