Mr. Bobbles' Blankets
is a small (but rapidly growing!) mom-owned business based
in Maryland just outside of Washington DC. We have customers
in 50 states plus Washington DC as well as internationally
(Ireland, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Okinawa Japan, Marshall
Islands, England, Italy, South Africa, India, Bahamas).
Our products are used in several daycare facilities across
the United States, as well as the in-room cribs at a Hyatt
Regency hotel in the Washington DC area. In addition to
our website, our products are sold through several online
boutiques. We also have several retail
locations across the US carrying our products.
The company is owned and run by Renee Sirulnik - an entrepreneurial
mom who has always loved sewing and creating things. Renee
was surrounded by sewing her whole life - one grandma was
a seamstress who worked in a garment factory in PA, while
the other grandma was always crafting and working on a new
creative project. Renee's mom is an avid watercolor artist
as well as seamstress and generally creative person - the
type of mom who made everything from bedroom curtains to
fancy Easter dresses, Halloween and school-play costumes.
She also designed and made Renee's wedding dress. Renee's
dad is creative in a different way - teaching her how to
think "outside of the box" and come up with new
ways to solve problems - to "invent" things using
everyday objects.
Prior to starting Mr. Bobbles' Blankets, Renee worked
for 12+ years for software companies as a technical writer
developing user guides and other documentation for computer
software. While pregnant with her second child in late 2004,
Renee decided to leave the computer field and focus full-time
on growing her family as well as business.
At Mr. Bobbles' Blankets, we strive to offer unique and
yet practical gift items for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers
with top notch customer service. All of our products are
sewn on a small scale in the USA. We spend a lot of time
choosing fabrics and only buy from manufacturers with a
reputation for high quality fabrics and fun designs. We
try to buy materials made here in the USA when possible,
and especially like to support smaller mom-owned or family-run
business. All of our products are designed with input from
parents and children.
We respect and value our customers and
will always work hard to ensure satisfaction. Personal information will
never be sold or disclosed.
At Mr. Bobbles' Blankets, we are focused on customers - offering the
best possible products at competitive prices with personal
attention to each customer. We are more than happy to work
with you on a special order or custom request, as we have
done for many of my customers. If you receive an order that
is not quite what you expected, we will work with you to
make sure that you are satisfied.
During the spring of 2000, the first of Renee's friends
was taking the plunge into parenthood - with TWINS! For
her baby shower, guests were asked to bring something stress
relieving for the mother-to-be. Renee brought a 6-pack -
but not just a regular 6-pack, a 6-pack of blankets for
her precious new babies. Renee created six baby blankets
presented in a cardboard 6-pack carrier covered in wrapping
paper. The 6-pack of blankets was the hit of the shower,
so she created a few more for other girlfriends also having
babies that year.
Renee started to get feedback from friends about how much
they loved the baby blankets. Friends (and their babies)
preferred her baby blankets to some of the designer baby
blankets they had received as gifts. They said that the
generous size made the baby blankets so versatile, and the
fabrics were so soft, colorful, and fun. As their babies
grew, they enjoyed naming the animals, shapes, and colors
on the baby blankets. And most importantly, they loved cuddling
with the soft and cozy baby blankets into toddler-hood.
In January 2002, Renee had her first child and experienced
first-hand how wonderful and versatile Mr. Bobbles' baby
blankets are. As any mom with a newborn will attest (especially
a mom of a newborn with reflux!), Renee found that she was
ALWAYS doing laundry and couldn't seem to have enough clean/dry
baby blankets around. Renee also started making burp-cloths
which have become a big hit as well.
Mr. Bobbles' Blankets was officially launched (part-time)
in Spring 2003. Renee was still working full-time in the
computer field, but realized that she had a potentially
great business idea to pursue. Within a few months of launching
her new part-time business, Renee was shipping baby blankets
up and down the East coast, out to the West coast, and even
as far as South Africa and India! We now also have customers
in all 50 States plus Washington DC, Ireland, Canada, Okinawa
Japan, Puerto Rico, Marshall Islands, England, Italy and
Germany. Our products are also used in several different
daycare facilities across the United States, as well as
the in-room cribs at a Hyatt Regency hotel in the Washington
DC area.
In late 2004, Renee found out that she was pregnant with
her second son and decided to leave the computer field and
devote her time and energy to her growing family and business.
Renee gave birth to her second son in early 2005 and he
also loved being swaddled and cuddled in Mr. Bobbles' Blankets.
Those spit-up and swaddling days are now gone, but both
of her sons still love their blankets. Her youngest son
is attached to his Mr. Bobbles' Bips (security blanket)
and uses them to comfort and soothe himself before falling
asleep. We have also added toddler pillows, no-slip playard
sheets, washlcoths, Mr. Bobbles' Bips, burp cloths, nap
mat sheets, and larger supersize blankets for older kids.
Renee has personally used all of the products on an almost
daily basis and can attest to the practicality, durability,
and cuteness!
When Renee's first son was born, he tried to lift his head
on the very first day. Early on, he was so active and determined
to move, roll, and kick. He was so wobbly and bobbly that
she started calling him Mr. Bobbles, which quickly became
his official nickname. When it was time to come up with
a name for her new company, Mr. Bobbles' Blankets was the
perfect choice!
We have lots of ideas at Mr. Bobbles' Blankets
for new product lines. Stay tuned and keep checking back with us frequently
to see what's new.
Our best product ideas come from parents, so we'd love to hear from you
with ideas and suggestions!
Thanks so much for supporting a mom-owned business!! |