FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kathie
Papera
310-796-0888
kathie@lilypadbaby.com
BORN AS A KITCHEN TABLE
START-UP, LILYPAD BABY EXPANDS PRODUCT LINE AND BUILDS NATIONAL
DISTRIBUTION
900 Percent
Growth Spurt Fuels Product Expansion to Include
Gift Sets,
Burp
Cloths and Blankets
MANHATTAN
BEACH, Calif. (October 19, 2003) – In 2000, after investing a
small fortune on shower gifts, Kathie Papera, conceived the idea to
provide a source for personal, specialized baby gifts that are useful
and well designed, yet affordable.
Working from her kitchen table in Manhattan Beach, Calif.,
she started creating baby bibs
featuring cowboys, flowers and airplanes that she gave away as gifts
and sold by word-of-mouth.
Three years
later, Papera runs the self-funded Lilypad Baby from that same table
and distributes the bibs nationally through the company’s web
site (www.lilypadbaby.com),
one of the top-rated sites on Google and a growing list of boutiques
nationwide.* Babies across the country, including those of a growing
number of celebrity moms including Catherine Bell, Jenny McCarthy,
Krista Miller and Shannon Sturges are now sporting Papera’s
creations.
After
experiencing a 900 percent jump in sales in one year, Papera and her
husband Scott, (a successful film and TV commercial director/writer and
part-time Lilypad customer service director) have expanded the product
line to include matching burp cloths, blankets and gift baskets.
According to
Papera, “When I started out that day in my kitchen, I had no
idea these creations would become the foundation of my company. I picked unique fabrics and spent
countless hours making stylish baby bibs for my friends and their
friends and their friends and so on. Through trial and error, I came up
with a design that was as functional as it was fashionable. After much
prodding from family, and with the unwavering support of a loyal
customer base (also known as my closest friends), Lilypad Baby was
born.”
All of the bibs, and
now coordinating burp cloths and blankets, have a story behind the
design -- each is named for a special baby in Papera’s life,
including Gabriella, her first baby who was born in February 2003. The entire product line is
available in a growing array of designs and all are 100 percent cotton
for easy-care wash and dry.
In addition
to distinctive designs, the products are constructed with special
construction elements in mind. The
bibs are reversible with a Velcro closure. The burp cloths
are compact in size (7” X 14”), small enough to
throw over the shoulder or lap and absorbent for maximum protection,
and are made with soft cotton interlock and a corresponding bib fabric.
The blankets are trimmed with matching bib fabric.
Seventy
percent of the products ordered through the Lilypad baby web site are
personalized, which has become a particularly popular option due to the
special technique that prevents the reverse of the embroidery showing
through the other side. Bibs
are $11 and $15 with embroidery. Burp
cloths are $9 and $13 with embroidery. The blankets are $36 with free
name embroidery. The gift sets, which include all three items, are sold
retail for $20-105.
Papera, 33,
worked in advertising in San Francisco and Los Angeles for 10 years
before starting Lilypad Baby as a side business. It has since become a
full-time labor of love for this new stay-at-home mom.
*
Stores offering Lilypad Baby products include Pretty Please in New
York, Bees and Bows in Kansas City, Town Home in Philadelphia and
Bachman’s in Minneapolis.
###
Note
to Editors: additional information and samples are available for your
review. Please contact Kathie Papera at (310) 796-0888 or kathie@lilypadbaby.com