the
COLOR ISSUE
featuring Farideh, Tiny House Textiles, Cate Linden Chromatics, and QuasiCo Creative + Expert Hues: What’s Hot Right Now
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
BABYWEARINGTHEMAG.COM
textiles woven
by the Heart
CASSIOPEWOVEN.COM
table of contents
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6 in every issue 2 FROM THE PUBLISHER 4 EDITOR’S NOTE 6 TRENDING Inspired style for the babywearing world. This issue: Color, glorious color 8 CARRY ON Wrap carries to expand your repertoire. This issue: Big kid wearing 10 RETAIL THERAPY Items that make your life easier. This issue: Over the rainbow
24 HIP, HIP, HOORAY! Seasonally inspired babywearing items. This issue: Back to school 26 #BWTHEMAG Pics from you, our readers. This issue: True colors 28 WRAP UP Chat with inspiring industry insiders. This issue: CharLee of QuasiCo Creative
6 features 13 FARIDEH 16 TINY HOUSE TEXTILES 18 CATE LINDEN CHROMATICS 22 FRANKLIN GOOSE
Photo credit: Three Plus Photogra phy threeplusphotography.com
from the publisher
IN LIVING
color
Color is important to the human psyche whether we acknowledge it or not. Color can impact your mood instantaneously. There is a entire branch of marketing that focuses on color psychology and it’s effects. Personally, surrounding myself with bright, fun colors, can lift my mood instantly. Hot pink and vibrant teal are my go-tos. The same can be said for sling colors. For me, they became my de facto fashion in my postpartum days. You wouldn’t see what I was wearing underneath, but my wrap was front and center. I would select one that matched the mood or event of the day. Some days they were fun and whimsical. Some days I just wanted to wear a piece of art. Much like our personal styles, wraps and carrier styles can evolve over time. And like fashion, there is no right or wrong answer, only what you feel represents you or your little one best. ENJOY!
Sarah
publisher SARAH ZEENBERG sarah@babywearingthemag.com editor NOVIA CHANG editor@babywearingthemag.com art director SARAH ZEENBERG art@babywearingthemag.com business development DANNY ZEENBERG danny@babywearingthemag.com All information provided by Babywearing: the magazine, LLC, is intended for entertainment purposes only. Those who are new to babywearing should seek out the help of a local babywearing group or professional babywearing consultant. The publisher, editors, contributors and advertisers are not responsible in the actions or misuse of any individual on the basis of reading information contained in Babywearing: the magazine, LLC. The information contained herein is not a replacement for hands on instruction. Babywearing: the magazine, LLC assumes no responsibility for the advertisers. Babywearing: the magazine, LLC is not responsible for typographical or production errors or accuracy of information provided by its advertisers. Babywearing: the magazine, LLC reserves the right to refuse any advertiser. Unauthorized use or reproduction of editorial content in any way whatsoever without the written consent of Babywearing: the magazine, LLC is strictly prohibited.
on the cover
Wondrous World by Farideh. Second place winner in the Innovation category of the Loom to Wrap Spring 2015 Great Competition of Weavers.
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editor’s note
wrapping
color THEM IN
Babywearers love color. At times, we buy and sell our carriers based on their color alone. We own multiple woven wraps in the same designs simply because they are different colors. We plan our wardrobes (and sometimes, our baby’s wardrobe) around our colorful carriers. While carriers are essential parenting tools, they are also part of our wardrobe that can make us feel more pulled together, more stylish. This issue explores color in our babywearing world. How your favorite brands choose it and how well known dye artists and weavers create it. Whether you like neutrals, monochrome, bright colors, a seasonal palette or rainbow wraps, wear the colors that make you happy, and always, wear all the babies! ENJOY!
Novia
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aphy lissa Zink Photogr Photo credit: Me
trending
COLOR,
glorious color 1
Ever wonder how designers chose colors for your favorite carriers? We asked them for small insights into a process that is vastly important to them, and so much fun for us. We also asked them to show us what colors and carriers they are excited about right now.
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CASSIOPE WOVEN When I create a design, I use colors to give it life. The colors I choose to use are tailored to the conception: some are deep and vibrant to convey elegance, others are more muted and natural to achieve the desired vision. cassiopewoven.com KOKOSKAA WRAP FACTORY When choosing color combinations for our wraps and carriers, many factors come in play. Seasons, trends, designs and of course, our fans and customers influence our choices. Right now, we love bright spring and summer colors, but we also love classic colors that make anyone wearing them feel amazing. Venturing into graduated warp designs is a way for us to incorporate all the colors we love and all the colors we know our fans love into one beautiful design. kokoskaa.com
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RISAROO WOVENS Color changes everything. It sets the tone and mood for a design and can instantly transform the same piece of art from soft and romantic to bold and dynamic. At Risaroo Wovens, choosing the colors for our wraps is one of our favorite parts of the design process. Everything around us, especially fashion and nature, inspire us. Often the design itself and the inspiration behind it will play a large part in the initial colors we choose. We find inspiration in the different colors that each season brings us. The perfect example of this is the bright and vivid yellow of Sagitta Sunshine. There is just something about summertime and a brilliant yellow that makes the heart happy. risaroowovens.com
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TEKHNI WOVENS Color is a huge passion of mine, and an essential part of Tekhni designs. I find comfort in vibrant colorways and creative combinations to keep wraps visually challenging yet harmonious. Experimenting with multi-colored gradations and groupings as they relate to color theory is one way I connect to my art background. I am especially interested in split compliments (like Delta Guava) and analogous colorways at the moment. tekhniwovens.com
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PAVO TEXTILES I approach choosing color the same way I make a painting. Like a magpie, I collect colors made of yarn, scraps of paper, pieces of fabric, vintage textiles. I organize those colors by feeling. Then I match these colors to standards for the dye house and receive lap dips in about four to six weeks. Then we eliminate colors for redundancy, what’s the cool color that will survive, what’s the warm color? It’s important to see the whole story, we look at
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the past and to the future; our future color story must harmonize with the color story from our past. Pavo Form must harmonize with Pavo Guild each season. pavotextiles.com & pavoform.com
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SHINY STAR DESIGNS Choosing color is one of my favorite aspects of wrap design. I’m very geeky about finding the perfect shade of blue. My husband and I are car lovers, and our “other baby” is the most gorgeous shade of blue (World Rally Blue, for those who are interested) so I’m always looking for something as close to that as possible. For our Infinity line, I wanted at least one colorway to be blue, and to have the other colors based around that blue as much as possible. We love being able to offer colors that are meaningful to us and produce carriers in gorgeous colorways that come from our hearts! shinystardesigns.com
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CARI SLINGS Color choice is not very difficult for me. I try to stay current with trending Pantone colors but that is not always my primary motivation behind my color choices. I love bold, bright, saturated colors that remind me of saris that I wore, the Caribbean Carnival costumes and masquerades. I also love for each color of my wraps to have a story to share. carislings.com
Photo credit: Traci Nic
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KINDRED WRAP At Kindred Wrap there are three things we consider when selecting colors for our carriers: Pattern, Season and Variety. Color selection is foremost informed by our pattern design. Shapes, motifs, and familiarity of patterns inspire color. For example, I find that round and curvy lines typically call for warm tones while geometric patterns lean to cool and deep colors. After creating a color palette related to a specific pattern design, I consider the season and whittle it down. Summer is for fun-bold color while autumn/fall generally inspire mature classic tones of cream, charcoal and beige. Lastly, I ensure that our patterns are offered in a variety of shades so that whether you have a warm or cool skin tone you can find a color option that will compliment you in any of our patterns. kindredwrap.com
carry on
big kid
WEARING 8
babywearingthemag.com
Even older kids’ legs get tired. I often see four and five yearolds being pushed in strollers or carried in their parents arms. Babywearing is just another form of transport. As long as it is comfortable for the wearer and wearee, big kid wearing is just fine. Here are our tips: TIP #1: Use an SSC The waistband gives extra support where it’s needed most. There are a few makers who offer preschool sizes: Kindercarry (mykinderpack.com) and Bloo Kangaroo Kanga-XTP (bloo-kangaroo.com). The Beco Toddler (becobabycarrier.com) and Gracie & Sam’s toddler size (gracieandsamshop.com) are generous as well.
TIP #2: Multi-pass Carries Wraps are versatile, fold up small and can be used on newborns and big kids alike. Though not necessary for everybody, multiple passes can help distribute the extra weight. Wrap Your Baby (wrapyourbaby.com) has an entire YouTube playlist dedicated to wrapping preschoolers and big kids: bit.ly/1EhgL0S
TIP #3: Best of Both Worlds Mei Tais have the structure of a waistband and the support of extra passes. You don’t necessarily need a preschool sized MT since you can use wrap straps for extra leg support, but Obimama (obimama.com) offers a TS3 (tall stage 3) sized carrier perfect for bigger kids. No matter which route you choose to go just make sure it is pain free for you both, and go ahead and count it as your work out for the day.
retail therapy
OVER THE
rainbow
SUGAR & DREAMS RAINBOW TEE AND BLOSSOM HEADBAND RAINBOW glitter in #alltherainbows or I
Play With Rainbows on a black t-shirt In both children’s and ladies sizes! $25 for tee, $24.75 for blossom and headband, sugaranddreams.us
SILICONE RAINBOW HEART TEETHING NECKLACE This 32 inch necklace features heart beads in a rainbow of colors cascading down one side of the necklace. 100% silicone beads with no BPA, phthalates, cadmium, lead, metals, and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning! $15, etsy.com/shop/trendy mommydesigns
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Photo credit: Lindsey Drury Photography, lindseydruryphotography.com
After the rain comes the rainbow. Rainbows are symbolic of so many things, different for each person, but happy for everyone. So whether it’s Pride or a very special rainbow baby, share a little sunshine with these awesome accessories.
LOVELEE HEART STUDIO EASYCARE PRISM NECKLACE
Always carry a little happiness with this wrap scrap necklace on your choice of 16 or 18 inch rolo chain. $15, facebook.com/loveleeheartstudio
farideh If you are looking for a handwoven wrap made with exotic, intricately dyed fibers along with an innovative and complex weave structure, without a doubt, you are looking for a Farideh. Farideh Barani, the genius and weaver behind Banu Textiles, loves to experiment with fibers, color and weaves. The results are astounding, like art made to carry our most precious cargo. august/september 2015
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{BWTM} How long have you been weaving? How did you first become interested? {FB} I have been weaving for over seven years now. I decided I wanted to take some classes at the local university for something to do and to help support my family. From my first weaving class, I felt an immediate connection and knew it was what I was meant to do and what I loved with all my heart. The process of weaving always calms me down mentally and physically and I absolutely love seeing how the threads interlace to create something new. I also love it because there is always something new to learn - weaving is as endless as your imagination. Sometimes I think I was born for this type of weaving, as my grandmother and aunt were both weavers, though not for fabric and never on the type of looms I use. {BWTM} How does your background prepare you for weaving? {FB} My heart is tied to the loom. It is in my blood to create with it. {BWTM} Where are your favorite places to draw inspiration from? {FB} Nature is my biggest inspiration by far, though the works of Rumi fill my heart and sometimes, his work is expressed in what I create. I always love the results from both since they give me so much room to interpret what I’m seeing and feeling into the fabric. {BWTM} What was your first loom? First project? {FB} My first loom was a Leclerc jack loom and I still own it. In fact, in the beginning I was actually afraid to use it and I didn’t touch it for several months! My first project at school was a sampling of all the twill patterns and my first baby wrap was for a local friend roughly three years ago. A wrap for Kasey Carter was my second. Prior to wraps, I was weaving lots of blankets, scarves, and some clothing. {BWTM} How long does a typical warp take, start to finish? {FB} Preparation is the most time consuming part of the process for me. It takes about a week from start to finish with a cotton warp, but a painted piece can easily take between eight to ten days. {BWTM} What is your least favorite part of weaving? Most favorite? {FB} My least favorite part is winding painted warps because of all the extra time and focus it takes to get the skeins wound. My
favorite is creating new weaves and dyeing natural fibers, because both allow me to experiment and grow. {BWTM} You are known for using stunning and complicated weaves in your work. What is your favorite type of weave? Twill, plain, etc? {FB} I like pointed twill best because it offers such a wide variety of weave options. {BWTM} You are also known for your exquisite dye work, especially with animal fibers such as silk and wool. Please tell us about your dyeing process. {FB} If I am dyeing for someone else’s inspiration, I like to take my time, sometimes several days, to consider how best to apply the dye to the fabric to bring their vision to life. When I feel ready, I prepare the yarn for dyeing and then mix the dye solutions. I carefully paint the yarn with a brush, being very mindful of how the dye will travel and spread and create new colors as it’s applied. If you rush the process or don’t understand the dyes, you can end up with muddy, dull colors that don’t do justice to the vision. It’s all about taking your time and allowing the fabric to tell its story. {BWTM} Please tell us about new fibers that you have using in your weaving. Which ones are you most excited about? {FB} Silk will likely always be my favorite, but the two new fiber blends that I am most excited about are the silk/wool/seacell and soybean blends. I prefer natural fibers to synthetic ones, and I find that soybean gives the fabric a different character than most other yarns - quite similar to linen, but very unique and softer. The tri-blend is a very interesting and soft fiber that’s lovely to weave with, and I love that they are both eco-friendly too. {BWTM} Please tell us about your design process. How do you decide on color, fiber and weave structure for each piece? {FB} To design I mostly look at the inspiration’s colors and then allow myself to feel what it is trying to say. If I am creating from my mind’s eye, I like to play with primary colors and mix the other colors off of them for different depth, and I sometimes allow the dyes to find each other and create something entirely new. As for fibers, I am always drawn to using wool and silk for warps because of how they take color and reflect the vibrancy of nature. Plus, I find that these natural fibers are very easy to wash and don’t need much water or frequent wash-
ing. When it comes to weave, sometimes the client has an idea about what she likes, but if she doesn’t, I let the warp tell me it’s story and guide me towards what weave will make the theme behind it come alive. The fabric and I work together during the weaving, I talk to it and it talks to me. {BWTM} Do you have a favorite wrap? Why is it your favorite? {FB} I love all my wraps and what they mean, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Kasey’s Nicobar’s Faith. She came to me with the challenge to create something to reflect the joy of her youngest daughter. She told me to use all silk because she knew I loved it, and in being given that total freedom I found my courage to express myself as an artist and push aside different boundaries. It gave my weaving new life and filled me with joy. The inspiration behind Path to God and Garden of the Gods also hold great meaning to me. Really though, I love all the moms for giving me a chance to create for them. It fills my heart and I am honored to do it. {BWTM} Kasey Carter runs your fan page, among many, many other things. You seem to have a special relationship. How would you describe it? {FB} How can I explain this relationship? It all has to do with the connections and energies, which I can’t describe. Our friendship is such a blessing and gift. It shows that there are no boundaries between people, that we can make a great friendship even with different cultures or religion. It means so much to me. She helps me in so many ways and allows me to focus on creating my art. I am so thankful. {BWTM} As a weaver, what do you think the trends will be for handwoven baby wraps in the near future? {FB} I don’t know. I hope that it is for weavers to continue challenging themselves and remembering why it is we weave and the fun in creating this beautiful art. {BWTM} Do you have any other big plans up your sleeve? {FB} Kasey and I are always working together to come up with new ideas to keep people excited and fill their needs. I have been playing with some leather recently, and we’ve talked about pillows and other special little items too. We both love hearing feedback and new ideas from the chatter page though, and we’re always open to new ideas and inspiration.
facebook.com/groups/FaridehBanuTextilesChatter
{BWTM} How did you get started as a dye artist? What was your first project? {THT} Sometimes I feel like my entire life has been leading me to be a dye artist. I point to the creation of Tiny House’s Facebook page as the anniversary of the business, but really it’s been in development since I was given my first set of crayons. My background in art, customer service, technology, and research have all given me crucial experience that I’ve relied on every day since Tiny House opened. My interest in babywearing, which started a few years ago with the birth of my son, gave all of these skills a focus. I practiced on countless DIY carriers before I dyed my first commercially available woven wrap; my very first project was a blue grad dye on a do-it-yourself osnaburg wrap. {BWTM} How does being a babywearer prepare you for dyeing baby wraps? {THT} Many, many ways, but none are more important than valuing safety and durability. I know how baby carriers are used and that, unlike art that hangs on the wall, my work will probably be in a little mouth and will likely be peed on at some point. Having had these first-hand experiences, I know to use only baby-safe dyes that bond with the fabric of the carrier, so there’s no loose dye to get in baby’s mouth or on baby’s skin. These same dyes also remain colorfast through repeated washings, a crucial quality for a baby item. I know that the value of a carrier goes far beyond its market value, so I approach each project with reverence and care. Being familiar with so many carriers helps facilitate conversations with customers and provides me with a general working knowledge of carriers’ idiosyncrasies, such as proclivity to pulls, resistance to color-stripping, and the specific needs of fiber blends. All of these factors help me to determine how the piece wants to be treated while being dyed and cleaned. I honestly can’t imagine dyeing baby carriers without having babywearing experience.
tiny house
TEXTILES Julie Olson creates hand dyed, wearable art. She started dyeing 2014, specializing in rainbows, low water immersion, smooth ombre gradations and acid dyes, in addition to other types of art on cloth. In Julie’s house, nothing stays natty for long.
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{BWTM} Tell us about the dyeing process. {THT} The process varies widely depending on the technique used. All projects start the same way: preparing my dyes, tools, and work area, washing and prepping the carrier, and putting on some good working music. They all end with cleaning the carrier, my work area, and my tools. The middle, though, is the important bit, and that depends on what the project is. Solid color dyeing, which is arguably the simplest dye technique, requires soaking the carrier in fixative, creating a dye bath of premixed liquid dye, warm water, salt, and sometimes additional fixative, and then immersing the carrier in the dye bath. I put on long gloves and constantly massage the carrier while in the dye bath for 30-40 minutes. After a thorough rinsing, I wash it once or twice, evaluate the color, and then repeat the entire process, usually with a slightly altered dye blend to achieve the color I want. Then it’s washed several more times, dried either in the dryer or on a line, depending on the carrier, and ironed. I consider all of the prep work and aftercare an integral part of the dyeing process, as every step affects the feel and wrapping qualities of the carrier. {BWTM} What is your favorite dye project? {THT} I’ve worked on so many that I’ve loved that it’s hard
to choose any one project. When I think about those that are in the running, it’s usually because they have an element of unexpectedness - an unusual color scheme, a fiber blend that creates an exciting dye resist, a technique that creates unplanned (and un-plannable!) striations and mottling, or a color choice that completely transforms the existing color on the wrap. {BWTM} Where are your favorite places to draw inspiration from? {THT} When I’m working on a non-custom item, whether it’s a baby carrier or a bag or a bandanna, I think in colors. What colors do I have? What colors would be exciting together? What colors have I been avoiding that deserve some attention? I have a lot of color chips organized in a binder, and sometimes I take them all out and look at them like a deck of cards. It’s easy to get into a color rut (I’m always drawn to pinks and blues), and it’s helpful to me to put colors near each other in new combinations. My inspiration is really drawn from color itself. {BWTM} Please tell us about your design process. How do you decide on color and design for each piece? {THT} The huge majority of my work is custom dyeing. A customer will contact me, letting me know what carrier they have and what their dye vision is. Sometimes it’s a very short conversation - they will know, for instance, that they want me to do a solid color dye job using a specific color of dye from a specific brand. Sometimes it’s a very long conversation- all they know is that they don’t like the look of their carrier and they want
to know what their options are. Usually it’s something in between: they know, for example, that they don’t like pink but that they do like rainbows. Very often the customer will provide me with inspiration photos- pictures they’ve taken or have found online, and from that we’ll choose a variety of colors to work with and refine. My role in all of these conversations is to help my customers find the technique and colors that are right for them. I offer opinions and advice when asked, but more often I am asking them: “What is exciting to you? What are you drawn to?” I feel that would be selfish of me to try to impose my own agenda on someone else’s carrier. {BWTM} What is your least favorite part of dyeing? Most favorite? {THT} My least favorite part, and I’m sure you can relate, is the clean-up . I like to keep my work area very clean, and dyeing is a messy endeavor: there are lots of dishes, dye splatters, laundry, etc. For any given eight hours of workshop time, at least two hours are spent cleaning and prepping my work area and tools. My favorite part is talking with the customers. From the initial contact to feedback on a finished project, I love the connection built with individual customers and the baby wearing community as a whole. I love the collaborative aspect of my job. I see myself as a craftsman, not an artist, and one of my most important skills is clearly communicating with my customers so that we can bring their vision to life. Every customer I’ve worked with has had beautiful ideas, and my work is to bring those ideas to reality. It’s a big responsibility, and nothing feels as good
facebook.com/tinyhousetextiles
as when my customer sends me a happy review and an action shot of their newly dyed carrier. {BWTM} What is your favorite type of dye work? {THT} I’ve always been a painter, and I still love doing anything that involves a brush. I’ve really been enjoying working on soft structured carriers lately, as they’re so much smaller than a woven wrap that I can really get into a kind of happy trance with teeny tiny brushes and very detailed work. {BWTM} What type of dye work is most popular with babywearers? {THT} My painted dye rainbows have been popular lately, and a custom order for ice dyeing is rare, but overall I’d say that it’s been a pretty even split between all of the techniques I offer: solid colors, smooth low water immersion, spiky low water immersion, single color grad dyes, two color grad dyes, silk acid dyes, painted dye rainbows, and other hand painted dye work. {BWTM} What’s next for the Tiny House Textiles? {THT} I’m always looking to experiment and evolve. I recently bought an airbrush, and I’m super excited to start incorporating that into my custom work. I’m always thinking about how I can improve my existing techniques or redesign them to have an interesting new outcome. There are so many traditional techniques and materials that I haven’t even begun to explore that I’ll never get bored. And maybe, someday, I’ll get my website completed.
etsy.com/shop/TinyHouseTextiles
Photo courtesy of Cate Linden
CATE LINDEN
chromatics Color has always been Cate Linden’s thing. In 2012, she expanded her love of color with a small dye business serving the babywearing market called Colored by Cate. She quickly became one of the most sought after dye artists in the babywearing world. In early 2014, Cate trained in Sci\ART system of personal color analysis (PCA) and started Cate Linden Chromatics. Her services are in demand now more than ever.
{BWTM} How did you get started as a dye artist? Please tell us how working as a dye artist led to a greater understanding of color. {CL} Getting into dyeing was a total accident. I was new to babywearing and looking for the perfect emerald green wrap. After poking around on TheBabyWearer for hours, I came across a beautiful dyed Didymos Agave. Naturally, I messaged the owner to ask what she used (I later learned that this is sometimes considered a faux pas, but she was incredibly gracious about it), bought some dye, tracked down Agave, and had a total light bulb moment where I thought, “This is what I want to do.” I opened shop a few weeks later. While the dyeing process is fun, color mixing is my real passion. Achieving your desired color is a delicate balance with a lot of different factors involved. You have to take into consideration the initial color of the wrap you’re dyeing, the undertone of the dye you’re using (take black, for example: some blacks are green, some blue, some purple), how the fibers and weave will react to dye, etc. I had loved color previously but understanding its behavior was huge. {BWTM} What is the Sci\ART system of personal color analysis and how did you first come to learn about it? {CL} Most people have heard of Color Me Beautiful and the 4-season system of color analysis, which divides people into Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Sci\ART is a more evolved extension of that concept, featuring eight additional seasons. These seasons are divided among Hue (Warm/Cool), Value (Light/ Dark), and Chroma (Saturation). Sci\ART’s founder, Kathryn Kalisz, was both an artist and a Master Munsell Colorist. She understood color harmony from an artistic perspective, as well as from the science behind color and human vision. I discovered Sci\ART on, where else, TheBabyWearer. I became more and more obsessed and decided that training would be a natural extension of my love for color. {BWTM} What are the benefits of PCA? {CL} So many! There are very practical benefits: everything in your closet goes with everything else, you stop wasting money on clothing and cosmetics that don’t work for you. And then there are more emotional benefits: you learn that every time you felt ugly or “off” in your makeup or clothing, the problem wasn’t YOU: it was the color. I have so many clients who sit down in my chair and apologize for their bad skin. And after the analysis, I show them
that there’s nothing wrong with their skin at all. The colors they were wearing were causing illusions of ruddiness, aggravated acne, papery skin, greasy skin, grey skin, jaundiced skin, etc. It’s very freeing to not feel like you have to change yourself. {BWTM} Tell us about the process of ‘getting draped.’ {CL} One of the most important aspects of Sci\ART is neutrality. Drapings take place in a room painted neutral grey (or, when traveling, a room neutralized with grey cloth), with the client wearing a neutral grey cape and me wearing a neutral grey coat. If the hair is dyed, we cover it with a neutral grey cap. I use full-spectrum lighting, which is calibrated to be as neutral as light can possibly be, neither too warm nor too cool. Clients are seated before a mirror, and we methodically work through a vast number of harmonized fabric “drapes” to determine which formula of Hue, Value, and Chroma works best for you. That’s your season. {BWTM} How do you personally apply PCA to your life? {CL} I don’t do anything halfway. So everything in my closet is harmonized to my season (I’m a Dark Autumn). I have a small wardrobe, and creating outfits is simple and fun—I never thought of myself as a remotely stylish person before. All of my makeup is harmonized to my season as well. I never buy things that will languish in my closet. {BWTM} Why do you think color (shade, hue and combinations) in woven wraps is so important to babywearers? {CL} I think we babywearers are an obsessive bunch, woven wrap enthusiasts in particular. We’re used to geeking out over patterns, brands, fibers, weaves—why not color? I think that for many of us wrapping is a hobby that allows us to connect with our children while also having something that’s just for us. When you have spit up in your hair and your coffee is stone cold again, it’s nice to have a wrap that you can throw on and feel beautiful in. {BWTM} Are many of your clients from the babywearing world? How are others being drawn into PCA? {CL} I have a lot of babywearing clients. Babywearers are, shall we say, enthusiastic. So word spreads. I also have a lot of clients who stumble upon PCA and think, “I need that. Something isn’t working here.” I’ve had several men get PCAs because they were looking for new jobs and wanted to put their best face forward.
Cate’s Seasonal Wrap Recommendations
I have a Woven Wrap Database for my clients, which contains all of the wraps I’ve personally swatched. My database is dependent upon what people bring me for swatching, but here are a few of my favorites for each season. True Winter: Artipoppe Argus The Riddle, Natibaby Violet Hemp [choose your pattern] Bright Winter: Pavo Calliope and Real colorways Bright Spring: Pavo Macaw colorway, Pavo Etini Sunshine, Didymos Iris and Cleo True Spring: Oscha JK Cora. Oscha’s Diamond Weave grads in Apple and Sunshine Light Spring: Didymos Lime Hemp [choose your pattern], Sling Studio Jupiter Amalthea Light Summer: Didymos Grass Hemp Indio, Tekhni Meandros Candy True Summer: Pavo Heron and Touraco colorways, Oscha Blue Ice colorways, Woven Wings Geo Greenwich Park Soft Summer: Oscha Zen, Bon Bon, and Mythic colorways, Pavo Hibiscus colorway as well as Sketchy, Static, Lo-fi, Natibaby Old Rose colorway Soft Autumn: Ellevill Zara Lemongrass, Pavo Parakeet colorway, Silver Lining Slings Natty Ashton True Autumn: Oscha Roses Paprika, Woven Wings Marble Arch and Droplets Over the Rainbow, Didymos Cinnamon Pfau Dark Autumn: Pavo Klee, Zatgebo Flame, Oscha Nahua colorway, Woven Wings Chestnut Trees Dark Winter: Ellevill Zara Aubergine, Oscha Juliet, Nebula, and Pine colorways, Pavo Ultraviolet and Tourmaline colorways
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Photo courtesy of Cate Linden
Photo courtesy of Kelly Meurer
{BWTM} How important is it to stick to wraps that are your season? Should babywearers ‘cheat’ on their seasons with wraps they love, even if they are not harmonious? {CL} It’s not even remotely important unless you want it to be. I encourage trying as many wraps as you can get your hands on, not only because it’s fun, but because there are so many other factors to love about wraps other than color. My one remaining wrap is Didy Ecru Pfau. It’s not my season, and I don’t care. I adore it. {BWTM} How does a client find an analyst? {CL} I would recommend using the analyst directories on Your Natural Design and 12 Blueprints: yournaturaldesign.com/analyst-directory/ or 12blueprints.com/12b-analyst-directory/
Photo courtesy of Linda Huxley
{BWTM} What colors are trending in the woven wrap world right now? What colors do you see trending for the fall? {CL} There are so many wrap companies now that I see a pretty nice variety of seasons, but some seasons are rarer to find in wraps than others. I see a lot of Summer wraps, probably because threads that are very vibrant will mute each other when woven together. I see a lot of wraps whose individual threads are probably Winter, but the overall effect is more muted. I expect fall will bring richer colors again. {BWTM} What’s next for Cate Linden Chromatics? {CL} I’ve been traveling a lot this year and trying to bring PCA to areas without analysts. Otherwise, my main goal is to provide value for my clients, and for the people who read my blog and (free) newsletter. Why write a blog post or a newsletter article if it isn’t going to educate or empower the reader? I’ve even been thinking about creating an online course for people who have had a PCA and need help putting their season into action.
catelinden.com Photo courtesy of April Lewis
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facebook.com/CateLindenChromatics
www.facebook.com/SmilingOctopus
{BWTM} You have been offering natural baby products since 2009, what inspired you to start this type of business? Why is it important that your products are organic and environmentally friendly? {FG} My partners at the time were shopping around online for their first daughter and getting very frustrated because sites would say they were eco-friendly and organic but then the majority of their products weren’t natural or organic. They quickly realized that it was taking too much of their time researching and digging through pages of products to find ones that met their standards. So we formed Franklin Goose. When parents shop with us they know that all of our products have been carefully vetted to make sure there are no harmful chemicals, that the safety standards are as high as possible, and that our products are all priced competitively with the big boxes out there. Shopping with us means they don’t have to spend their time digging through our products to find quality, safety and value, we have already done that for them. The environment kids are raised in is very important to us because more and more studies are showing that the harmful chemicals in our products and environment are leading to more cases of asthma, ADHD, infertility, cancer, nervous system and immune system issues. We know that many companies who are focused on eco-friendly and organic products are usually more conscious of how they treat their employees and suppliers, so they often create a better work environment and often more humane working conditions. Most of the chemicals we are being exposed to now have not been around long enough to look at long term damage and effects, so it is scary to think that we can be exposing our children and ourselves to things that can make us sick down the road. The evidence supporting this is becoming stronger and stronger. {BWTM} How are you different from a big-box store? {FG} We differ from big-box stores because of our service, knowledge and support. Each person on my staff is so well trained. We know our products
franklin GOOSE franklingoose.com
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inside and out, and most of us use them as well. If we find something doesn’t really work, or hold up, we don’t carry it anymore. We are in business to provide parents with solutions and products that work, not just things for them to spend their money on. We offer amazing service, we gift wrap for free, we know a lot of our customers by name, we remember their stories, we know their children and we genuinely enjoy watching them grow. We have human beings that answer the phone and are in the U.S. so they know the products, they can find solutions and love solving problems. We spend a lot of our time helping people troubleshoot issues. We help with cloth diaper problems and with support with babywearing. We offer free classes, and provide our space for groups to meet for free. We are part of a community of parents and feel it is our pleasure and obligation to positively impact and be a part of that community. {BWTM} You offer many different types of carriers. Why is variety important? Can clients get help with their purchases in store? {FG} We offer so many carrier options because we know there is no single carrier that is perfect for everyone. We all have different needs and different body types so carriers need to fit those needs and body types and preferences. If we only carried one we would have a lot of babies or parents not comfortable or happy. We keep a demo model of each carrier on the floor so parents can try them on either with their child or with one of our demo babies. We work with the customers and make sure we find the carrier that properly supports the child and fits the best for the parent. I don’t believe parents should have to choose a carrier without trying it on if they live close enough to a store to do so. Having demos available also helps us learn what carriers work best for what body types, it helps us understand the decision making process for parents, etc. All of this makes us better equipped to help people in the store or online when they are choosing a carrier. {BWTM} What are your most popular products? {FG} Our most popular products are our carriers,
cloth diapers, Clek car seats, anything NUNA and a few of our stroller lines like UPPAbaby and Bumbleride. {BWTM} Tell us about the free diaper and babywearing classes you offer. {FG} We offer a cloth diaper 101 class every month in our store and at the local hospital. This class covers all the types of diapers and types of fibers available. We discuss how to choose diapers, how to use them, how to clean them, and how to incorporate them into your lifestyle. We talk about the accessories like wet bags, diaper pail liners etc. as well so parents are buying what they need for their lifestyle. We also have this class on our youtube page for parents who can’t make it to one of our classes. Our babywearing 101 class is taught by a certified babywearing educator. She discusses the different carrier types and helps people to pick what will best fit their lifestyles and body types. She talks about the fundamentals of safe babywearing and shows people techniques like breastfeeding, back carrying and wrapping. Sometimes people bring their own carriers or they use our demos to learn. These classes are always free. I can’t imagine charging for them as we feel it is important for parents to have access to education no matter what their income level or budget is. {BWTM} Do you have any exciting products that will be stocking soon? {FG} We are so excited to now carry Chimparoo carriers. We are completely in love! This fall we have been focused on finding a great another supportive shoe line that is formaldehyde free and toxin free. We can’t wait to get Plae shoes in the next few weeks. We have discovered some new organic clothing lines too that we are completely smitten with. They are beautiful and consciously designed and made. It makes us happy to see organic get more and more fashionable every year! We are working on a few surprises in the baby carrier department, but it is too early to talk about them, so you will have to stay tuned.
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We are in business to provide parents with solutions and products that work, not just things for them to spend their money on.
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hip, hip, hooray!
back to
SCHOOL
Are you ready to take babywearing to the next level? Do you like being a leader and want to share safe wearing practices? Then it’s time to get certified!
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CENTER FO R BABYWEA RING STUD CONSULTAN IES CERTIFIE T TRAINING D Turn your love into a rewarding of babywearin career! There g are training co the country. W urses all around ith two levels of certification (F Progressions), oundations an you will be a w d ell rounded ed in your skills. ce ucator confide nterforbabywea nt ringstudies.com
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wrap up
a chat with
CharLee of QuasiCo Creative CharLee Christian founded QuasiCo Creative in 2001 and is a digital illustrator and graphic designer based in Los Angeles.
{BWTM} How long have you been babywearing? {CLC} I started babywearing when my first daughter was born in 2009, though I suppose you can count a few months before she was born since I practiced with stuffed animals during my pregnancy. I received a Moby at my baby shower and ended up returning it because I had no idea why someone would pay $35 for a long strip of plain black fabric (little did I know what the future would hold). I went to the fabric store and bought a few yards of knit jersey on clearance for $5 and made two jersey wraps. It was a hideously colored green and yellow striped fabric but it worked and was inexpensive. {BWTM} How did you become involved in the community? {CLC} I was very much immersed in corporate America before and during my pregnancy. None of my friends or co-workers had kids, so the only exposure I had to babywearing was the few times that I saw my sister (who had her 3rd child the year before) wear her baby. I was already pretty crunchy so I naturally gravitated toward attachment parenting and babywearing. I spent my entire pregnancy hooked on the forums in BabyCenter and I learned a ton about different babywearing options. During my second pregnancy two years later, I had a great network of friends from around the country that were very much into high-end babywearing. They enticed me with their beautiful woven wraps and it all went downhill (or uphill) from there. I bought my first woven wrap, a Girasol Light Rainbow with fringe and it cost me $150! Initially, I felt so much guilt about the price tag but when my baby was born and I wrapped her up in it, I understood the love and connection that very expensive piece of cloth gave us. My stash grew and grew and grew, I was hooked! I joined my local babywearing group, So-Cal Babywearers, and attended as many playdates as I could. I soon began to host playdates and tried to spread the love as much as I could. I admit I’ve been an enabler to quite a few of my friends, Whoops!
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{BWTM} Your first major babywearing design was the Keep Calm and Carry On shirt collaboration with Puck and Whimsy. How did that project come about? {CLC} I first met Anna at Puck and Whimsy because she made me a gorgeous custom wrap conversion diaper bag from one of my favorite colorways: Girasol Frigga Azul. We became Facebook friends and she enlisted me to create her vision after learning that I was a graphic designer and illustrator. The collaboration turned out beautifully and the shirts are still quite popular. {BWTM} You have done many wrap designs for PAXbaby. How does the design process work? {CLC} PAXmom Jillian and I met through the So-Cal Babywearers Facebook group. We both share an obsessive love for rainbows and it’s not unusual in our business meetings to discuss things like unicorn poop! I started designing woven wraps for PAXbaby a few years ago. The most popular designs have been Love in Your Heart, Captain, Bronte, Poe, Sally and Jack. The designs are a collaboration between Jillian and myself. She creates a dream board of all her inspirations. I then take her inspirations and create an image to send to the weavers. I set up my Adobe Illustrator boards with specific dimensions according to the mill she will be using to weave and then design stripe by stripe. After the design is complete, Jillian and I discuss any changes we think would make it better until finally we are satisfied. It then goes to the weaver. The weaving has a typical four to six month turnaround to get from design to PAX HQ. {BWTM} How do you chose the colors for your designs? Why is color such an important part of the design? {CLC} Current weaving technologies only allow the use of a limited color palette per wrap section. We have a few colors along the warp, and limited to one color for the weft, which runs across the grain of the wrap. This weft color must remain consistent throughout each stripe. Each mill has their own specific color chart of yarn to choose from. I use these color charts to determine the colors within the wrap. At times, working with limited colors makes it challenging to convey exactly what we want, but the limitation is what thrills me about designing for textiles. Typically, I pick the color palette before starting the design since the color palette is limited to the yarn options available. I then let the design flow around the colors that were chosen. {BWTM} Do you have a favorite wrap you have designed? {CLC} I have two favorites for different reasons. My favorite design is Bronte but I’m more of a rainbow girl. Sally takes the cake for me for a design that is more suited to my taste. I’d really love to create a rainbow inspired Bronte! {BWTM} Tell us about the portrait illustrations you’ve done recently. {CLC} I was commissioned by Nashville Wrappers to create an illustration for their community Facebook page. The illustrations turned out so well that I decided to open up custom portraits for babywearing families. They’ve been very popular with my local Disneyland mama group, The Happily Ever Afters. {BWTM} Do you have any projects in the works you’d like to share? {CLC} I have a few wraps in the works right now but unfortunately, due to nondisclosure agreements, I cannot reveal the subject of the designs. Just know that they will be epic! One thing that I CAN reveal is that I have been working on rebranding PAXbaby and in just a few short months, we’ll soon be launching a brand new website that will be full of rainbow goodness! I’m also excited to share that along with their website, I’ve also designed a new logo. I’ve gotten permission from PAXbaby to do the first public reveal in Babywearing: the magazine! Inspired by iconic 80’s television shows such as My Little Pony, Rainbow Bright, and Care Bears, this rainbow delicious logo will grace their new website and packaging materials. I’m so excited for the PAXmoms to have such a fun logo!
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