September 2007
At Baby Legs, It’s All in the Family
Nicole Donnelly’s business began as a simple solution to a recurring problem. Her baby daughter Sara’s clothes constantly tugged and bunched, leaving her ankles and wrists exposed, at the mercy of the ever-changing temperatures of the Pacific Northwest. Besides that, there was no good way to keep Sara’s legs warm while she was crawling around without a diaper.
The Seattle mother used to be a professional snowboarder, and she found her solution in her old boarding clothes. “I cut off my snowboard socks to pull over Sara’s knees,” she explains. Presto – Sara was outfitted with the first BabyLegs, which kept her warm while protecting her soft knees and elbows from bumps and scratches.
Donnelly sold 200 pairs in the two weeks after her flash of inspiration, selling them out of her diaper bag to fellow parents at playgroups. At first, she altered pairs of socks to make the BabyLegs. “I sold so many pairs, I ran out of my good socks, and then I bought all the good socks from the dollar stores,” she says. “I went to three playgroups each week, so it was a lot of exposure!”
That was in April 2005. By June, she had created the first production samples. August saw their full production run. The leg – or arm – warmers are now made with a soft blend of 80 percent cotton, 15 percent polyester and 5 percent spandex, and organic versions are available. Most are $12 a pair.
The success started online, as the diaper-free community embraced BabyLegs as a way to leave little bottoms exposed without tender knees getting cold or scuffed. Word spread throughout online attachment parenting communities too, creating customers around the world.
Few businesses grow as quickly as BabyLegs has in its two years of existence. If it were a child, it would still be a toddler. However, the colorful, cleverly designed leg and arm coverings can be found in 45 countries, on dozens of Web sites, and on the bodies of celebrities and their babies. Donnelly is negotiating distribution in Nordstrom and Whole Foods.
A FAMILY-FRIENDLY BUSINESS
The BabyLegs headquarters is in South Seattle, in a bright, cheery space with a play area and an open design that reflects the company’s family-oriented business philosophy. Donnelly was a stay-at-home mom when she outfitted her daughter with the first version of BabyLegs; now, even with trips around the world to secure production and distribution, she maintains a family-first environment.
“We support a nontraditional workplace, with flexible schedules. If employees want to go skydiving or kayaking during the day, it’s fine as long as they get their work done,” Donnelly asserts.
Employees bring their kids and pets into the office, and the near future will bring a daycare and exercise room on site. Those who work for BabyLegs often telecommute, and flexibility is the norm, letting everyone go to the games, concerts, practices and other important times that fill family life.
Donnelly doesn’t have to go far to see her own family. Her desk is nestled next to her mother’s, and two of her sisters-in-law work for BabyLegs. Her sister and stepchildren have pitched in during busy times. Her husband, a builder, has yet to be officially roped into the family business, but he oversaw the construction of each wall and doorway in their warehouse space.
Donnelly is clearly comfortable with international commerce, going easily between tales of securing production runs with international companies and sharing anecdotes about satisfied customers. The travel is great, she says, but the customers remain her favorite part. “I love meeting all the different moms,” she explains. “I love hearing all the stories and seeing all the pictures.”
Some of them go into the BabyLegs catalogs. Her daughter Sara is, was, and remains Little Miss BabyLegs, but the catalog and the online gallery are filled with babies from the world over, wearing stripes and argyle, spots and animal prints and flames.
She has also used her extraordinary opportunity to improve the world around her. The company routinely donates pairs of BabyLegs to Ugandan and Chinese orphanages. For the future, Donnelly is looking into creating a line of organic cotton leggings, with design and production based in Uganda. “Such a small company with a few people can make such a big difference,” she explains. She has visited all factories involved in the making of BabyLegs personally, ensuring that the environments are safe and meet the standards the company has created.
The future also holds more clothes for babes and tots, which will likely include things that older little ones can wear, such as underwear and t-shirts. “The idea is to grow the business as my daughter grows,” Donnelly says. “I like to see what her reactions are.” She also takes ideas from customers – current designs wound with vines, sprinkled with flowers and spotted with hearts all came from customer requests.
It’s not just babies who have embraced BabyLegs. The company’s staff and their families sported them on their arms and legs on a recent kayaking trip, and Donnelly likes to wear them to cover her ankles when she bikes to work from her home in West Seattle. Still, the most important reaction is from the smallest consumers.
“Sara tried a new pair on the other day and declared herself a ‘rockin’ dude,’” Donnelly says, laughing. Practicality aside, there may not be a better customer review than that.
You can read more about BabyLegs and see their many designs at www.babylegs.net. For more information, call 206-734-4000.
Breanne Boland is delighted by the sight of babies swathed in rainbows, flowers, and skulls and crossbones alike.
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