Handbags come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. With all the handbag designs available on the market there has never been anything quite as unique as the Kristi G diaper bag. Yes, you read that right.
The Kristi G bags are made to look like an everyday handbag with the sensability that comes with a diaper bag. They’re made to handle the essentials and a little extra. Besides their style, what really makes them unique is the hidden baby wipe pocket design. With a simple zip and pull moms are able to pull out as many wipes as they need, tuck them back in, then zip it all up again.
What inspired you to create your stylish diaper bags?
A thought came to me one day about pulling out a wipe directly from the bag. After that, I started researching 50,000+ other bags to see what was missing. I wanted to create a bag that mom could use when diaper duty did NOT call. Researching thousands of fabrics and styles was fun, but overwhelming to narrow it down to only a few.
Tell us about Kristi G Company.
That’s me in the picture with my girls and husband.
After number four arrived, I found it more challenging than ever to go places with all of the kids. They never liked sitting in the stroller for long and it wasn’t convenient to take everywhere. Even with a decade worth of baby gear, I still didn’t have what I needed.
What did I need? Something light weight and compact that could be used to “park” the baby wherever we went – inside OR outside. Something that would be useful for more than 6 months. And I really needed something that could go everywhere; the pool, the soccer field, grandma & grandpa’s house, on vacation, or just outside to garden.
Inspired by another “Mompreneur”, I started sketching out some ideas. Those sketches led to the Go & Grow Seat , a portable indoor/outdoor camping-style chair designed especially for infants through school-aged. The seat allows baby to sit or stand, with a 3-point harness for safety, a removable snack tray and removable sun bonnet for UV protection. The much anticipated Go & Grow Seat will be available Fall 2009.
During the two years it took to develop the seat, I worked on a line of stylish purses, that happen to be fully functional diaper bags! And what makes them really unique is the EZ-Wipe System. No more digging through the bag or bottom of the stroller to find the wipes.
Like Motherhood, it was challenging at times, but knowing that my products will make your life as a parent a little easier is most rewarding. I hope you will find the everyday elegance of Kristi G products practical, versatile and fashionable!
What is your patent-pending ez-wipe system? How does it work?
The EZ Wipe System is a specially designed refillable baby wipe pouch that resides within each bag. It has a slit to remove the wipes which are accessed through the zipper on the back of each bag. You can pull one wipe out at a time.
How many styles of hand/diaper bag do you currently offer?
We currently offer three styles of bags; Grab & Go Clutch, VersaPurse and Everything Tote and several unique fabrics for each style bag.
What goals do you hope to reach over the next year or so?
We hope to be placed in dozens of high-end boutiques and major online retailers including some maternity retailers.
How long did it take for you to build from idea to business?
Just a little over a year from conception to launch. However we spend 8 months in China which failed and it took less than a week when we met up with a very professional bag manufacturer in California.
What were some of the ‘road bumps’ you encountered during that process?How did you work through them?
Oh my, money, money, money was the first issue and finding the right experts to partner with to source supplies (either US or China). Not understanding the product development process was huge beginning with correct product specifications in order to start a product sampling process. Going through the sample process a half dozen times and still not right. You must have much patience.
What previous knowledge were you able to bring with you into the business?
I was in Human Resources for 15 years prior to starting the product development process. Having worked in many different industries and having hired hundreds of professionals over the years gave me experience with different technical professionals and the ability to find and work with good people. I’ve also helped many small business with no HR structure build a full HR department with policies, budgets etc.
Do you have any advice you’d like to share with other mompreneurs?
Don’t procrastinate – if you have an idea that you’ve researched and are certain will benefit others, start networking with anybody and everybody to begin the product development process. Be sure your spouse is supportive and you have ten times more money than you budgeted.