Some Fun Fluff

I can't believe it's been a whole month! What happened? I seriously have no idea. Somewhere in there my child past the 1.5 year mark which blows my mind. Also in that time period I was able to chop up some woven wraps for a friend and make some ridiculous accessories. So, today instead of talking about babywearing, lets talk about that side business I have called 512 Cherry Lane.

This is my really lame drawing of what I wanted for a logo

How Did you come Up with the Name?

This is my really awesome final logo created by a
friend with much more knowledge than me

No one ever tells you when you decide to open a business that one of the hardest things you will do it pick a name. You want it to be meaningful and also reflect your business. When I decided to work on baby goods I didn't want it to reflect my current products too much in case I decided to move away from  these particular products. After lots of random notes and keeping a list of ongoing possible names for at least a month we decided on 512 Cherry Lane. It's the perfect mixture of where I came from and where I am. It also doesn't pin me into one particular category so my business can morph as I do in life! But let me break it down for you. 512 is the area code in Austin where we currently live and Cherry represents where I grew up, in Michigan. If you didn't know that Michigan is known for it's cherries you do now. They are amazing and I miss being able to buy them at crazy low prices during the season. We rarely pay less than $4 a pound here but sometimes I just need a cherry. We added the lane piece because it just needed something to round it off and it sounded cute. No additional story there.

What Did Starting a Business Look Like?

For me it was deciding what kind of product I wanted to sell and then figuring out if it was obtainable on a

My very first necklace

very low investment since we just don't have money to really put into a business. I think a lot of work at home mom's start out this way. I mean, we are work at home moms! It's not like we have investors running around pushing money on us. I love fabric and sewing has been a hobby of mine for a long time so naturally I gravitated toward something where I could put my passions behind it. There were two baby items that I ended up making myself because I just couldn't find what I wanted at the price I was willing to pay. Those ended up being my first two for sale projects of the teething necklace and the quilted diaper bag. Since starting I have gravitated even more toward custom items as requested only because it keeps things fun and interesting in an area that can become boring and monotonous.

So What Products Do you Make Now?

Currently I take all sorts of custom orders. I do have a very busy toddler and a baby on the way so I'm slowing down and can only take a certain amount of requests at a time. I'm also being picky about projects because some just require longer periods of focused time than I can dedicate right now given the circumstances. In the past I have made custom quilted bags with various shoulder and backpack straps, teething necklaces of all shapes and sizes, wrap straps for various sized carriers, lots and lots of unpaper towels and oven door towels, and my most recently accomplishments include custom wrap conversion items pictured below. My expertise lays within mixing patterns and colors so I'm not afraid of getting all crazy with combinations because although it might seem overwhelming to some, mixing patterns is usually pretty awesome as long as you do it the right way. I also have two quilts for friends on my cutting table that must be finished before my little squish gets here because I will be taking a few months off to enjoy the cuddle time :-)

Strap Wraps - fully reversible and customizable

A backpack bag completed as a custom

Tula accessories for a local customer

Unpaper towels with snaps!

Reversible pillow cases made from Natibaby Kraken

Bugaboo stroller canopy made from Natibaby Bikes Karamel

Where Can I Find Your Stuff?

My most up to date information is found on my facebook page. Here is the link:https://www.facebook.com/512cherrylane. I also have an etsy store that is sometimes updated but I find that I have much less traffic on there than facebook so right now I'm not spending too much time on keeping it maintained as I focus on custom projects. You can find my etsy story at: etsy.com/shop/512cherrylane. And then lastly I also have both ready made necklaces and strap wraps for sale locally at the Natural Baby Company located at 515 South Congress, Ste 200, Austin TX 78704. The store owner Whitney is super nice and will help you with any questions you have plus they have some pretty amazing things in the store so it's always worth it to stop and see what they have new in stock.

Are you a work at home mom? I would love to hear what you do and why you started the journey. Just comment below or share you information on my facebook page! Do you have an idea and would like to put it into action? Let me know and I'm happy to work with you to create your one of a kind item!