Why I Built a Better Bib with Bapron Baby Founder Kelsey Larsen

Whisker (0s):

Today's episode is sponsored by Whisker makers of the Litter Robot, the self-cleaning litter box for cat families who do not need one more gross chore on their list. Because You know how every stage of parenting comes with a whole new category of cleanup, right? First it's the pump parts and then the dirty diapers you're getting used to. And when you're starting solid foods, suddenly you're scraping sweet potato out of crevices of the highchair that you never knew existed, right? But for cat parents adding daily litter box duty on top of all of that, that is a lot. And honestly, it's the litter box part. The thing that always made me hesitate about cats, not the cat, the litter, the scooping, the smell, the whole daily maintenance situation. And that's why Litter Robot by Whisker makes so much sense. It automatically cycles after every use. So you're not scooping every day and you're not handling waste like you would with a regular litter box. I especially love the No Contact Benefit Litter Robot handles the dirty work so that nobody in the house has to be assigned daily litter duty. And with the Whisker app, you can stay on top of things without thinking about litter all day. The app can notify you about your unit, like completed clean cycles, litter and drawer levels, or when the unit needs attention. So whether you already have a cat or you're thinking about getting one, or you just want one less household chore to manage Whisker helps Take Litter Box duty off of your daily list, maintain your cat's litter while focusing on your family. Learn more about Whisker litter robot models and their starter kits today so that you can get set up for this busy season of parenting. Take an additional $50 off bundles with the code weaning when you shop Whisker dot com slash weaning. That's an additional $50 off bundles with code weaning at Whisker dot com slash weaning.

Once Upon a Dance (1m 54s):

This episode is sponsored by Once Upon A Dance. You know, I talk a lot here about helping your baby explore the world through food, but as your child gets older, there are so many other ways we can help them explore, imagine, and build confidence. And one of those ways is through movement. Now, I personally did not grow up doing dance myself. It wasn't a part of my childhood, but all three of my girls did dance. And I have to say it was such a formative experience for them. It wasn't just about learning steps or performing on stage. Dance helped them practice discipline, confidence, creativity, perseverance, and being part of something bigger than themselves. And that's why I love the idea behind Once Upon a Dance, these are interactive children's books that turn story time into movement time. So your child isn't just sitting and listening, they're twirling, leaping, imagining, and connecting with you through the story. Once Upon a Dance offers award winning dance along stories created by a former dance teacher with her daughter Ballina Kay. As a gentle guide and positive role model, the stories celebrate friendship, family, self-acceptance, empathy, practice, perseverance and kindness, all through whimsical adventures featuring things kids love, like unicorns, bats, puppies, cats and more. So whether you're listening with a baby now or you also maybe have a toddler, a preschooler, or an older child at home who loves to move, this is such a sweet way to bring books, imagination and activity together. Swap screen time for connection, get your kids off the couch and into a story. Jump twirl and leap on over to Once Upon a Dance dot com or find Once Upon a Dance books wherever you buy books online. That's Once Upon a Dance dot com.

Kelsey Larsen (3m 39s):

It's essentially a plant-based plastic that is heat used to polyester. Polyester is naturally Flame retardant. It's s pretty stain resistant. The film that we use, it doesn't ever get clammy.

Katie Ferraro (3m 51s):

Hey there, I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietitian, college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby-led weaning. Here on the baby-led weaning with Katie Ferraro podcast. I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, giving you the confidence and knowledge you need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby led weaning. You know what? One of the most underrated pieces of equipment or gear when you go to start solid foods is your baby's bib. You don't think about it. Like, I remember just opening up a drawer and being like, oh, I hope somebody gave me some bibs for my baby shower. 'cause yeah, bib helps with the mess, but the wrong bib can actually get in your baby's way because as your baby's learning how to pick up food and bring it to their mouth and chew and swallow, they're crossing their midline.

Katie Ferraro (4m 40s):

They've got to be able to move. They need their arms free, they need to be able to look down at the food. They don't need a stiff, tight, crunchy like full coverage contraption thing that covers their head and their neck. That restricts the range of motion when they're learning how to eat. And that's one of the reasons why I love my guest today because of the brand that she founded. And it's called Bapron Baby. So a Bapron is my favorite bib for baby led weaning. And a Bapron is like a hybrid between a bib and an apron. And Kelsey, who's my guest today, is gonna talk about what aprons are and why she built a better bib essentially. But what I love about the aprons is that they tie behind your baby's shoulder blades instead of all up in their neck.

Katie Ferraro (5m 23s):

Okay? So your baby's getting coverage without having that negative sensory experience of something like literally gagging them in their neck as they're trying to learn how to eat. And you guys know that yes, gagging is part of learning how to eat, but we don't want to cause a constricting feeling for your baby around their neck. So I also love it because older babies cannot rip the paper and PIBs off by themselves 'cause they're a little tricky. So they need you mom to get them off. So in today's episode, I'm joined by Kelsey Larson. She is the founder of Paper and baby Kelsey created the paper and after her own baby was struggling with traditional bibs and she wanted something that worked better for babies, not just for parents who want less laundry. And we're gonna talk about the laundry situation today too, because the design of this bib really matters.

Katie Ferraro (6m 4s):

It's really different. Bapron supports independent feeding. The waterproof fabric that Kelsey uses is so amazing. And I really discovered this with my own quadruples when they were babies. I was like doing four babies times, three meals a day. It was like 12 bibs, it was insane. She sent me some vapors and I was like, wait a minute, I can use this same bib, rinse it off in the drain, like underneath the faucet, put it on the drain board and it's dried by the next meal. Like this is genius. They also make these splash mats that go under the highchair or the feeding table, which she'll be talking about. They've been an absolute game changer for me. I have splash mats that I know have used like literally a thousand times wash them every single day after we're done feeding babies and their good is new. So just a quick note, I originally recorded this conversation a while back, but the message that Kelsey has is still so relevant.

Katie Ferraro (6m 50s):

I'm using her bibs every single day in my infant feeding practice. Bapron is still the number one brand that I recommend for babies who are starting solid foods. If you wanna check them out, you can get Bapron on their website, Bapron baby.com. My affiliate code KATIE 10, works for 10% off. There's also a less varied selection of Bapron products on the Ezpz website. So if you go to ezpzfun.com/babyled, you can save 15% off over there with the Code BABYLED. So with no further ado, here's my conversation with Kelsey Larsen, the founder of Bapron Baby.

Kelsey Larsen (7m 28s):

Thanks for having me be really started out of the necessity. I mean, how many companies are started that way? My little boy was about a year old. He was getting really active at the, at the table at his side chair. And he did not like anything around his neck. I couldn't get him to wear a size at church. He didn't wanna wear type, You know, high neck shirt.

Katie Ferraro (7m 50s):

Well I can't believe a 1-year-old didn't wanna wear a tie at church,

Kelsey Larsen (7m 52s):

Right? Go figure. So I went on Facebook and asked my friends, Hey, what do you guys do? My kid won't wear bibs. I've tried literally everything and we got about 10 different people telling me, oh we just feed our kid naked. We just take his clothes off. And I thought to myself, this is, I mean, if you're home and you're whatever, like who, who doesn't wear the pajamas in your own home, but if it's cold,

Katie Ferraro (8m 12s):

That's also an issue.

Kelsey Larsen (8m 13s):

Yeah. And we're, You know, we're going out to Red Lobster or we're not that, that's like the fanciest of restaurants, but you're in public and it just feel exactly us and have a little bit of sewing history. I don't wanna say like I'm a seamstress by any means, but I, my mom taught me how to make quilts in high school and I had some extra fabric lying around and I thought I could make something that ties around his body instead of his neck. That seems like I could figure that out. And Bapron baby was born. Okay,

Katie Ferraro (8m 40s):

What does vain mean?

Kelsey Larsen (8m 42s):

Okay, so it's, it's so dorky. I thought about calling it a bib for the longest time. No,

Katie Ferraro (8m 47s):

But then you would just be another bib.

Kelsey Larsen (8m 49s):

That's what I love about it. I'm competing with all these bibs and how many massive companies sell bibs? Everybody. So it's a bib apron hybrid. I love it. A pin four style product designed for the same use that a bib is designed for. But it's a totally different, totally different gig.

Katie Ferraro (9m 6s):

It's totally different. Like I remember when I first got into infant feeding dawn from Ezpz who I do a lot of work with, turn Me onto You. And she's like, no. Like You know, from a sensory experience for some kids, like I know personally I run, I don't like crew neck shirts up in my business. Like and then can you imagine if you're trying to learn how to swallow and suck and breathe and swallow and sit at the same time and something's literally like choking you off this like hard piece of silicone or the ones that they tie so tight. So I remember being like, okay, I'll give this a go. And then it was like, this is genius. Like the whole design is genius. So for people who are listening, can you kind of describe what a Bapron bib looks like?

Kelsey Larsen (9m 40s):

Yeah. Okay. So a Bapron is designed for the infant for the child. Most bibs are designed for the parents, the caretakers, the shirt stays clean, the outfit stays tidy, the meal stays off their face, things get wiped up clean. The Bapron is more designed for movement. There aren't sleeves. Their arms can move freely, they can reach together, they can open their arms wide, they can reach down, they can reach up and there's nothing keeping their net from looking down and moving around. It's, it fits like a shirt on the front and then it ties around the back so that there's nothing in the way and they can't take it off if they wanted to in a, You know, quick bit

Katie Ferraro (10m 18s):

Of that is the one feature for parents that I love like it, I love that it doesn't tie around their necks, not all up in their neck, but it does basically ties behind their shoulder blades so younger babies can't rip it off, which is another problem that they do with the other bibs. So it's, it makes them feel kind of snug and secure but you're not interfering literally with their swallowing mechanism.

Kelsey Larsen (10m 37s):

Yeah, and I will say the part of the vain that I'm the most proud of is the amount of work we found to really perfect the fabric. I did so much research getting just the perfect material that was both soft and breathable but waterproof. I mean I think I melted three different fibs in my dryer while trying to find, You know, just testing out fabric swatches. This is waterproof and feels kind of soft. Wash it dry, it stuck by inside of my dryer because you can't machine wash a lot of that waterproof stuff.

Katie Ferraro (11m 5s):

The fabric is, that was the thing when I saw your bibs, I'm like okay, these are cool, cool design and you sent me a bunch of them when my quadruplets were starting baby led weaning and what was so different about them at that point I had bought like all the cheapies from Amazon that are literally plastic and you can't put in the dryer and like, I'm so sorry, but three meals a day times four babies. I'm not washing 12 bibs. Same

Kelsey Larsen (11m 22s):

Thing with the splash. Your entire house with like air dry

Katie Ferraro (11m 25s):

Or the inside of your dryer. Exactly. Because they were like sticking. You're right. But that material, what I love about it is that the vapor materials, you can rinse them underneath the faucet, wring it out, put it on the drying bracket and it's ready for the next meal. And I was like, I'm not doing 12 bibs every single day. I don't even have that much money to buy all those bibs. Like to not have to launder them every single day but, or every single meal rather, but yet to use a whole bib for the day. Like and they air dry so nice. Like the material is, it's like magical. I was gonna ask you, is that like a proprietary blend or like what's it even called? 'cause it's, I don't know how you describe it.

Kelsey Larsen (11m 57s):

Yes, it is a, it's essentially a plant-based plastic that is heat used to polyester. Polyester is naturally Flame retardant. It's s pretty stain resistant. And the film that we use, it doesn't ever get clammy. One fun little pro tip is that if you don't have an actual drying rack, I know some people just don't do hair drying yet. A command strip or a little command hook, take it to the back of your highchair and just hang it on the hook. Ooh,

Katie Ferraro (12m 24s):

That's a good idea. Or I just, even with the, if you guys are using like the, a lot of our audience uses the trip trap chairs or the Nomi chairs, I would just take the vapor and shoulders and kind of wrap it around and air dry 'em on each kid's chair just so we can remember who's was whose. But they kind of have their favorite prints. And that's another thing I love about your company is that the prints are really like appealing. So for me as a parent, I don't want primary colored CRAP all over the place all the time. Like I get sick of all that like baby stuff. But I love that you have just plain solid ones too. That's actually the first products I started ordering from you were just the plain colored bibs. 'cause my kids are color coded but I didn't like, I wanted them to have like their own bibs but not like obnoxious patterns. Your patterns are not obnoxious, they're beautiful.

Katie Ferraro (13m 4s):

But thank you for just having plain colored stuff.

Kelsey Larsen (13m 6s):

You know, I have to give my husband credit for our mini miller line. He is the most minimalist person I've ever met in my life. I don't think he has a shirt that has any writing or any designs on it. He just goes solid colors. And when we are designing a lot of these first patterns, he was like, Kelsey, why don't you just do like black and gray? Yeah blue. I was like not a bad idea. Chris,

Katie Ferraro (13m 27s):

I think the patterns are really cool too. Like I like some of the partnerships you guys have done. Maybe you could just tell us a little bit about like the patterns 'cause clearly a lot of thought goes into them.

Kelsey Larsen (13m 34s):

Yeah, so one of my very first customers back when I was on Etsy hand sewing with just the most basic of patterns ag me in a poster of for little boy wearing the vape. I was so excited Someone had actually purchased something from me and then I looked on her feed and I saw all these amazing surface design, like these cute fish that she had drawn and a bear. And I was like, hold on, do you make, I knew nothing about surface design and she actually drew out for me. I, I'm sure whatever it was that I paid her was enough. But she drew out for me our first three or four custom patterns and she's been with us ever since.

Katie Ferraro (14m 9s):

Oh my gosh. What's your favorite pattern that you have?

Kelsey Larsen (14m 11s):

I think I really, I, it's so hard 'cause I'm a boy mom so yeah I tend to like want the boyish stuff but peachy dreams is really

Katie Ferraro (14m 20s):

Peachy Dreams is so cute. My little daughter Claire wears that one. I love it.

Kelsey Larsen (14m 23s):

So just, oh it's just yummy. Love it.

Katie Ferraro (14m 26s):

Okay, so explain the difference in the sizing. 'cause I know this is confusing for parents sometimes.

Kelsey Larsen (14m 30s):

So the Toddler size, it's so funny how some people will call a 6-year-old a toddler just because they're, they seem so little, they seem so cute to us. I

Katie Ferraro (14m 37s):

Still call 'em babies, right?

Kelsey Larsen (14m 39s):

I know right? The sizing really is toddler, You know, they start walking, they start being a little bit more, they start being a little more independent when they're two or three. So the Toddler size fits from as early as 4, 5, 6 months. We have six months on the package. 'cause that's usually what feeding therapists like yourself recommend baby led weaning begins about that age up to size three T we don't say three years old because a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old can be the exact same size. The five-year-old could be smaller than a 2-year-old. So we go by clothing size three to a preschooler size is more of the 3 to 5 year old range. The sizing is a little bit less restrictive And honestly I have 18 month old babes that like the larger size 'cause they're a little stockier and I have five year old that are real slender and they still like the Toddler size.

Kelsey Larsen (15m 27s):

So there's a, there's quite a bit of overlap between the two sizes

Katie Ferraro (15m 29s):

And my audience, I always just remind them because sometimes they're like well where's the baby one? Oh I don't buy these until they're older. No, the six month old one is the toddler one that you buy for when you're starting solid foods with baby led weaning. And I'm not a feeding therapist but my friends who are in feeding therapy actually all use your products because of You know, the design features that you mentioned that allow the child to have that free range of motion that they need. Because eating is not just about getting the food in their mouth and staying off of their shirt. It's about the gross and the fine motor skills and learning how to feed yourself. And I really have take issue with a lot of these new types of kind of tent style or canopy bibs that are coming out that are literally like putting your kid in equivalent of a straight jacket to eat. They don't have the range of motion and it's just the perfect example of those baby feeding products that are designed for parents and not designed for the baby.

Katie Ferraro (16m 14s):

So I really appreciate your design that you guys have stuck by it. I think it's tried and true and I know you see feeding therapists all over the world using your products.

Kelsey Larsen (16m 22s):

Yeah it really is a difficult conversation to repeatedly have when people keep asking for sleeves, they want sleeves, they want more coverage, they want pockets. And there isn't one teeny tiny little part of the paper that hasn't been thought through. How many kids do you work with that hack all of their little goodies into their little pockets there?

Katie Ferraro (16m 41s):

Thank you for not making more pockets. Like I don't need more pockets or places for kids to put stuff. Also it's gross because food gets caught there. It's

Kelsey Larsen (16m 47s):

So distracting and that's the biggest thing. The same thing with the sleeves. I know there's some kids that are happy to wear sleeves, they don't care if it wrinkles, it crackles, it doesn't matter. There's a lot of kids that that is just enough of a distraction that they start looking at their sleeve. They're cute polka dot sleeve and they're crunchy fabric instead of just focusing on the work in front of them.

KiwiCo (17m 4s):

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Katie Ferraro (19m 7s):

Okay, let's talk about the splash mats. I remember when my quads were doing baby led weaning, we had an infant feeding table and I would look at splash mats and I'd be like, oh I'm not gonna pay for that. Like that's silly, I'll just use like reusable table cloths. So the first one I used was this Easter egg one and it was like so colorful again, totally distracting to the kids 'cause they're always dropping the food and then looking down at it. But I remember like you put that thing in the dryer three times game over. Yes, game over. It was just like shrink up. And then we tried, I'm not joking, I even ordered like restaurant grade mats from Amazon 'cause it was like the goal's not to prevent the mess with feeding right? But to minimize the mess. And I'm like, this is like destroying me. I have to do this three plus times a day. It wasn't until I discovered your splash mats that I was like, oh it's the same exact material as the Bapron and they're huge.

Katie Ferraro (19m 51s):

So I had twins after my quads. We always used one of your splash mats under two tie chairs. So for twins it works

Kelsey Larsen (19m 57s):

On an angle.

Katie Ferraro (19m 58s):

I Love that. Yeah. And then for the quads I would just do two. So the best thing about those two is they're the same material. So they pack down so flat. So like if you're going to someone else's house and you're worried about the mess, I always just pack it in my diaper bag, spread it out, let the kids eat on that, fold it up. You're

Kelsey Larsen (20m 13s):

Taking a message. It's so nice how small they pack up to be.

Katie Ferraro (20m 15s):

They, they're like, they're so small. Exactly. 'cause some of the other ones I'm like, now I need a second diaper bag for my, You know, reusable tablecloth that doesn't even wash or dry. So I love the splash mats. I think they're an awesome size too. They're a really good value. 'cause sometimes people are like, what are they $30 or $40? Like

Kelsey Larsen (20m 30s):

They're, so our solid splash mats are 36 95. Okay. We tried to go with an option. It's the easiest way for us to cut costs is to simplify the patterns to just be solids. And then the prints still a great value. They're 39.95.

Katie Ferraro (20m 42s):

They are, and I know there's cheaper ones out there, but cheaper ones I've used, I tried every single brand obviously and they, they all disintegrate I or they're, they're made out of plastic so you can't put them in in the dryer, which to me is key. I'm not gonna hand wash my kids' splash mats. So

Kelsey Larsen (20m 55s):

Yeah, I don't hand wash much in my life. And that was a really important component was that it would be easy to wash and easy to use and easy to transport. 'cause every time we have this picnic, even in our backyard we have AstroTurf we hear in Arizona. So nobody has real grass. And we'll lay down a splash mat, we'll make a mess on our little picnic, hold it up, throw it in the washing machine and there's no mess anywhere along the stage of eating the washing.

Katie Ferraro (21m 18s):

And for the splash mats, we actually use them a lot in our photo shoots. I like your solid color splash mats. So half the time people will be like, You know you're trying to explain a concept about feeding and they'll be like, what's that thing underneath the highchair? I was like this is the paper and baby splash mat. You absolutely have to have it. But it's something I recommend for everyone for starting solids because you don't want the mess to be so overwhelming that parents give up. But also please just remember it's not your job to prevent the mess but you can't have the right tools to help minimize the mess. So I think your bib, which I used to call a full coverage bib, but we actually stopped calling it that because of these tent style contraption. Bibs. So I like the pin for style. I think I'll start using that. And I always call it a baby led weaning bib led.

Kelsey Larsen (21m 55s):

It was designed for baby led weaning,

Katie Ferraro (21m 57s):

Baby led weaning, promotes independent feeding and your bib is designed to do that. So tell us a little bit more about like the design features. 'cause you said every single feature of it has been really well thought out. But what are we missing when we just look at the bib,

Kelsey Larsen (22m 8s):

The sleeves themselves, when people put it on, sometimes I'll have customers tell me that it's too tight across the chest. The angle of which the ties, imagine it tied in the back by rotating back the, the shoulder area, the sleeves if you will. It opens up the chest and you can tie it a little more loosely in the back for a kid with a bigger rib cage or a little bit thicker child with a really skinny, teeny, I don't know, I hate the word skinny, but a really petite infant. Having it completely tight and then pulling it flat. It gives them a little bit more of a narrow rib ribcage. We, we advertise that it grows with your child And that that rotation is really how it's able to do that. Because as they grow and their ribcage gets bigger and wider and their body gets longer, it shifts forward or back.

Kelsey Larsen (22m 52s):

And then that bowl area if you will, that kind of lays down and they can take anything that they drop off.

Katie Ferraro (22m 58s):

And I do like the ties I was thinking about. So the favorite bib in our house, my favorite is the the peachy dreams. But the cookies and milk one is like the one my kids fight over. So all seven of my kids wear vains. They're six and under. But like if I'm doing breakfast by myself in the morning, like I need to get them dressed first and then feed them. So like I'm not, they cannot get food all over their uniforms for school. So I'll make them wear Bapron and people on Instagram like, aren't your kids a little old for bibs? And I was like, do you wanna come over to my house and do the laundry?

Kelsey Larsen (23m 20s):

You use the

Katie Ferraro (6m 54s):

Bapron. Exactly. So the preschooler one is awesome 'cause even my 6-year-old will still use it 'cause she and they just like kind of go for it.

Katie Ferraro (23m 26s):

They pick their own but they fight over cookies and milk, which we've had for since the surprise sale last year. So I realized we've used it three times a day for over a year. Like literally a thousand wares for one bib. And it like looks as good as the day we got it. Whereas like my other bibs, when I used to use other ones, I, you just throw 'em out after like a month, You know, it's such a waste.

Kelsey Larsen (23m 43s):

Absolutely. One thing too that I was just as we were talking thinking about is with the splash mats, I find that a lot of parents, when something falls, I hate with my husband too, something falls, the parent looks down, it's a distraction to them and mealtime kind of stops. They pick it up, they wipe off the mess. Talk about, oh don't spill that. But by having the splash mat, even my self-proclaimed clean freak of a husband, he'll just let it go and he's staying eyes up interacting with our little boy and it's not a distraction for something to fall on the the splash mat because You know, you pick it up 30 seconds later.

Katie Ferraro (24m 17s):

So I mentioned the surprise sale, which is one of my favorite things that vapor and Baby does. And I wanna know more about the business 'cause I feel like now like, like when I'm interviewing you, I'm, you're in your warehouse, like I'm looking at your warehouse and I just picture like the people that work in your warehouse, like closing their eyes and just like randomly picking stuff. Like how does the surprise sale

Kelsey Larsen (24m 32s):

Work? There is so much more heart that goes into these surprise sales. It's so fun. The girls enjoy packing the surprise sale as much as our customers enjoy picking out which surprise they want. There's a lot of times that we'll notice that someone's from, I don't know, someone who's from Arizona. More often than not we'll get a cactus print. Just little things that we see. They purchased three of the Eric Carl Caterpillar prints and then they wanted a surprise one and we might just throw in the fourth one. Just, You know, little fun things like that. But I find that the surprise sale gives people who maybe didn't wanna take that initial jump into paying. I mean it's a $20 bib. Most people don't buy $20 bibs.

Katie Ferraro (25m 10s):

Yeah. They buy five, $10 bibs and throw them all out. So.

Kelsey Larsen (25m 13s):

Exactly. So it's a good way, it's kind of like a, we call it our portal drug or or a, your gateway bin. A gateway drug. That's the word. And it's just enough to get people to try it out. You know, it's on sale of 1495, how could we not, let's just get one. And I cannot tell you how often I get emails about people saying, okay, so I know the sale's over, but can I, can I maybe get a couple more surprise aprons because I really wish I had gotten six or seven or eight.

Katie Ferraro (25m 38s):

So tell me Kelsey, how did you go from being like an Etsy operation to a full-blown like e-commerce business?

Kelsey Larsen (25m 44s):

Oh goodness. You know, when we started, I didn't know what Etsy was. I had a friend tell me, Hey you should sell that online again, same story we've heard so many times. But within 24 hours of me listing this on Etsy, it sold like made it, sold it tried to make some sort of a packaging and then the snowball effect hit where the next day I sold one and then three days later I sold three in one day. And that Christmas I sold 15 in one day. And then all of a sudden I'm selling enough that I'm like, hey, we could maybe have a standalone business and tie it in to Amazon. What if we sold on Zulily? What if we, and we kind of diversified in that sense.

Kelsey Larsen (26m 26s):

So

Katie Ferraro (26m 26s):

You're kind of self-taught as far as the marketing goes? Oh

Kelsey Larsen (26m 28s):

Absolutely. Shoot. I don't think there is anyone out there who just can't figure out how to do an online business.

Katie Ferraro (26m 35s):

Yeah, it's good and bad, right? Yeah,

Kelsey Larsen (26m 37s):

Definitely.

Katie Ferraro (26m 38s):

But I think with like, especially for me, I know like my audience primarily the majority of them come from Instagram and seeing really is believing every single kid I repost in my stories is, well I only would repost babies who are shown feeding in a safe environment. So I don't actually don't repost naked babies 'cause also just feels weird to repost someone's naked child. But that is, it can be a really negative sensory experience for a child. And again that's the parents being concerned about the mess over maybe the baby's ability to be comfortable when they're eating. But I always share pictures of kids with bibs in it. You're probably like, stop tagging me. I tell you guys,

Kelsey Larsen (27m 9s):

Never, never

Katie Ferraro (27m 10s):

Stop ta tagging. Love it. I think seeing really is believing because you're like, oh that bib is kind of different. What's that called? So I think naming it varum bib is like the best thing 'cause it's a different type of bib. Everything else kind of sounds the same, but you really have a unique product that's really revolutionizing infant feeding because it is developmentally appropriate and it is something that, You know, it is a little bit more on the expensive side, but I think in the long run, like you end up saving money when you buy quality products, when you invest in things that your kid is gonna do every day, they're gonna eat Yeah. Three times a day. It's like parents complaining about a $300 high chair when they just bought a $1,200 stroller. I'm like, are you serious? Like this high chair, if you buy the right one, you will have until your child is 13 or 14 years old, three meals a day, do the math on that. It's like pennies over the, You know.

Katie Ferraro (27m 51s):

But again, some every family values different things, but I think as far as quality bibs go, like you're definitely the only one out there. So we love you anyway. Hey,

Kelsey Larsen (27m 58s):

I love hearing that

Katie Ferraro (27m 59s):

Continue to support you and I, I can imagine Instagram has been a fair amount of your marketing budget and efforts getting

Kelsey Larsen (28m 6s):

Budget. Instagram has been everything. I have a fun confession that we don't pay for marketing. Like ever Instagram was my very first obvious, hey these people don't already know me, they're just coming up on me. I need to pay more attention to Instagram. And it was early, obviously algorithms are always changing. But I think that may have been the reason now that I'm thinking about it, why I switched away from Etsy. I was looking over some like numbers and statistics on Etsy and I was finding that almost none of my traffic came from Etsy. So I was just paying them for the privilege of bringing my own customers to them.

Katie Ferraro (28m 42s):

Yeah, I'm doing free brand awareness for Etsy.

Kelsey Larsen (28m 45s):

Right, right. It was one of those, like you said, it's genius to call it a Bapron. It wasn't initially. Initially it was really hard to have this made up word and I'd go to these markets and they'd be like, Hey this is Bapron baby. And they'd go, what?

Katie Ferraro (28m 58s):

Yeah, but then, but now you're talking to them like, right, like now you're explaining it, you're telling your story. Oh it's a bib and an apron. It's a hybrid bib. Okay. So, and on your website you have the Bapron bibs in the toddler and a preschooler size, you have the splash mat, everything comes in solid colors or the amazing prints. What other products do you carry on your site and how did you come to partner with those brands?

Kelsey Larsen (29m 17s):

So there's a few. Collaboration has always been really big for me. Whether it was collaborating with another handmade shop early on to teach me how to, I dunno how to do a story, an Instagram. There was some really basic things that I needed to learn. And then when it came to growing and expanding and having a warehouse and employees, it was a really awesome experience for me. I actually reached out to Lindsay L from Ezpz. She's the founder of that company. Oh we interviewed

Katie Ferraro (29m 42s):

Her for this as well. Yeah, she's amazing.

Kelsey Larsen (29m 44s):

I love Lindsay. I can't say enough good things about her, but I sent her an email on Christmas Eve asking her a few questions about her experience on Shark Tank.

Katie Ferraro (29m 52s):

Oh she shares very openly about her experience on Shark Tank. She did on our interview. Yeah.

Kelsey Larsen (29m 57s):

Oh I need to watch that one. Honestly it was, it was so shocking to me that someone with so much importance in this category would even take the time to listen or read and then respond so quickly on Christmas Eve day. So from that moment we started talking about, well what if we brought in these brands? I'm not gonna try and rip off. It means that she sells brilliant products like a,

Katie Ferraro (30m 20s):

Which everybody tries to rip off.

Kelsey Larsen (30m 22s):

Yeah. Like products that I use in my own home. I want to sell those products and I don't wanna compete with them, I wanna support them. And it started turning into a back and forth. You know, they sell our products on their website, we sell ours and everybody wins. And there's a few other brands that we've done that honestly, the mealtime favorites category in our website is full of products that I use in my own home. I don't,

Katie Ferraro (30m 44s):

That's what I love. I'm like, I like your bibs. Like I never had heard of the kitty cutter Training Knives and I've tried literally every knife under the sun. It's the only one that cuts food and not your finger. And like it's available on the Bapron Baby website.

Kelsey Larsen (30m 57s):

We actually are just, they are in the middle of Reating their blade. So the 1290 $5 price point that we've got on our knives, it's almost to be no more. The price is gonna have to go up a little. There's still, I mean they're gonna be great blades either way this And

Katie Ferraro (31m 11s):

So if you go to the Bay and Baby website, there's the mealtime favorites, which I was like I love your bibs and your splash mats. So anything else you like, it's like I've been listening to all this stuff about like influence versus influencers and it's like the, your influence of you make a quality product so there's not gonna be not quality products that you're recommending. And I was like gosh, I've never seen a knife like that. So I kind of really got into the knives because I found them on your website and everything on her website. If you guys are interested@bprbaby.com, you can get 10% off with the code KATIE 10. So obviously check out the BPR products but the mealtime favorites is really cool And that the gift pack of the mini mat from Ezpz with the Bapron and baby Bapron bib is like my go-to. I always do a first food set from Ezpz plus the mini mat with Bapron and Baby bundle.

Katie Ferraro (31m 53s):

That's if there's a sale it's around $50. It's a great baby shower gift for parents that are expecting 'cause they don't need another onesie like they are gonna want feeding gear when their baby turns six months and you're turning them onto like quality products that are affordable, attainable, but like made with a lot of thoughtful design in them as well.

Kelsey Larsen (32m 9s):

Definitely.

Katie Ferraro (32m 10s):

Do you have any advice for other parents who are interested in starting their own business based on a need from a problem that they see in parenting? Like what would you advise to them?

Kelsey Larsen (32m 19s):

You know, I think there's a big difference between a hobby and a business and paper and Baby was a hobby for me for a long time and it was a hobby that saved me emotionally from the depression that I was starting to get into by being a at home mom. It can be hard. And when we decided that we were going to make this a business and we were really gonna do something with it, I found that by putting both feet in, that was everything to me. Like having a side gig and just thinking about this little bit here and there. You don't have a competitive advantage on another mom who's trying to innovate whatever. And so I think finding something that you really can get on board with and be passionate about and think about full time.

Kelsey Larsen (32m 60s):

And last night getting ready for a little promotion that we're doing on Instagram, I probably spent, I don't know, two and a half hours sleeping about seven hours thinking about this fun event. I just think really heavily committing to what you want is

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Katie Ferraro (33m 55s):

What would you say is the hardest thing about Running Vapor and Baby? Like what keeps you up at night for seven and a half hours when you're only sleeping for two and a half hours?

Kelsey Larsen (34m 2s):

The fun stuff keeps me up at night. Okay. Very rarely do I lose sleep over the stress of Vapor and Baby 'cause it really is something I'm passionate about. But I think the hardest part for me and us, my husband making decisions was burning down opportunities like PR patients restraint. Not going full bore because when I started this I was like, everyone's gonna tell their best friend about their Bain and it'll double and and every week like thinking that I'll sell hand over fist by the end of the month and then all of a sudden it was a slow burn. And I think sticking with it, not getting discouraged, having the patience and the fortitude to just keep pushing and doing new things and trying new things and learning new techniques on Instagram and just not giving up.

Katie Ferraro (34m 45s):

So could you share a little bit about your collaboration with Eric Carl? 'cause I was really surprised when I saw that come out. So if you guys are hungry Caterpillar fans, they have this like amazing line of hungry Caterpillar products, the bibs, the Vapor and bibs, the splash mats. How did that come about? 'cause was that your first licensing deal?

Kelsey Larsen (34m 60s):

It is our first and likely one of our only ever. I mean, I don't see us doing a lot of licensing deals. It's just not something that I'm kind of like being able to be creatively free. But I have a sweet spot in my heart for Eric Carl. My son's first birthday party was Eric Carl theme Hungry Caterpillar. We had all the different foods and all the different fun ca like design work around and I just really, really love that paper art. So we reached out knowing that we were very small, probably would never be able to catch their attention. And with the help of a few friends giving me little nudges on like what the industry standard is, I was able to trick them into thinking I'm important enough to be a licensee.

Kelsey Larsen (35m 41s):

It's been a great partnership. I feel like we're, we're keeping them happy. They are for sure keeping us happy and I just think those patterns are adorable.

Katie Ferraro (35m 49s):

The yellow piping on the food parade one is my favorite bib of all time. I love it.

Kelsey Larsen (35m 53s):

I do too. I think because I have so many fun foods as a parent you're trying to make mealtime fun and talking about Jesus on your baby. There's a little piece of cheese and, and making everything a matching game. I've seen a lot of parents sharing stories on Instagram about how these fun food connections, we have quite a few different patterns that feature food are able, they're able to say, I wanna wear my, my vegetable bib because I'm having vegetables, our taco party pattern. I probably sell more taco parties on Tuesday night after Taco Night than any other time of the week. Someone just finally is like, I'm done. We're doing,

Katie Ferraro (36m 29s):

Whenever you get the wine glass one, I'll be your biggest fan of the wine glass bib. If you're, You know, you, you make products for parents and for kids as well. But don't you make adult line,

Kelsey Larsen (36m 38s):

You know, we have run a few adult lines. What I'm finding though is that I'm not passionate about it,

Katie Ferraro (36m 44s):

Dude. I don't like matching my kids. So I, I'm sorry I never bought one. Dawn was always wearing one and I was like, I can't do it. Like, sorry.

Kelsey Larsen (36m 49s):

There are a lot of people who tell me now that they can't get it. They wish they would've. I just really decided to stay in my niche. Adults are fun to dress, I guess for some people. I just really love finding cute patterns for babies and infants and toddlers and cool unique products for preschoolers that parents maybe haven't seen before. And shoot, I have more than enough work on that category. I don't need to mess with adults anymore. So

Katie Ferraro (37m 12s):

Kelsey, tell us where we can go to learn more about your company, VA and Baby.

Kelsey Larsen (37m 15s):

So Bains are sold on Amazon if you prefer Amazon shopping. It's just if you type in Babe and Baby, all one word, VA and baby, you'll find our collection there. But we also have a standalone website, which is the bread and butter of this business. So it's Bapron baby.com, B as in fib, apron as in a kitchen apron, Bapron baby. Or if it's easier, just Google the word Bapron. You'll find it.

Katie Ferraro (37m 39s):

Well Kelsey, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

Kelsey Larsen (37m 42s):

It was great to meet with you and to go over all of the, all of the things that I love about what we do here.

Katie Ferraro (37m 47s):

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that interview with Kelsey Larson, the founder of Bapron Baby. They make bibs splash mats. They've got all sorts of feeding gear on their website. You can get 10% off with the code KATIE 10. You can also get 15% off the Bapron products from the Ezpz website@ezpzfun.com slash baby led. Again, that code is BABYLED for 15% off. I'll put all of the links and references that Kelsey mentioned today on the show notes, which you can find@plwpodcast.com/118. I love interviewing female founders, but especially moms who made a solution to a problem that they encountered when they started having babies. So it was such a great pleasure to get to speak to Kelsey and I hope you will help support her small business, Bapronbaby@vaandbaby.com.

Katie Ferraro (38m 35s):

A special thank you also to our partners at Airwave Media. If you like podcasts that feature food and science and using your brain, check out some of the podcasts from AirWave or online@blwpodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you next time.

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