Lil Cubby

Name
Mary Ayres

Business Name
Lil Cubby

Describe what you sell.
My daughter Sara and I sell handcrafted items for babies and toddlers. I am the designer and create all the items we sell. My daughter takes care of everything else. We embellish onesies, t-shirts, tank tops, diaper covers, burp cloths, and bibs with our original designs and we also make booties - lots of booties!

What is your real life like?
My kids are grown. My parents live with my husband and I. We live in the country. It’s very beautiful here. My hobbies are sewing and crafting. I have a small room that has floor to ceiling cabinets that are filled almost every craft material available and even some that are no longer available. I love old vintage items, especially buttons, ribbon and lace. I have many jars of old buttons. I just can’t resist them.

What is your process?
I love monotone print fabrics that look like solids. I consider them to be like paint. I have all the colors. When the fabrics are appliquéd on the baby items, they have so much more texture and life than solid fabrics. I’m a big fan of rick rack. I’ve always loved rick rack, even when it wasn’t fashionable. Maybe it’s still not fashionable but I think it’s fun. I use little bits of rick rack in my designs whenever I can. I also like to add pieces of ribbon, buttons and hand embroidery. The finished designs have more of a three dimensional look with all the different textures of the materials. The booties are made from wool felt, fabric and ribbon. I like to find fabrics that have a different look, like a leopard print, or skull and crossbones - something unexpected. But I also love traditional fabrics, like linen and chenille.

Business Goals and Vision...
My daughter and I want to keep our business small and personal. We love the interaction with our customers, trying to create something special for each person. My short term goal would be to continue spreading the word about our designs to increase our sales. My long term goal would be to do this full time. We want the business to grow but not too much.

How do you market your business?
An article about www.lilcubby.com was featured in our local newspaper. We currently have a two page spread in Crafts ‘n Things magazine. The article is called “Turn Your Passion Into Profit”. We have a shop on Etsy and that’s where we have gotten the best response about our business. You’ll find us there at www.lilcubby.etsy.com. A few people have put links to our Etsy shop on their blogs and we’ve participated in a couple of give-aways on blogs.
Do you subscribe to any business related blogs, zines or magazines?
I subscribe to Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion magazine. They feature artists and their homes. It’s always full of unique, very creative people.

What inspires you?
I’m inspired by almost everything. I love to go through catalogs that come in the mail. I’m always tearing out little pieces of catalogs and magazines and I keep them in my idea box. Whenever I need some inspiration, I go to the idea box. I can always find something interesting there.

What are two of your favorite things from your shop?
One of my favorite things in our shop is the monkey birthday shirt. It’s simple and fun. You can find all of our birthday shirts at http://www.lilcubby.com/birthday.htm. My second favorite would be all the booties. When I look at new fabrics now, I contemplate whether or not it would look good as booties. I guess if I really have to pick, my absolute favorite booties are the white chenille ones. I love the nubby texture. They have a vintage look to them. You can find our booties at http://www.lilcubby.com/babybooties.htm.

Am a fan of these places...
The websites that I frequent most are www.reprodepot.com (they have wonderful fabrics that you don’t see other places), www.paperaddict.com. (I love Basic Grey papers - the textures are great!), www.purlsoho.com (more great fabrics but these are more contemporary), www.blueridgemist.com (wonderful natural scents), and www.yourATCstore.com (interesting little finds).

Find seller at...
You can find my daughter and I at www.lilcubby.com and www.lilcubby.etsy.com. Please come visit us.