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SOLSTICE STYLE

ECO-FRIENDLY KIDS’ CLOTHES MADE IN NAPLES

By Justin Paprocki

Finding kids’ clothing that both fits and is fashionable can be a challenge. Especially if, as in the case of Ashley Nebbia, you’re also trying to find something two toddlers will like. So, she took matters into her own hands. She started making kids’ clothes for her daughters, and it has turned into a business, Solstice Kids.

“I used to love fashion for myself—and then I had kids,” she says. “I ended up passing that passion along.”

Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, she arrived in Naples about four years ago. Solstice Kids was born out of the pandemic; Nebbia was adept at sewing and had a little more time on her hands to create those clothes her kids liked. She focused on warm-weather clothes for families in Southwest Florida with cloth in playful patterns featuring sea creatures, alligators and the like. She also wanted to create clothes that are eco-friendly and organic, using salvaged fabrics to minimize waste. After family and friends showed support, she officially turned it into a business about two years ago.

She started selling on Etsy, the e-commerce platform that allows creators to sell online. Then she started going to farmers markets and art fairs to sell.

Anna Nguyen Brian Tietz

FASHIONABLE AND ECO-FRIENDLY

Ashley Nebbia started Solstice Kids during the pandemic using salvaged fabrics to minimize waste.

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HARSHEST CRITICS

Solstice Kids sells a variety of dresses, rompers, shorts, shirts and pajamas. Ashley Nebbia seeks approval from her own children, knowing if they will wear her designs, other children will, too.

She’s found the personal connection at in-person events to be most beneficial in building the brand. As of now, she said her sales pretty much split 50/50 between online and in-person.

Nebbia makes a variety of dresses, rompers, shorts and shirts; the pajamas tend to be the most popular, especially around the holidays. She’s also started the Memory Collection, taking a keepsake—such as an old blanket—and turning it into something new. As of now, she cuts and sews almost all of what she does, but she does get help from a seamstress during the holiday rush. She pretty much makes the styles that she would like, although she seeks approval from her harshest critics—her kids.

“If my kids will wear it, I know other kids will wear it, too.”