Monday, February 21, 2011

Smarty Mom: Meghan Hampton

Smarty Mom: Meghan Hampton

Click link above for the full article located at Charlotte Smarty Pants.  Here is an excerpt:

You have a clothing line called Addie & Ella? Where did you and your Partner (Mai-Lis Bahr) find inspiration for creating this line, how did you get started and where can we buy these AWESOME pieces? 
We really started it with an idea to help moms out with droolers. We both had kids who drooled so much and their clothes were always soaked down to their chest. We thought if there was a way to have removable collars that looked like they were part of the outfit but kind of acted like a bib then our mommy woe would be fixed. We had a few samples made and next thing we knew we were dealing with manufacturing plants on other continents. Our line has grown so much from then. It has been a steep learning curve with some bumps, but along the way but it has had a tremendous response. We are really proud of it. I am blessed with the most amazing partner. I can honestly say, we are still going strong because of her. We will be in Shower Me With Love with our Spring/ Summer collection and over 50 boutiques primarily throughout the Southeast.

You used “Cottie & Cake” as the charity division associated with your clothing line? Tell us about it. 
We really wanted our company to give back in some capacity but we were not sure which charity we wanted to partner with. After spending 10 weeks in the NICU at The Levine Children’s Hospital, it felt so natural to find a way to give back to them. During our stay, I had the most amazing nurses and they took such pride in dressing the babies and making sure that their isolettes looked a cheerful as possible. We decided to use fabrics from our collections to create soft and colorful blankets to help brighten the unit for babies and their loved ones. We have 1,400 being shipped in the next few months. Scottie’s primary nurse lived by the motto that “when you look good, you feel good”. It is our hope that we can make as many babies look good so they can feel good on their road to recovery.

Tell us about the Charity event you are organizing centered around the NICU and how can our readers get involved?
“In the NIC of Time” is the first local charity event to raise money specifically for the Neonatal Intensive Care at Levine Children’s Hospital. They do such amazing work everyday and truly make miracles happen. There are 7 of us working to make this event come to life along with two incredible event planners from Carolina’s Healthcare Foundation. This is the first of what we hope will be a yearly event. It is going to be an amazing event with great entertainment at the Duke Mansion on June 2nd. If anyone has been touched by NICU experience or just wants to get involved, they can contact Sheri Joseph, see contact info below.