The Biz: The Grapevine

PRK Products Solve Universal Storage Problems

By Carolyn Kavarnos

Paula Roeske considered herself a very organized person when she had her first child. She went so far as stack all of his baby food jars by type in her pantry. She did not realize how easily these jars could topple and fall until her 6-month-old son began standing and holding on to her leg. She soon learned the dangers, when one of the glass jars fell and landed on his toe, breaking it. She was so upset, that when she got home with him from the hospital, she searched for baby food organizers and found nothing available. The need for a safe baby food organizer led to the creation of PRK Products, Inc. and the Universal Baby Food Jar Storage & Organizer.

The Grapevine

Bellefit Maternity Delivers Post-Pregnancy Support and Healing

By Carolyn Kavarnos

Bellefit Maternity is a leading medical brand in post-pregnancy girdles and corsets, specializing in postpartum garments to help women recover from both natural birth and c–section. Bellefit post-pregnancy girdles and corsets help keep the uterus firm as it is returning to its pre-pregnancy size. Women experience pain and cramps after birth as the uterus works to achieve this. The pains are often much worse in subsequent pregnancies because the uterus needs to compensate even more for the previous stretching. Bellefit garments help to ease this pain and make birth recovery easier.

The Grapevine

Rock-a-Bye Baby in Scandinavian Style

By Mari Gold

Rock-a-bye baby in the most contemporary, soothing manner. According to research, forward movement — like rocking in a swing — makes a baby the most comfortable. The baby’s brain perceives rhythmic forward swinging as a linear, soothing motion. Most of today’s cradles rock from side to side. The problem is that for sensitive babies, this type of motion can induce dizziness and discomfort. The best way to rock a baby is in the contemporary so-ro cradle that features a front-to-back rocking motion to soothe a little one to sleep. The result is likely to be a calmer, better rested baby (and parent) in the morning!

The Grapevine

Karito Kids Helps Kids Care About Others

By Kelly Lee

Whether it’s donating our time, treasure or talents to help the needy, ‘tis the season to give as generously as possible. Kids also want to help, but it has been difficult for many charities and aid organizations to properly connect and communicate with children to let them know what they can do. Children need to be empowered with the virtues of charity at a level they can understand and contribute what they can. Karito Kids (“Karito” means “loving one’s neighbor” in Esperanto) has created a way for children to help others when buying their dolls and storybooks.

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Cyber Monday/Black Friday Sees Retailers Respond to Customers with Varying Levels of Success

By Mari Gold

The Internet’s top retailers responded to customers by phone, email and live chat over the four-day period that saw record-breaking online sales. Based on a study, it appears that retailers struggled to answer phone calls quickly with the average call wait time 139% higher for the top twenty-five retailers than usual. The study was conducted by STELLAService, an independent company that uses a nationwide network of mystery shoppers to evaluate the customer service performance and quality of Internet retailers.

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Bringing Hope on Angels’ Wings

By Kelly Lee

Businesses that donate to humanitarian causes are often known for “doing the work of the angels.” But the enigmatic power of angels lays not so much in their ability to show up just when they are needed, but that they represent the grace from a higher power. It is the strong helping the weak and downtrodden that is so appealing in the works of the angels as well as business owners, including Jennifer Rountree of You Are Good, who are making their mark by reaching out to those in need.

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Artoons are Tuned in to Colorful Affirmations

By Mari Gold

Spark imaginations and infuse décor with cheer when you offer hand-painted, three dimensional wall art made from sustainable wood. The Dodo Bird sits proudly on a branch while the Silly Seahorse, Wacky Whale and Cool Elephant gaze outward to meet the viewer’s eye. Artoons wall sculptures are hand-painted, dimensional storyboards with lyric prose and a hint of sentimentality. Each of these works, sized sixteen-by-fourteen inches, help enliven children’s rooms.

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iNTAKT is Kickin' it Up in Boys' Fashions

By Kelly Lee

Trendsetters have ignored boys fashion for generations: “Put ‘em in jeans and a t-shirt” was the prevailing wisdom, yielding years of utilitarian garments. However, there’s a new boys’ view in town that’s shredding that old belief and is too powerful to be overlooked: more boys (well, at least their moms) want stylish clothes. This may have something to do with the global trend of children’s clothing becoming more like their adult counterparts –– cool, classy, and functional. iNTAKT is here to satisfy the need for more fashionable boys’ clothes.

The Grapevine

L'oved is Sharon Oved's Baby

By Stephanie Hanlon

There’s a reason they don’t say “necessity is the father of invention.” Many mothers have started in the children’s business by solving a real-life problem. Sharon Oved is a good example of a mompreneurial success story. After getting pregnant with her first child, Sharon found out her own mother had breast cancer and vowed to breastfeed for a year. It wasn’t easy, though. Trying to gracefully exit a room to nurse privately meant Sharon was missing special occasions. (At that time, breastfeeding coverups had not become a saturated product category.) One desperate night she took an old sheet and used it as a cover-up, allowing her to nurse “privately in public.”