August 1, 2004
Two Mothers of Invention Create
a Business Phenomenon
TAGGIES™ Announces Two New Products For Fall 2004
Release
Want to know how to make a business from a baby blanket?
First, think like a baby: Focus not on the blanket, but
on the satiny little tag that hangs from its edge.
Next, think like a mom: Multiply those little tags and sew them
all around the blanket to make a charming and unique "blankie" for
a very happy toddler.
And now, think like a business person: Partner with a savvy fellow
mom, acquire a utility patent on your product, name your creation Taggies®, make
lots more, and place them in catalogs and specialty stores everywhere.
NEW: for September 2004 release is the
latest Taggies/Scholastic Inc. book collaboration, “My
First Taggies Book: I Love You.”
The appeal
of Taggies is so strong – and so evident,
even to grown-ups – that in 2003 Scholastic Publications
approached Taggies, Inc. to create "My First Taggies® Book:
Sweet Dreams."The soft book’s robust
sales led Scholastic to schedule publication of a companion, "My
First Taggies® Book: I Love You.”Each
page of these snuggly, soft books is filled with embroidered
illustrations, textured fabrics, and, of course, TAGS.
NEW: for
October 2004 release are Bunny Taggie® Toes – first
in a new line of soft and sweet, comfortable and warm tag-adorned
baby booties, designed to keep babies toasty while they enjoy
some Taggie time.
“The Taggies Story” goes back to a sharp observation
by Julie Dix, a young mother and early-childhood educator, who
had noticed how the little labels and tags attached to baby blankets
and toys often are more appealing to babies than the items themselves.
Dix hauled out her mom’s old Singer and sewed loops of colorful
ribbon all around the edges of a baby blanket. Her toddler loved
her blanket’s new "Taggies" - and so did the mothers
in her playgroup, including Danielle Ayotte, whose business experience
offered an ideal complement to Dix’s education background.
Working at first from their homes, piling their basements and
garages high with boxes of Taggies, the women now use several domestic
and overseas factories to manufacture product and employ a staff
of 23 – working from a real office – to
run the Taggies business.
Today, not quite five years since their first meeting, Ayotte
and Dix have sold thousands of Taggies – soft fleece blankets,
pillows, and plush toys, all brightly colored and adorned with
plenty of the small, smooth tags that soothe little ones like nothing
else.
And while expansion is an important goal, quality control
is the No. 1 priority. "Taggies are an unusual
product," Ayotte explains. "Although they’re
made of fabric, they’re unlike baby clothes because they’re
never outgrown.So every Taggie has to be soft
and sturdy, colorful and washable, sewn as tight as anything
can be sewn. Taggies are the ‘lovey’ that’s
tough enough to endure years of use and love."
"We’re absolutely fanatical about quality control," Dix
adds, "especially anything that affects safety. You’ve
never seen such well-sewn fabric products. Increasing sales and
growing our product line are nowhere near as important to us
as keeping standards high."
Not that the path has always been smooth. Both women still cringe
to recall the days when a COD order of ribbons sent them hustling
to their husbands for cash. "They hadn’t really realized
what we were getting into," Dix laughs, though the warehouse
pallets in both families’ garages might have tipped them
off.
More seriously, they’re proud of their Random
Acts of Kindness program, which donates Taggies to ill or impoverished
children. It started one evening when Dix took her son
to the hospital emergency room for a minor spill. "There
were so many sick, crying children," Ayotte says. Dix’s
son was fine, "but she felt so bad for all those other children
that she went out to her car, brought in all the Taggies she
had, and gave them out to the kids. It was so touching - but
it was also our entire stock of Taggies!”
That first random act of kindness has become a beloved part of
the company’s identity, with a Website page inviting customers
to contribute to a fund designated for donating Taggies to children
in need. Matching every donation and then some, the company to
date has given to 21 different hospitals, charitable organizations,
and philanthropic foundations.
All Taggies products meet or exceed all voluntary standards and
mandatory regulations set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission
and American Society for Testing and Materials for children's blankets
and toys, in addition to meeting Canadian and European standards.
The patented Taggies product line includes small and large fleece
blankets, plush toys, pillows, crib sets, booties, and the soft-cover
Scholastic books "My First Taggies Book: Sweet Dreams" and “My
First Taggies Book: I Love You.” The company’s Random
Acts of Kindness program brings Taggies blankets to ill or impoverished
children. Taggies products are sold at more than 4,000 independent
specialty shops in the United States, Canada, England and Ireland,
and through more than a dozen catalogs, including RedEnvelope and
Lillian Vernon. "My First Taggies Book: Sweet Dreams" and “My
First Taggies Book: I Love You” are sold at Wal-Mart, Target,
Borders, Barnes & Noble and other mass marketers. Taggies products
may be ordered online at www.taggies.com and by phone at 1-877-4-TAGGIE.
For more information about TAGGIES, please
contact:
Elizabeth
Waldman Frazier
WALDMANIA! Public Relations
Telephone: (415) 334-2787
waldmania@comcast.net
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