Interview from www.TheBabyWearer.com
Michelle Schlensker owns 3Tree Design, an online shop focused on bringing products to the modern family that are eco-friendly, comfortable and affordable. Read our interview to learn more about Michelle's life as a busy mom in Southern California as well as her early experiences as a worn child in Korea.
Describe your business.
3Tree Design is a family owned business that grew out of love for my family. Our business focus is to bring products for the modern family that's eco-friendly, comfortable and affordable. The main product so far is the Anaju Wrap that's made from organic bamboo and organic cotton. If you've ever felt any organic clothing, you'll know how uber soft these wraps are.
When we decided to cloth diaper our youngest son, we discovered the benefit of bamboo fabrics. It's eco-friendly, affordable, lightweight, highly absorbent, and it has properties that would make a great baby wrap so the Anaju Wrap became our first product in a line of products. We try to think of products that will make lives easier for busy moms and dads and caretakers, but we also keep the environment in mind when designing products for 3Tree Design. It's another way to love my family, to give them a better life.
We are in the midst of designing and testing our Posy Pocket Folds which will be affordable prefolds that will have a pocket in the middle to add more absorbancy. Prefolds are always a favorite with budget savvy parents, so we want to bring the great properties of bamboo fabrics to the world of prefold users. Along with these great products, we will add some accessories from other manufacturers that we've come to love ourselves so that one day 3Tree Design will be a great source for eco-friendly products for your babies.
Tell us a bit about where you live.
We love living in the suburbs of Southern California. We're only half an hour from Disneyland, an hour or so from Los Angeles or San Diego, half an hour from major airports, four hours from Las Vegas, a road trip from San Francisco or south of the border. It is a busy and bustling area, as there's a lot of commuting since everything is spread out, but it's more relaxed than living in the heart of a big city like LA. There's the beaches, hot summer days, cool evenings, drizzling rain when we're lucky and oh, how can we forget earthquakes. It's easy to meet up with other babywearing parents, and we often have spur of the moment get togethers to share our new fluffies while enjoying the sun.
Tell us a bit about your family.
I'm Michelle, a busy stay at home mom to two young kids, and Tim, my husband, is a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern at two Christian Counseling centers. He's also a Starbucks barista early in the morning, so he often brings me a nice free drink to start my busy day.
I'm a naturalized Korean-American, and Tim is a 5th or 6th generation German-American. We have been babywearing, breastfeeding and co-sleeping every since my daughter was born, and we finally got up the courage to part-time cloth diaper and use cloth wipes when our son was born two years ago. We have found all those ways to be attached to our kids have helped us to bond with our children, but we encourage any way you can to love your child. We don't push attachment parenting to others though we see the benefits, but as Christians we follow what we think would be God honoring and encourage others to love one another especially their children.
How long have you been in business?
I started out with my UhBoohBahBaby business about four years ago, so I'm not a newby on TBW. I began the 3Tree Design endeavor about a year ago.
What is the most challenging thing about manufacturing/selling baby carriers?
I think the most challenging thing about selling baby carriers is that it's a very niche market. Everyone has their own preference, and with so many great options out there, it's more challenging to market your products as more unique. Also with such big stores to compete with, it's difficult to convince people to purchase your product when they can easily add an item to their registry they've never tried with the push of a scanner.
What is the most rewarding thing about manufacturing/selling baby carriers?
I love it when a mama tries on the wraps and oohs about how ultra soft and snuggly it is. And when she pops in her little one (especially the ones that need a good nap and are cranky), and the baby calms down right away as she snuggles against her like that's what she's wanted all along.
Tell us about your personal babywearing journey.
Wow, my personal babywearing journey started way back when I was worn in Korea. I remember being on my mom's back in a traditional Korean podaegi, and how it was so comfortable being with her. Not only with her, but I was worn by anyone that was available. Knowing how awesome babywearing is, I can't help but to promote that with anyone I come in contact with. I convinced my SIL to babywear. She purchased a custom modern pod and is still wearing her almost 2yo DD and is planning on ordering one for her co-worker with her expectant baby in June or purchasing the Anaju Wrap.
How do you balance your personal and professional life?
I think it's easy to mix the two when you're still babywearing. When I'm out with my girlfriends, they see I'm wearing my son still at 2yo, and it's an easy way to talk about my business. We have a very hectic schedule most of the time as Tim is juggling 4 part time jobs currently. I have 3 businesses with one being on hiatus, so we do a lot of tag team parenting. When he's home for a few hours, I try to relax to gain energy to do some work and take care of the kids until after 10pm when he comes back home. He puts them to bed if he's back early, and I take care of more business so that orders can go out by morning. I've found Facebook to be a great way to connect with other busy mom friends, to support each other and to schedule times to meet with each other. I try to get out to see others at least once a week. Having friends who also share the same loves makes it easier to keep going.
What do you see for the future of babywearing?
I'm not quite sure yet. If this was asked maybe 2-3 years ago before all the negative publicity sprang up, I probably would have come up with a quicker response. However, I think we as a babywearing community will need to step up more in the future to educate people. It's a great moment for us to step back and remember ourselves about the fundamentals of babywearing so that others will not give up on wearing our children out of fear.
Describe your favourite babywearing memory/moment(s).
My favorite babywearing moment is whenever the babies relax their bodies then you either hear or feel their breath on your body as they're comfortably sleeping. It tells me they trust me, they feel comfortable and it's natural.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge in getting carriers into the hands of new parents?
New parents (just like myself when I first started) get overwhelmed with a lot of things when they have a newborn on their hands. So choosing a baby carrier is not the first thing they're thinking about usually. Most of the time, they're reaching for carriers that they registered for, and someone else gave them. I think most parents like myself included start researching for a new carrier when their back starts hurting from using the popular babycarriers. I would love for babywearing families to start giving my Anaju Wraps as baby shower gifts so that they'll have the option of choosing that when they bring their new baby home.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Please don't forget to fan our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/3treedesign for news and updates!!
:: Michelle and her family ::
Michelle Schlensker owns 3Tree Design, an online shop focused on bringing products to the modern family that are eco-friendly, comfortable and affordable. Read our interview to learn more about Michelle's life as a busy mom in Southern California as well as her early experiences as a worn child in Korea.
Describe your business.
3Tree Design is a family owned business that grew out of love for my family. Our business focus is to bring products for the modern family that's eco-friendly, comfortable and affordable. The main product so far is the Anaju Wrap that's made from organic bamboo and organic cotton. If you've ever felt any organic clothing, you'll know how uber soft these wraps are.
When we decided to cloth diaper our youngest son, we discovered the benefit of bamboo fabrics. It's eco-friendly, affordable, lightweight, highly absorbent, and it has properties that would make a great baby wrap so the Anaju Wrap became our first product in a line of products. We try to think of products that will make lives easier for busy moms and dads and caretakers, but we also keep the environment in mind when designing products for 3Tree Design. It's another way to love my family, to give them a better life.
We are in the midst of designing and testing our Posy Pocket Folds which will be affordable prefolds that will have a pocket in the middle to add more absorbancy. Prefolds are always a favorite with budget savvy parents, so we want to bring the great properties of bamboo fabrics to the world of prefold users. Along with these great products, we will add some accessories from other manufacturers that we've come to love ourselves so that one day 3Tree Design will be a great source for eco-friendly products for your babies.
Tell us a bit about where you live.
We love living in the suburbs of Southern California. We're only half an hour from Disneyland, an hour or so from Los Angeles or San Diego, half an hour from major airports, four hours from Las Vegas, a road trip from San Francisco or south of the border. It is a busy and bustling area, as there's a lot of commuting since everything is spread out, but it's more relaxed than living in the heart of a big city like LA. There's the beaches, hot summer days, cool evenings, drizzling rain when we're lucky and oh, how can we forget earthquakes. It's easy to meet up with other babywearing parents, and we often have spur of the moment get togethers to share our new fluffies while enjoying the sun.
Tell us a bit about your family.
I'm Michelle, a busy stay at home mom to two young kids, and Tim, my husband, is a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern at two Christian Counseling centers. He's also a Starbucks barista early in the morning, so he often brings me a nice free drink to start my busy day.
I'm a naturalized Korean-American, and Tim is a 5th or 6th generation German-American. We have been babywearing, breastfeeding and co-sleeping every since my daughter was born, and we finally got up the courage to part-time cloth diaper and use cloth wipes when our son was born two years ago. We have found all those ways to be attached to our kids have helped us to bond with our children, but we encourage any way you can to love your child. We don't push attachment parenting to others though we see the benefits, but as Christians we follow what we think would be God honoring and encourage others to love one another especially their children.
How long have you been in business?
I started out with my UhBoohBahBaby business about four years ago, so I'm not a newby on TBW. I began the 3Tree Design endeavor about a year ago.
What is the most challenging thing about manufacturing/selling baby carriers?
I think the most challenging thing about selling baby carriers is that it's a very niche market. Everyone has their own preference, and with so many great options out there, it's more challenging to market your products as more unique. Also with such big stores to compete with, it's difficult to convince people to purchase your product when they can easily add an item to their registry they've never tried with the push of a scanner.
What is the most rewarding thing about manufacturing/selling baby carriers?
I love it when a mama tries on the wraps and oohs about how ultra soft and snuggly it is. And when she pops in her little one (especially the ones that need a good nap and are cranky), and the baby calms down right away as she snuggles against her like that's what she's wanted all along.
Tell us about your personal babywearing journey.
Wow, my personal babywearing journey started way back when I was worn in Korea. I remember being on my mom's back in a traditional Korean podaegi, and how it was so comfortable being with her. Not only with her, but I was worn by anyone that was available. Knowing how awesome babywearing is, I can't help but to promote that with anyone I come in contact with. I convinced my SIL to babywear. She purchased a custom modern pod and is still wearing her almost 2yo DD and is planning on ordering one for her co-worker with her expectant baby in June or purchasing the Anaju Wrap.
How do you balance your personal and professional life?
I think it's easy to mix the two when you're still babywearing. When I'm out with my girlfriends, they see I'm wearing my son still at 2yo, and it's an easy way to talk about my business. We have a very hectic schedule most of the time as Tim is juggling 4 part time jobs currently. I have 3 businesses with one being on hiatus, so we do a lot of tag team parenting. When he's home for a few hours, I try to relax to gain energy to do some work and take care of the kids until after 10pm when he comes back home. He puts them to bed if he's back early, and I take care of more business so that orders can go out by morning. I've found Facebook to be a great way to connect with other busy mom friends, to support each other and to schedule times to meet with each other. I try to get out to see others at least once a week. Having friends who also share the same loves makes it easier to keep going.
What do you see for the future of babywearing?
I'm not quite sure yet. If this was asked maybe 2-3 years ago before all the negative publicity sprang up, I probably would have come up with a quicker response. However, I think we as a babywearing community will need to step up more in the future to educate people. It's a great moment for us to step back and remember ourselves about the fundamentals of babywearing so that others will not give up on wearing our children out of fear.
Describe your favourite babywearing memory/moment(s).
My favorite babywearing moment is whenever the babies relax their bodies then you either hear or feel their breath on your body as they're comfortably sleeping. It tells me they trust me, they feel comfortable and it's natural.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge in getting carriers into the hands of new parents?
New parents (just like myself when I first started) get overwhelmed with a lot of things when they have a newborn on their hands. So choosing a baby carrier is not the first thing they're thinking about usually. Most of the time, they're reaching for carriers that they registered for, and someone else gave them. I think most parents like myself included start researching for a new carrier when their back starts hurting from using the popular babycarriers. I would love for babywearing families to start giving my Anaju Wraps as baby shower gifts so that they'll have the option of choosing that when they bring their new baby home.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Please don't forget to fan our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/3treedesign for news and updates!!
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