Mom Creates Baby Clothing Business Thanks To Etsy
Finding the nexus between 18th century New England cottage industry and 21st century modern technology, clothing designer Erin Wallace came before the Alna Planning Board to request a business designation last week
Her young business is called Blue Bird Baby. Wallace, 24, slim and sandy-haired with smiling eyes and apple cheeks, has taken advantage of an Internet marketing community to find buyers for her hand-sewn embroidered children’s clothing, tote bags and clutches. Called Etsy, the site’s homepage subhead says it is “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade.”
Affiliation with Etsy allows artists and artisans to offer goods without having to manage computer servers and e-shopping software.
Wallace stays home at her and her husband Stephen’s Head Tide Hill Road post and beam house with their 15 month-old daughter, Elisabeth, and sews trousers, book bags and other simple colorful items for her child and customers. Mr. Wallace, again following the 18th century model, is a woodworker who spends much of his time in the shop attached to their home as well as caring for Elisabeth.
Erin Wallace says, aside from some hand sewing, she had never really made much clothing before Elisabeth was born, though the new mother had always been creative. A musician who plays piano and jazz trumpet, Wallace deeply needed to continue her creative pursuits after becoming a mother, but playing music might have awakened the baby.
One of her goals, besides offering an alternative to children’s clothing manufactured overseas under questionable working conditions, is to keep her prices low. She currently offers a pair of trousers and a coordinated top sized 2T on sale for $23. A child’s skirt and long-sleeved t-shirt with matching embroidery and fabric costs $38. Made of sturdy cotton, Blue Bird Baby clothes are meant to last through the washing and wearing allotted for more than one child. Wallace expects them to be handed down through families or friends. This re-usability and doctrine of long-term quality permeates the Wallaces’ lives.
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