The Biz: Feature Articles

Display your customer savviness with products that add personality to children’s rooms. Anyone can carry lamps and lighting fixtures, but only Wall Sticker Lamp can make 3D lamps. Made of vinyl, the stickers come in fun styles featuring animals, places and flowers. As unique as a tattoo, Tatutina lets customers organize keepsakes and crafts with beautifully painted recipe boxes and whimsical, wooden crayon caddies. The sure cure for the summertime blues, Win Green playhouses let kids enter into their favorite fairy tale or sea adventure without having to leave the yard. Modern Moose takes a contemporary approach to the simple things in life with clocks and wall art featuring clever laser-cut characters.

Every year on April 22, more than one billion people take part in celebrating Earth Day. Across the globe, individuals, communities, organizations, and governments acknowledge our planet and take action to protect it. Earth Day gets many thinking about their carbon footprint, and no footprint seems bigger than clothing, shoes and beauty products. Upcycled fashion goes upscale with Kallio, where vintage clothing is collected and repurposed into chic children’s clothing; better beauty is a matter of herbs and essential oils at Matter Company; Bento licenses the newest in ecowear with Carta Vetrata; and Oh Baby! provides oh-so-sweet organic cotton outfits and accessories for kids of all ages.

What really moves a product or service? Is it the fancy packaging? Or is it the utility of the item? When it comes down to it, what makes something a great buy depends on the individual. The power of a product to move one person is what makes it great — the appeal to the uniqueness inside. When a product can speak to many different kinds of people, then you have a profitable winner. Specialty clothing companies that design just for children — such as Indikidual — focus on the fact that each child is unique. With adult fashions currently trickling down into the children’s market, Indikidual goes beyond the trendy to target the individuality of the child. Focusing on primary colors and eco-friendly fabrics, newcomer Indikidual delivers edgy clothing with lots of personality.

Upon retirement from military careers, Susan and David Rabern were looking for a way to bring something of value to their community. Susan had a strong family heritage of knitting, and pairing that with their social conscience, they purchased Oak Tree Farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and started raising alpacas. One of their businesses, Shenandoah Fiber, brings the finest fibers to the spinning and knitting community. Their sister business, Provenance Mill Clothiers, allows them to witness these fibers being transformed into the softest, most luxurious garments for children.