I was really excited to have the opportunity to speak with Michelle Young, co-owner of one of our favorite organic baby clothes lines, OBLI Organics. Check out the video where she speaks about their OBLI, or ‘On Borrowed Land, Inc.’ philosophy and show off some of their spring line.
Want to learn more about this great company? Check out Michelle’s past guest post on being an Ecolectual.
I’m a big fan of irony. HUGE. And I’ve always loved the image of the anvil–loved it even more and found it delicious, incongruous & unexpectedly pleasing to put on an infant onesie or toddler t-shirt.
Anvil was one of my first block designs, which I carefully, experimentally carved with my son napping in a sling. I remember the sense of excitement I had starting my own company! The feeling that this design, in particular, captured what I wanted to do, which was to offer something different than all the other Tom, Dick & Hannas, something artisanal-yet-everyday—washable, wearable art–and affordable. Three years later, Anvil remains unabashedly my favorite, though it is nowhere near my biggest seller.
Anvil:
-Something abstract, retro, connoting the skilled, autonomous craftsman and all-things artisanal.
-Something reaaalllly heavy, painful and life-altering when it blindsides you over the head with a CLONK!
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is that proverbial Anvil on a Onesie. I, a flagrant lover of metaphor, feel it sitting on my chest, as an artisan—but also as a mother, a business owner and a consumer.
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Frenchy Baby Organics was started in March of 2007 after I had my first child. I was working in sales, selling large equipment for life science research and development. I originally went to school to study biochemistry but did not enjoy the lab so I found my niche selling into the lab for the past 8 years.
When my son was born in 2006 it was near impossible to find plain, simple, classic and practical clothing that was not blue or had cartoons and fire trucks on it. I was frustrated and thought about developing baby clothes that I liked. I continued to toss this crazy idea around in my head for the next 6 months or so and decided to take the leap out of my stable career. I began to research organic clothing and cottons and was stunned to learn the impact that producing standard cotton has on our environment. As I dug further into it I began to understand the other benefits of organic cotton, ie how it is produced, the superiority of the cotton, the healthier conditions for the farmers, factory workers, manufacturers, and babies who wear it. I knew that I needed to develop an organic line.
Our goal is to help leave the planet better off then it is today so we take pride in manufacturing with organic materials, using low impact dyes and practicing fair trade. We also give 5% of our profit to Alex’s Lemonade Stand to help fight childhood cancer.
Needless to say it has been quite challenging and filled with lots of ups and downs and even more surprises!
Since we launched our first line my family has added a new baby girl who has inspired our upcoming spring line. Managing a business and 2 kids is way more then I bargained for but it has been a lot of fun. Our fall line is sporty and designed to mix and match so you can create many outfits from just a few pieces. Our spring 2009 line is going to be very light, shear, dainty and classic. We hope that you like our line and would love to hear from you!
Ali Herzog
We recently had the pleasure of talking with Susan Lazar, Designer and Vision behind two of our favorite baby clothing brands: egg Baby by Susan Lazar and Krawlers. Get the inside scoop on why she moved from designing for woman to children, her design inspirations, and what to expect in the Fall!
What Every Baby Needs: You previously designed Women’s Sportswear. Why did you make the change to children’s clothes?
Susan Lazar: I still love designing for women – but I thought that designing children’s and baby clothes could be fun – and more emotional as a brand – families/babies and the connection/love between parents and their kids is one of the strongest most important bonds in life- so on a personal level its very fulfilling.
What Every Baby Needs: What inspires you when designing your children’s clothing lines?
Susan Lazar: Colors, educational messages, organic fabric and interesting sourcing opportunities.
What Every Baby Needs: What are the ideals behind your brand, Egg?
Susan Lazar: Connection love purity – like an egg which is the beginning children and a new life represents purity and potential. All eggs look the same on the outside its whats inside that counts.
What Every Baby Needs: How about Krawlers?
Susan Lazar: Krawlers is also about protection and love ( with protective knee pads, etc.), but in a sport active way.
What Every Baby Needs: What do you consider to be the most important design elements of children’s clothing?
Susan Lazar: Safety, comfort, natural.
What Every Baby Needs:Why do you often use Organic Cottons for your clothing?
Susan Lazar:Better and healthier for the baby.
What Every Baby Needs:What color/style trends should we expect this fall?
Susan Lazar:The theme behind the collection is farming – growing – taking care of the land. Lots of earth tones with pops of yellow and purple and red.
What Every Baby Needs: Do you have any children? If so, how do they impact your design thinking?
Susan Lazar: Not yet, but I have a nephew and he always inspired me when I see how much he really moves around! And also I like to see what he likes to wear.
What Every Baby Needs:: Thanks so much, Susan!
