Friday, March 23, 2012

Interview with Owner of Booty Buns


GO GREEN ♥ GIVE CHARITY

Here is a quick background of Shannon, the owner and creator of Booty Buns Cloth Diapers. I met Shannon when I won one of her Giveaways on another blog!! (I told you I love to enter diaper giveaways). Shannon will be sponsoring a giveaway of a Lifetime supply of Cloth Diapers that Starts tomorrow!!! Be sure to check out my post and get ready to enter!

1) Did you always know that you wanted to Cloth Diaper your babies?
No. I had my first right after I turned 18 & didn't do much research. At that point the only cloth diapers I knew anything about were the pre-folds & pins my little brother wore. I remember him getting accidentally pokeed & I was so afraid of that.  

2) How did you first get involved in Cloth Diapering or Learn about it?
When I got married, my husband moved us back to California & I was so worried about money. I left Cali 5 years prior because I had to chose between paying rent or child care. I found out I was pregnant 1 month later; and, even though I was excited, I was super nervous about diapering & feeding the baby. I decided that I would BF for the first year {We made it!!!}, and began looking for other ways to save money. Over and over again if 'you have babies, use cloth diapers' kept jumping out at me. I reluctantly Googled 'cloth diapers' to find a whole new world of possibilities!  

3) How did you come up with your brand Booty Buns?
The name came from my oldest daughter's nick name. When she was little I was obsessed with her cute little booty {Ok I still love it!} and I used to call her Booty Butt or Booty Booty. She has decided that she is too old to be called that. I thought Booty Buns was more appropriate for a name that Booty Butt. 

As for the design, we were on a super tight budget; so, I had to do a ton of research. I read everything I could find & Goolge EVERYTHING. I looked for reviews on the top companies and found that many people were pretty much asking for a better cloth diaper. They loved some features of one diaper, some of another & wished that they could moosh the diapers together. I wondered why nobody had ever done this before!

The more I researched, I found that fitted cloth diapers are great for a snug fit no matter the size; but, they can be dang expensive!! The best option for us was and is a one-size diaper. I found however, that no 'one-size' cloth diaper actually fit a new born. Both my babies were over 8 pounds, and I've seen the 'WOW!' look on so many mom's faces to know that MOST BABIES ARE NOT OVER 8 POUNDS AT BIRTH. I decided that I would create a diaper that would be truly one-sized. I also noticed that parents seemed to really like the double gusset patterns, which was actually something that I really liked about disposables. I wasn't sure how a cloth diaper with only 1 row of explosion protection would work against leaks. 

At first I didn't think that I would brand it; but, as the design developed, I felt inspired that we should share it with the world. So I sent my designs to my attorney & started the patent process. I knew my innovative would change the way that people think about cloth diapers; and, I wanted to protect it before I showed it to the world. 

 Throughout the design process my husband told me stories of parents in Bolivia who would just wrap their kids in old shirt because they couldn't afford diapers. I felt so bad for those families & deiced that I would move forward with branding & do whatever I could to bring the benefits of modern cloth diapering to them.

4) What was the first diaper you purchased?
Actually, due to the amount of research I had done, I couldn't justify buying any brand that was currently available. I found that newborns need special cloth diapers or disposables to fit them for the first few months; and, toddlers need extra absorbency inserts/prefolds that are not included in the diapers. I also wanted to use liners, so all these things added to be extra money. In some cases it would end up saving only $10-20 per month. I just couldn't do it.  I was going to sew my own, before I decided to brand & patent my design. 

I was super tempted by some of the WAHM designs on Etsy. Some of the prints were super cute! I couldn't find reviews online to research, so I never bought them.

5) Do you make the diapers yourself? What made you think to do a matching wipe and liner (so creative, love it)?
I sew the liners and wipes at home. I came up with idea for a cotton liner when my baby had a terrible reaction to disposable liners. My husband put his foot down concerning the disposable liners when she broke out in a rash 2 days into using them. When she had her first BM, I let him scrub it. He emerged from the bathroom & said, 'WE HAVE GOT TO FIND ANOTHER SOLUTION! I AM NOT GOING TO SCRUB DIAPERS IF ITS THIS HARD EVERY TIME!!!' So the cotton flannel liner was born!

The idea for the wipes came from necessity. We needed something to wipe at every change. I thought it was kind of silly to buy a cloth diaper and not get a wipe, so I decided to include them with every diaper we sell {yes they are included in the charity diapers}. Buying a cloth diaper & having to pay extra for things you need like liners, wipes & extra inserts, is like buying the right shoe & then having to pay extra to get the left ~ why would you ever consider it?!?! 

I am a busy mom of 2 girls & am prepping to be a military wife, so I don't have time to sew and be mommy, so I actually outsourced most of the sewing to China. I am currently looking for investors to bring all of the sewing back to the US. When we find the right investors & the right location we'll let everyone know!

6) Essential (Must-Have) Cloth Diaper Accessory?
I have 2:

100% corn starch baby powder! It really helps keep babies dry. Both of our moms recommended using it to avoid rash & it as been very effective. 

100% cotton flannel liners! They have been so good at keeping our diapers looking new; and, they really make BM clean up super easy. I love, love, love that none of my diapers have a single BM stain. 

7) Are you a Snaps or Aplix kinda girl?
Snaps all the way! I am actually kind of nervous about Aplix. I know that some parents love it; but, I remember when my first was toddler ~ she was all about getting naked & it didn't matter what was in her diaper. I want my new baby to have a hard time taking her diaper off. Plus, I have read so many reviews about Aplix wearing out over time & needing to b replaced. I would much rather pop a snap in a press to replace one, than deal with taking the Aplix off.

8) How did you come up with the name Booty Buns (besides the obvious:-)?
Like I said earlier, I love my baby's booties! Some people love their toes, or cheeks, but I love their cute little booties! When my oldest daughter was a baby, I used to call her Booty Butt & Booty Booty. When I decided to brand, I wanted to make her feel like she was involved somehow since she is too big to be our model, I used her nick name. I changed it to Booty Buns since I didn't want to offend anyone with the word butt ;)

9) How/why did you decide to incorporate your slogan of Go Green and Give Charity?
Honestly, a whole lot of prayer went in into the decision to brand & sell my design. I prayed about if it was the right thing to do. My answer came in a dream. I saw myself stocking shelves of a retail store with boxes of my diapers. On the side of each box were the words, GO GREEN ♥ GIVE CHARITY. 

I thought HOW GENIUS! Our customers would be going green by using cloth diapers; and, they would be giving charity with every purchase. 

10) What made you want to start your own line of cloth diapers?
Inspiration! I designed a diaper that brought all the things people love about cloth diapers & felt that it is too good to not share. We always knew that we wanted to serve in some way, and the more I thought about it, the more it just made sense that cloth diapers are that way!

11) What are your Future goals/Products for Booty Buns?
Like I said earlier, we are working on finding investors so we can have everything made in the USA!

I am really trying to complete our first diaper run this summer, so help us & buy some diapers! Then I hope to complete 4-10 per year or more over the next 5 years. 

I would love to start caring mommy products like nursing pads & mommy pads. I would also create an organic diaper design. I also am working on designs for shirts, sweater & stickers. 

My husband really wants to create our own soap ~ but I don't know where to begin with that one! He also has some cool ideas for business marketing. If and when we move forward with them, we'll let everyone know. 

12) Most unique feature of Booty Buns Diapers?
The charity diapers, the weight range & the inclusion of all the 'extras'. Booty Buns Cloth Diapers is the world's only truly one size cloth diaper.

13) What do you like to do in your spare time (not cloth diaper related)?
I love to snowboard!! If I could be on the mountain side all day, I would be in heaven! One day I hope to live in Mammoth and be able to ride from October to July! During the rest of the year I like to ride my long board skateboard, ride my bike & laugh. I also like to write poetry in my spare time {haven't seen much free time lately thought ;) }. As a family we like to play games, joke & go to the park or beach ~ anything that involves us spending time together.

If you are interested in learning more about Shannon and her unique brand of Cloth Diapers, be sure to check her out on Facebook, Twitter, and her Site!!

24 comments:

  1. Great article, thanks for sharing! I always love to see the insight behind products, especially baby stuff! Thanks Julie & Shannon!

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  2. Thanks for the bio. It is very interesting to find out info on people with a vision.

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  3. What a great interview! She is so cute!! What a great story.

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  4. Greayt interview, sounds like an amazing lady! I'm so happy to be a part of the upcoming giveaway!

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  5. She IS awesome and I cannot wait for the big giveaway!!!!

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  6. Wonderful interview I wish I'd known more about cloth when my babies were babies.

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  7. This is great! I just had baby #3 and will start using our cloth SOON!

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  8. Great interview! I wish I had read this before my child...I would have cloth diapered if I had done more research.

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  9. I love that her company is named for her daughter! Thanks for the tip on flannel liners.

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  10. Great article, thanks for sharing!

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  11. My daughter is having a baby in July and wants to cloth diaper, I am helping her learn as much as possible, this article was very interesting. Thank you.

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  12. Great review! I really want to try one of these diapers.

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  13. Love your Bio. Thanks for sharing how you got started CDing and why you love it so much =D

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  14. Thanks for sharing the wonderful interview! I love that they make everything in the USA

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    1. They do NOT make everything in the USA! The diapers are bought wholesale from China.

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    2. I think that the reader above misunderstood the interview where it stated that "they are currently looking for investors so that the diapers can be fully made in the USA". If you look at the Booty Buns website, they state that parts of the diaper are made in China, and the other parts are in the USA, sewn by a WAHM.

      Thank you for clarifying and here is a link to their website about where the diapers are made: http://bootybunsclothdiapers.com/cloth-diaper-faq.php

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  15. Very interesting article. Can't wait to diaper my new baby in these!

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  16. Just so everyone knows, the "outsourced China factory" is the same one that sells Alva color snap diapers (which look just like this) for $7.

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  17. What above poster said.

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  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  19. http://community.babycenter.com/post/a32788519/problem_with_merchant_booty_buns_cloth_diapers?cpg=66&csi=2380490898&pd=1

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  20. Even is the diaper is (responsibly, hopefully) made in China, I think it's a great idea to include the charity diaper and the extras!

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  21. Great interview. I love that you are looking for ways to make your diapers all in the US.

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