The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe

Missing the drop-off from her diaper service turned into a business opportunity for Susie Pearson.

Two years ago, the mother of two was forced to launder the cloth diapers that were to have been collected. “That’s when I decided that I didn’t want to pay $20 a week for the service. All it meant was that I would do a few extra loads of laundry.”

In the early stages, Ms. Pearson purchased diapers from a store in the Glebe. “When it went out of business two years ago, I thought there must be other parents like me who prefer to use cloth. That’s when I started my business.”

Funding The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe on her credit card, she invested $5,000 in a selection of styles of fitted diapers and covers, plus such “natural parenting products” as breast-feeding aids and sling carriers, often items that she used and had had trouble finding locally.

Another difference in her business approach is her determination to use a portion of profits — The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe was in the black after the first year of operation — to help children in need. After six months, the loan-program diapers are sold on e-Bay and the proceeds donated to Aid for Orphans, a charity that collects nursery supplies for orphanages in Eastern Europe