Jessica makes ring slings for moms who aren’t afraid to play with fabrics, textures, and colors in their wardrobes. Just think of a ring sling as an opportunity to spice up your look!
Jessica from Luggabug, is a work-at-home mama. She is happily married to a loving man and living in California. She was raised in small-town Idaho and her interest in sewing began shortly before the birth of her son. She always admired the moms who bustled through the grocery store with their child happily bouncing on their hip instead of in the shopping cart. However, the carriers that she loved all seemed somehow too complicated. It was hard to imagine navigating 5 yards of fabric around her own body and a wiggly little one.
Enter: the ring sling. Only one problem, she couldn’t find anything that made her get those same consumer butterflies as the fancy carriers with all the bells and whistles. They seemed so much more personal and customized!
After a ton of research to see what fabrics are safest, what type of thread to use, and which rings are made specifically for baby-wearing. Jessica started her journey and made one. Then she made another one…and another. She became quickly obsessed with pairing fun fabrics and creating new designs. She sells her slings on etsy!
Here is what Jessica has to say about her small business Luggabug:
PM: When was Luggabug founded and where are you based?
LB: I opened up shop in August of 2014, and I work out of my home in Pomona, CA.
PM: How many are involved in your company?
LB: Two, so far. My husband helps out with tax stuff, legal stuff, photography, and keeping track of finances. I do the designing, sewing, listing, social media, and customer service.
PM: What inspired you to start your company?
LB: A few months before my son was born, I was looking into babywearing. I really loved all the soft structured carriers (Tulas, mostly) but wanted something I could use from when he was a newborn all the way to toddler size without any extra pieces or cost. I started searching for ring slings, but I was way more inspired by the way other types of carriers were decked out with fancy fabrics. So I made my own, and since I had extra fabric..made another. Then I made another, and my business basically was born out of an addiction to fabric.
PM: Did you have a background in business prior to starting your company?
LB: Not really. I had a background in sales, mostly.
PM: Did you run into any problems or resistance while launching?
LB: Oh, yes! Let me begin by saying- I’m happy the laws and regulations for baby carriers are in place. They keep babies safe, and allow moms to trust that their carriers won’t break suddenly. That said, holy crap. Sooo difficult for a tiny business without lawyers to navigate all the legal jargon and get up to code. That alone took me 3 months before opening my simple etsy shop.
PM: How do you get the most out of your day?
LB: You know how they say “sleep when the baby sleeps?” Sometimes I do that, but a lot of the time it’s “sew like crazy while the baby sleeps.” When that doesn’t do the trick, Mr.Rogers babysits my 16 month old for a half hour while I finish up pinning or hemming or prepping an order to ship.
PM: How is your family apart of your business choices?
LB: Well, my husband is still in school learning about rockets and space and doing all kinds of impressive math. Our joint savings and student loans (bleh) have been paying the bills and not much else. So this offers us a tiny bit of wiggle room.
In general, I don’t really set any hard deadlines for myself. (unless I have a custom order, then I’m kind of a frazzled mess for a day or two.) So if something comes up, like a teething toddler who just wants cuddles all day- or if my husband has finals and I want to make sure the house isn’t an extra stress on him, I can take a couple days off or tone it down a bit to help out and do my #1 job at 100%.
PM: What music inspires you?
LB: It really depends on what I’m trying to accomplish. If it’s conquering the dishes- Jackson 5 or the most high-energy electronic dance tunes songza has to offer. For an evening of designing, ironing, and sewing- Wilco and Lykke Li are my jams.
PM: What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
LB: Chase my kid around a park, drink tea, sleep, or nerd-out on amazon prime with my husband. (Just finished Stargate Atlantis, now working backwards starting SG1.)
PM: What do you see in the future for your shop Luggabug?
LB: To be honest, I’m taking it day by day. I have ambitious daydreams about making it big or whatever, but I have no idea what the future holds for our family.
You can find Luggabug on INSTAGRAM
and on ETSY
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