Small Business Saturday 2020 – Part 1

Every Saturday in the month of November, I am going to feature a couple small businesses that I have either ordered from in the past six months or that I plan to order from before the end of the year. I love the quality of items that I have purchased from small shops. I also love knowing that there is an actual person on the other end of my order (quite possibly doing a happy dance).

Today, I’m sharing a couple of baby/kids clothing shops. In no particular order:

Sweet Leaf Lane | Handmade Girls Dresses

These are the cutest hand-made dresses and pjs. Kali, the creator and seamstress of Sweet Leaf Lane started this shop when she had her first baby girl. Now, having 2 girls, she specializes in sister sets. In her own words, sister sets are “coordinating girls dresses that complement each other like peanut butter and jelly.” Kali had her holiday launch yesterday (November 6, 2020). Many of her Christmas dresses are in non-traditional colors but are still festive for the season. The dresses are so beautiful that I had trouble choosing. I narrowed it down to the Christmas Gingerbread Pocket Dress and the Christmas Gingham Wrap Dress and let my daughter choose. She chose the Gingerbread Pocket Dress. Who doesn’t love a dress with pockets?!

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But wait, there’s more…

All of last year’s items are discounted 25% (no code necessary) through Sunday night, November 8, 2020. They are only available until she runs out. I have trouble resisting a sale (especially when I’m already placing an order). I ordered the November 2019 Dress of the Month for my oldest and the Christmas Rudolph dress for my youngest. It was perfect that she has leggings in her shop as well because it’s currently snowing here! I ordered the Candy Cane Stripe Leggings.

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Make sure to follow Sweet Leaf Lane on Facebook and Instagram to find out the Dress of the Month (DOTM). These dresses are $29.99 and can be found in the “New” category on her website. The November 2020 dress is the dress below.

Sweet Leaf Lane is based in Idaho, USA (Mountain time zone). Current turn around time is 2-3 weeks. If you post a picture of your girl(s) in one of her dresses, make sure to tag her on Instagram @sweetleaflane and use the hashtag #sllsweetie. At the end of the month, she draws a winner for a $50 shop credit!

Wooly Monsters | Handmade Baby Leggings

Wooly Monsters are adorable 100% wool hand knit pants made for babies and toddlers with a fun monster face on the bum. The wool is both breathable and warm at the same time, making it suitable year-round. It also works amazingly as a cover for natural cloth diapers but can be used with disposable diapers as well. My personal favorite was the Rainbow Monsters because I love the bright colors but also for Arynne’s story behind them. Arynne, the creator and knitter behind Wooly Monsters, was courageous enough to share her story with me and allow me to include it below.

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The Story Behind Wooly Monsters

I asked Arynne why she made these baby leggings. She shared the following story with me and allowed me to share her story here. “Knitting is a very calming and therapeutic process for me. Back in the summer of 2019, my little family decided to expand and we started trying for a baby. I knew I wanted to cloth diaper with natural fibers like cotton and wool, as I had with my teenager years ago. So I started looking into wool pants and covers and was saddened to see there was a lack of colorful and fun hand knit longies available. So I ordered some wool yarn and made a plan to make my own. Unfortunately, that pregnancy ended in miscarriage before I could start making anything.”

“Fast forward to 2020 and the crazy new world we all found ourselves in, and another pregnancy loss that I couldn’t explain. I had made a few wool things that time while I was pregnant, based on patterns available online, but they were all just a little off.”

“As we decided to keep trying for a successful pregnancy, I also decided I need something to keep my hands busy. So I made a pattern and knit a pair of rainbow longies as a gift for a family member’s rainbow baby. And I perfected my pattern and sizing, allowing myself to imagine our baby one day wearing these little monsters. As I shared my creations, I realized a lot of other mamas out there would like something fun for their little ones and opened Wooly Monsters. My favorite are the rainbow stripes, they just make me so hopeful for the bright futures of the babies who wear them.”

I am so grateful to Arynne for sharing her story and I hope her dreams expanding her family come true. Make sure to follow Wooly Monsters on Facebook and Instagram. Wooly Monsters is based in Utah, USA (Mountain time zone).

More small businesses to come

Next week, I’ll be talking about adult clothing shops. Make sure to check out my next 3 posts featuring more small businesses.

This post is not sponsored. All opinions are genuinely my own.