MallyBibs Blog

We're looking for baby models!

Nicole — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:01:17 -0700

The search is on! Our 3rd annual photo shoot with our favorite photographer, Revival Arts Studio will take place on two dates in June. If you have a baby or toddler who will be between 2 months and 36 months in June of 2008, please submit a current photo to info@mallybibs.com to be considered and to learn more. We are looking for a variety of babies who will be available on either June 14th or 21st in the Lower Mainland / Fraser Valley, BC. Our models will be featured on our website, as well as in our print catalogue and in other promotional material. Visit mallybibs.com to browse our most recent photo shoot images.

UPDATE: Since posting our call for models a few days ago, we have had dozens of submissions - thanks to all who have sent photos! We will be reviewing all photos over the next few weeks and should have our final decisions made around mid-May. In the meantime, we will continue to accept photo submissions. We are looking for a variety of ages, looks and ethnicities. Each model will have an outfit hand-picked by the designers of mally bibs to wear during their shoot, which they can keep as our gift, as well as the bib they model!

mally bibs launch in Europe!

Nicole — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:27:02 -0700

With our business still young, nearing the 3 year mark, we know it’s meant to be because so many great opportunities just happen to come our way. We’re sure it’s got a lot to do with our hard work and dedication, but often it also seems that luck is on our side. Last June when we held our photo shoot, one of our super-cute models Levi, pictured below, had a connection that we never even knew! His mom Angela, a friend of mine (or mum, as they say in the UK) had a sister named Sarah Jane in Great Britain, who just happened to have the passion for mally bibs, plus the drive and business skills to take our product and make it a success in Europe too! So, just like that, the next chapter in the mally bibs story is written. We’re excited to see how the story continues from here!

Visit the Sarah Jane website for ordering information in Europe and be sure to spread the word if you have any friends & family in Europe! Good luck to our partners in Europe – we hope you enjoy the journey as much as we have!

Bloggy Giveaways

Nicole — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:19:51 -0700

We’re SO excited! Today our bibs were featured on the fabulous Bloggy Giveaways site! If you haven’t heard of Bloggy Giveaways yet, I suggest you check it out and add it to your favorites right now. They feature fabulous products weekly and then GIVE THEM AWAY! All you have to do is reply to their post to be entered. Why not head on over now and try to win a few mally bibs? You have until Friday, March 21st to enter. Good luck!

Design ideas anyone?

Nicole — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

It's my absolute most favorite part of business - designing the new mally bibs collection. I'm just in the early stages of our design process for our next collection: brainstorming, sketching, and drawing in CAD (computer assisted drafting). Designing an entire new collection usually takes me a few weeks to a month off and on. I often wait until the creative mood strikes, which is usually late at night when the kids are sound asleep. I keep a little diary throughout the year to jot down customer requests or to sketch design ideas as I'm inspired by something. If you have any fabulous design ideas that you would like us to consider, we would love to hear! Just add a comment to this post to let us know!

Bright idea

Nicole — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0800

I particularly enjoy products that promote and encourage our children's artistic development, even at the earliest age when they just begin discovering crayons. I believe it's such an important part of their early learning years, and what better way to encourage it than by proudly highlighting or displaying their creations in your home. Each of my own children have a designated art area on their bedroom wall to hang their latest art work. We change it up regularly and they even make special pieces for each other to hang. They truly get enjoyment out of this. Here is a great product that shows off their works of art in an extra special, yet modern, stylish and functional way. The design your own lamp by streamline allows you to insert the latest masterpiece for display in the shade. The great thing is you can change it up as greater masterpieces are made!

This unique lamp is available for purchase here. If you know of any other great places to find this product, please leave a comment to suggest a location!

Diaper Pail Debate

Nicole — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0800

What makes more sense?

#1 – A relatively inexpensive (approx. $25) plastic diaper pail which wraps each diaper individually for convenience and odor control:

#2 – A rather expensive (approx. $295) stainless steel diaper pail that has an airtight odor seal to keep odors away and stay sanitary:

My vote, hands down, is #2. I’ll admit, I owned the type shown in example #1, but if I were to do it all again it would be option #2. Why? Many reasons:

With #1 you are going to be paying for something that has zero style appeal, which you will have no use for it when baby is out of diapers.

With #1 you have to buy refills regularly (say 1 per month for about 30 months IF you have only 1 child = $200). Not to mention the inconvenience of having to head to the store and buy these silly refills.

With #1, all those refills can’t be very healthy for our environment.

#1 may individually seal each diaper, but I know from experience that the odor doesn’t necessarily stay away once opened.

#2 is super sleek, stylish and can really fit into any décor after baby is out of diapers. It is not just a diaper pail.

So, this concept makes sense now, right? The same concept can be applied to mally bibs. In fact, it’s the whole reason I designed the line. I believe that life should be simple and enjoyable, especially for parents. Sometimes it just makes sense in the long run to pay a little more for certain items in the beginning. Sure our bibs are expensive, the most expensive on the market in fact. BUT, they save on time, effort, laundry, storage, multiple bib purchases, AND they have style appeal.

If you're looking to purchase diaper pail #2 it's by vipp and it can be purchased online here at giggle.

Natural Nipple Care

Nicole — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:00:00 -0800

One of the little perks of having this blog is having products sent to us for review. We get all kinds of products sent, in hopes that we will review them, but we don’t review just any product. It has to be something we believe in and consider to be a great product. We were recently sent a line of natural skin care for breastfeeding moms, which is great! Since I am no longer a nursing mom (children nearing ages 4 and 6), I sent the product to a breast feeding mom friend to test and review. Of the products tested, the Nipple Nurture Cleansing Pads by Mother's Intuition were the fav. They were described as “light and cool” and “magic little pads of heaven” which I thought was certainly blog-worthy! Plus they're all natural, which is always a bonus. Kate, our tester, thought they were especially great for moms like herself who have to do a lot of pumping for their little one. So, if you’re a breast-feeding mom who would love to feel fresh and cool after breast feeding or pumping (who wouldn’t?!) give these a try.

Nipple Nurture by Mother’s Intuition can be purchased through Amazon.

It's Monkey Madness!!!

Nicole — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

That's right! We're making monkeys like mad! Just for fun, here's a little history on our monkey design:

2005 - We (Mally bibs) launched our debut collection, with NO monkey design. Why? We wanted to be different...and EVERYBODY seemed to do a monkey design...

2005 - Monkey was BY FAR the #1 customer request! Wanting to offer designs that our customers were asking for, we had some designing to do.

2006 - We worked on our monkey until it was just right and added it to our collection in a vibrant yet gender neutral red, and monkey sales took off! Except some people wanted monkey in pink, blue, green, orange, etc...

2007 - We added an unique online option to customize the color combinations of ANY of our designs for an extra $5.50. Monkey was and still is our most customized design.

2008 - MONKEY MADNESS is here - the latest development in our monkey design. For a limited time only, our amazingly popular monkey is available in 10 fabulous colors and 2 sizes for the price of our regular baby and toddlers bibs!

Hurry though, these monkey's are only going to be available until March 31st! As always we must thank the talented Jason and Darcie of Revival Arts Studio for the amazing product photography. They can even make spools thread look enticing!

Swiss made = quality, safety, great design

Nicole — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:00:00 -0800

With all the recent scary headlines about the potentially damaging affects of plastic water bottles, baby bottles and sippy cups, of course we’re all turning to our favorite stores in search of something safer for our little ones, and ourselves! I recently wrote about a fab new glass baby bottle a while back, but what about the older children or ourselves? I have the answer, of course! Sigg aluminum water bottles have been known for their Swiss made quality for years, and I’m sure now people are less hesitant to pay the few extra dollars to own them. Plus they come in several sizes and styles, and sport some great graphic design.

There are 3 sizes available in their KIDZ collection, perfect to suit children of any age. They even have a great collection of adult water bottles, so the whole family can drink their H2O in style. Sigg water bottles can be purchased online at www.mysigg.com.

Hurry - Milk Factory is having a sale!!!

Nicole — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:26:06 -0800

We've never seen such blow-out prices at Milk Factory before - you must check it out, and soon too!!! The Milk Factory sale ends this Friday, January 18th. Super deals for the little athlete in your life such as short and long sleeve quickwick shirts and bodysuits for only $10, beanie hats for only $5, or even the top selling leisure pants for $5 just because they're slightly misfit! If you've been wanting to try out their products, NOW is the time!

Be sure also to regularily check out the Milk Factory blog to learn about their ongoing contests, sales, or any of the fun stuff they have to share! Happy Shopping!

Parade Organics

Nicole — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I’ve come across this great company at several events where mally bibs has exhibited in the past. They are always super busy and for good reason! Parade organics baby clothing are not only 100% organic, but they come in the sweetest designs that baby is sure to be comfy in. Why organic? Organic cottons are produced in a way that is not as harsh on our environment, plus they are softer and more huggable on baby than any other cotton. They also last longer than non-organicly processed cotton. It’s a triple-win really! Parade Organics is well known for their cheeky little playful collection, and have recently added a great new pure collection as well.

Parade Organics can be purchased online or at many of mally bibs boutiques across Canada including Agnes Jean in Squamish, BC and Tadpole Children’s Shoppe in Waterloo, ON.

Posh bags for the posh mom

Nicole — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

What do you look for in a diaper bag? For me it was an easily organized bag to house all those must have baby necessities, but one that didn’t look much like a diaper bag, but rather a stylish carry-all bag that will be great to use even beyond the diaper bag years. Basically a diaper bag disguised as hip fashion item was what I was going for. If you have the same idea as to what a great diaper bag should be, you would most definitely appreciate Posh Mom diaper bags.

It was another one of the great items available at the One of a Kind Show that we recently participated in. Posh Mom diaper bags can be purchased online as well as at the Spring One of a Kind Show in Toronto, where Mally Bibs will once again be exhibiting as well in March.

Customizable fleecy fun

Nicole — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Admiral Road has some colorfully amusing designs on their fleece blankets that I’m sure all children and parents alike completely adore. What’s great about them is you can personalize any of their designs, by adding a name! I especially appreciate this, having two children with unique names. It’s virtually impossible to find anything in a retail store with their names on it, no matter how hard we look except when we vacation in Hawaii, since Malia (whom mally bibs was named after) is a Hawaiian name. I know all about monkeys and their popularity, so I had to take their ultra funky monkey designs to share with our readers.

If you’re not the personalize-it type of person, no worries! You can order any of their great designs online with or without the customized addition of a name, making them more pass-down-to-the-younger-sibling friendly.

Dress the little man in style

Nicole — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I believe it’s so untrue when people often comment that little girls’ clothes are so much cuter than little boys’ clothes. In my opinion they can be equally cute – just in a different way. We’ve always dressed our little boy more like a little man, even as a toddler, as we've never been fans of the super cutesy kids clothes with more of a babyish appeal. Kid Brother (another great One of a Kind Show find) is a prime example of what I’m talking about. They tapped into a niche focusing on creating quality, stylish clothing just for little boys, making them look more mature in a super cute, yet fashionable way. Designs such as mini bowling shirts, super cool pajamas and shirts with clever little sayings make this line so much fun.

Kid Brother clothing is available for purchase by order form, or if you happen to live in the GTA area, one of mally bibs newest retailers, Planet Kid, carries their entire line!

Designed for maximum use

Nicole — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I love getting the most out of my purchases. Who doesn’t? My daughter has a little dress that she wore when she was about 8 months old. Now, as she is nearing her 4^th birthday she still wears it! It’s no longer a dress of course. It went from being a longer dress, to a shorter dress, and now it’s a cute little top. It’s designed in a way that just works. I had always wished there were more options on the market that had a similar concept, so of course I was thrilled to meet a designer at the One of a Kind Show does just that! Red Thread Design has a line of adorable little dresses / shirts for babies / little girls designed for maximum use. The designer, Devorah Miller of Toronto, has designed what she has appropriately named the “caterpillar” dress because of its ability to transform from a dress on a baby to a top for a 4 year old, ensuring maximum use of her delightful designs!

Red Thread Design also has a line of sized dresses, jackets, tops and pants, which can be purchased online here.

Monster Factory

Nicole — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Finally – back to blogging, and we’re starting back up with a good one! Monster Factory was one of my greatest finds while exhibiting at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto. They really are the most adorable, well made, well designed soft toys with personality that I’ve ever seen. The design team at Monster Factory puts a lot of thought into their super-fun characters. Each monster comes with a name, belongs to a family, and has his or her own unique personality traits. They come in a great color palette and are sure to be loved by anyone who owns them, no matter what their age! My personal favorite (I hear he’s a common favorite) is Colin. Colin apparently divides his time between playing video games and fretting about his future. I think it’s his casual little hoodie with pockets that I adore. He just makes me smile. Well, really, they all do.

There are some serious brains behind this company too – keeping up with all the latest online marketing technology including a blog, Monster Factory videos on YouTube, and even their own facebook application. That’s right, you can give all your facebook friends a monster of their very own and then tempt them to buy a real one here.

'Tis the season

Nicole — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:38:47 -0800

Clearly gift giving season is upon us. I expected business to be booming right now, but it has far exceded my expectations. It's our busiest time of year for wholesale orders, online orders, custom orders,and consumer shows. That doesn't leave much time for blogging! As we jet off to Toronto today for the fabulous One of a Kind Show I just wanted our regular readers to know that I will be returning to regular blogging in a few weeks. Be sure to check back then - I'm expecting to find some amazing quality products for families to blog about upon my return from the show!

PS - if you're curious as to which mally bibs are most popular for gift giving, please visit our archived winter '07 edition of mally mail. Happy shopping!

Our first major award!

Nicole — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:23:52 -0800

Our first major award! We’re so excited! It was just announced a few days ago that Mally Bibs has won an iParenting media award! Months ago we submitted our bibs to be reviewed by the expert team at iParenting Media. Our product was reviewed, analyzed and tested by 3 individuals including a licensed childcare facility/school, an industry expert, and a parent. Because the reviewers were so pleased with the quality, style, comfort and convenience of our bibs, we can now add award winner to our list of achievements! Here’s a list quotes about the product from our reviewers: • “I loved the colors. The texture was nice, easily wipes clean, the design was cute. I would never of thought to buy a leather bib, but I would now. I love the reversible use with the pocket to catch left overs. Absolutely loved the magnet clasp – what a help in putting a bib on.” • “This bib is well made of leather product. I can wipe this down with a damp cloth and have also used soapy water mixture to wipe. The child does not try to rip this bib off where others may bother the back of their necks with their ties or Velcro closures. When closing the bib around the neck it has a strong magnet that does not come apart during use. Another good characteristic is that when a child drools constantly or gets spills juice, the bib does not become saturated.” • “The bib is very sturdy, easy to clean, and has a very cool magnetic closure so it is easy to get on and off baby. The frog design was very cute. Also has a pouch in the back that would be a good place to store an infant fork when you are out and about.

Simply Brilliant - invented by a dad!

Nicole — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:05:14 -0700

This post is quite the opposite from the baby bottle post of a few days ago, but it has been a while since I featured one of those simple yet brilliant product ideas. This one was invented by a dad who was frustrated with the fact that his baby was not able to drink water from his water bottle easily and without making a mess. Taking matters into his own hands, Tommy Habeeb decided to invent an adaptor to fit onto a typical water bottle, converting it into a baby bottle. It’s one of those ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ type of ideas that can come in handy on a long hike or day at the park when not quite enough bottled milk or formula was prepared. Now when the little one needs a thirst quencher, mom or dad's water bottle will do the trick! For more product details and company information, visit www.babysportonline.com

The Babysport water bottle nipple adaptor can be purchased online at amazon.com for $2.49.

Canada's top Mompreneur™ is...

Nicole — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:00:00 -0700

Mabel’s Labels!!! Congratulations to the four-some who started Mabel’s Labels in 2002! Ask anyone who knows me well, and they’ll agree that I’m a bit of a label freak myself. I own a label maker and happily go around my house labeling things which sometimes is completely unnecessary, but for some reason I just like it. The problem is the limitations. My label maker doesn’t make super strong kid-durable, fade resistant, colorful labels that can go through the washer, dryer, dishwasher and microwave. For that kind of super-duper label, you need Mabel’s Labels. It really is a great product, deserving of the award, and we wish them nothing but continued success.

Mabel’s Labels can be customized and ordered online for all the stuff your kids lose. Happy labeling!

The glass baby bottle come-back

Nicole — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:22:53 -0700

I remember buying plastic baby bottles for my son and my mom told me I should go with glass instead of plastic. It was what she had always used. I remember replying, “Glass? Nobody uses glass anymore…that was a few decades ago. Things have changed!” Well, I guess it’s true that what goes around comes around. Glass is back! With recent concern over leaching chemicals in plastic baby bottles, Babylife is reintroducing glass baby bottles with a whole new modern twist. I say SMART company! The wee-go bottle bottle is covered with a modern sleeve that is free of plastics and is absolutely 100% non-toxic and dishwasher safe. The sleeve is designed for easy gripping and also prevents breakage.

I normally blog about items that are readily available in stores, but when I saw this product I just couldn’t resist. In fact, I predict it will be the next baby must-have! Check their website often to see when they’re available in stores. They will be available for purchase on October 31st and will retail for $18.

Congrats to Canada's top 10 Mompreneurs™!

Nicole — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:46:52 -0700

The Savvymom Mompreneur^TM of the Year Award was quite the contest! With over 400 nominations and almost 40,000 votes cast, it’s impressive to see what kind of support Canada has for mom entrepreneurs today. I also want to thank each and every one of you who voted for Mally Bibs! I’m proud to announce that with your support, we were able to make the top 10 list! Mally Bibs will be featured at the upcoming Baby and Toddler Show in Toronto, along with the rest of the top 10 companies. Be sure to tune in to Canada AM on Thursday morning to see the top 3, where the winner will be announced live! Good luck to the final 3 – may the best Mompreneur^TMwin! In case you miss the final announcement, the winning comapny will be featured right here on the mally bibs blog on Friday, October 26th.

Canada’s top 10 Mompreneur^TMcompanies (in no particular order) were voted as:

ABA Educational Resources

Fit 4 Two Pre & Post Natal Fitness

Fit Mom

Mabel's Labels

Mally Bibs

Name Your Tune

Sensational Suppers

Smiles Made Easy

Wee Hands

Wee Piggies and Paws

Time is running out!

Nicole — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:29:46 -0700

If you haven't already, be sure to stop by our custom design studio and place your order for our custom design contest. We have had many great custom orders come in over the past 6 weeks, and now we're in the final stretch with only 2 weeks to go! Don't be afraid to be original either - we love to see unique ideas and color combinations, so have fun with it and send us your custom order before October 31st to be entered.

The grand prize winner will receive 2 free custom bibs of their own designs and we may even decide to add the winning bib to our new collection next year! We will also award our 2nd and 3rd place bibs with a custom art card in their bib design AND free shipping on their next mally bibs order! Good luck to all who entered!

Restaurant entertainment

Nicole — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:18:07 -0700

I vaguely remember the days before we had kids where we thoroughly enjoyed going out for a relaxing evening with friends for a dose of great food and conversation. Now, it’s a tad stressful and often more work than eating at home! Kids have a very low tolerance in restaurants. They are generally hungry, tired and most likely BORED out of their mind. Ahhhhh, but like there is a solution! Sam and Bellie have created a place mat / chalk mat for kids to occupy themselves during those boring meals out with their parents. I believe along with mally bibs, they’re the latest must have for the diaper bag for those meals out. Just like mally bibs, they can be simply wiped with a baby wipe and brought home nice and clean!

Sam and Bellie chalk mats are available online or at one of mally bibs most supportive and favorite retailers, Le Sabon in New York.

It's retail show season!

Nicole — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:02:38 -0700

It's our absolute favorite time of year. This week we’re officially kicking off our retail show season! Yes zipping around the continent to all the distinctive North American cities during our wholesale season is a treat, but it’s our retail season that we truly get the most excited about. It’s a time where we get to meet our end customers face to face. We get to observe the excitement on their faces as they gaze upon our latest collection of bibs as they try to decide the perfect ones to buy. We get to hear straight from our customers which designs they wish to see in the future (and we listen!). They share their mally bibs stories with us and rave about how they have used no other bib for the past year and it still looks like brand new, or that it was the hit of the baby shower they were at last week. It’s really what keeps us going and motivates our growth, making even the toughest days completely worthwhile.

If you’re in the area of any of our upcoming shows, we’d love for you to stop by our booth and say hi. We will have some exclusive designs only available at these shows, as well as a draw for a free mally bib for those who sign up for mally mail! Here’s the complete list of our upcoming retail shows:

October 11-14, 2007
Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show
BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC
www.vancouverhomeandinteriordesignshow.com

October 19-21, 2007
West Coast Women's Show
Tradex, Abbotsford, BC
www.westcoastwomen.net

October 26-28, 2007
Our Best To You
Westerner Park, Red Deer, AB
www.ourbesttoyou.ca

November 2-4, 2007
Studio Fair
Civic Centre, Prince George, BC

November 7-11, 2007
Circle Craft
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
www.circlecraft.net

November 22 - December 2, 2007
One of a Kind Show
Direct Energy Center, Exhibition Place
Toronto, ON
www.oneofakindshow.com

Be sure to frequently check our retail show page, as we are always adding new shows to exhibit at!

Bundle up Baby!

Nicole — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:37:39 -0700

We’re not going to let a little winter chill stop us from heading outdoors with our little ones for a refreshing stroll are we? I didn’t think so! There’s really no excuses to be had with all of the great bundling options designed for strollers and car seats now. Fusing convenience and safety with style is the perfect combination for baby product design and the bundleme infant protectors from JJ Cole do just that. Plus they are attractive in both style and price! Protecting from the elements, the bundleme line is designed for use with car seats, strollers and joggers. Safety straps included, they are even crash tested for your peace of mind. Pictured here is one of 4 styles, the Bundleme urban.

JJ Cole products can be found at a range of mally bibs retailers including Baby’s World in Coquitlam and Vancouver, BC and Sprout in Manhattan Beach, CA.