Behind the label MEET BELINDA BLOOMAN, THE WOMAN BEHIND BAOBAB, A FUNKY “EVERYDAY WEAR” ORGANIC COTTON LABEL FOR BABIES, TODDLERS AND KIDS AGED UP TO 10.
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n addition to bringing up her 12-year-old daughter, Anya, Belinda is pretty much runs her business as a “one-man band”, saying she looks at it as a creative director role that encompasses designing, overseeing production, liaising with agents and customers, doing all of the PR and managing the website. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LAUNCH YOUR LABEL? I know it’s an old cliche but I couldn’t find lovely, soft, organic clothes that were both simple and stylish for my little girl, so I set about to make them myself. This was eight years ago when there was a lot less choice. TELL US ABOUT THE TEAM The core Baobab team is just myself but I have a few wonderful people who help me out. There’s Anthony in the warehouse, who is responsible for sending out all our orders, and he’s a gem. We have an illustrator who draws our styles each season and an incredible print designer who designs all our yardage prints.
There’s Ruby, our production manager in India, who is fierce and fabulous and who I get to hang out with every time I go over to check the production and sampling. There’s Camille, our photographer, who has been creating beautiful images for us for many years. There’s Jo who helps with admin and there’s the staff at our incredible factory in India who are such great people, and who are an integral part of our journey building the Baobab label, and getting the quality better and better each season. WHAT HAS BEEN MOST CHALLENGING FOR YOU? Everything has been challenging. I find time a huge issue (I juggle working as a photographer’s agent as well) and cash flow can be difficult. Quality issues have plagued me in the past as it’s always been my first priority for the label so it can be very disheartening. Fortunately, I am much happier with where we are today regarding all levels of production and quality.
janaury 2015 | mychild
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