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on our event blog

Be sure to check out the cute images from the Bethenny Bakes product launch on our event blog today. 

We're adding many more ideas, features, and news on our event log that specifically focus on kid's parties, baby showers, kid product launches, and other family oriented events... so stay tuned!

Petunia tells Cal Poly Magazine how it all started ...

Cal Poly Magazine recently profiled our client Petunia Pickle Bottom.  What started as a standard profile revealed some inspiring facts about Mom-&-Dad-Preneurship the Petunia way! 

We've excerpted writer Jo Ann Lloyd's piece below:

Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Salma Hayek and Heidi Klum all have one.

Oprah Winfrey presented one to Julia Roberts during an Oprah show. Even Sheryl Crow sings its praises.

It all started while on an extended trip to Alaska, where [married couple DeNai and Braden Jones] had time to explore their career options. “We had no mortgage, no children. It was the right time to take a risk, to pursue our goals of building a business,” Braden said.

His first challenge was to convince a “totally risk-averse” DeNai, who thought a teaching career would offer security, a regular paycheck and summers off.

When the couple returned to Ventura, they got right down to it. DeNai did everything by hand. In a room above her parents’ garage, she traced the patterns and cut them out. She soon found a store in Santa Barbara that she knew would be a good fit for the high-end diaper bags she was designing.

“We started out slowly, from scratch. Soon our bags were appearing in celebrity magazines,” DeNai said. “It got to the point where I could'nt’t cut them fast enough. So we risked it … we took out a personal loan for $30,000 and had a few hundred units made.”

As business grew, they realized they needed someone to help market their product. They brought Korie Conant on board as vice president and director of brand development. The three of them worked for years with no pay. “Korie worked as a waitress at night. We were totally boot-strapping this thing,” DeNai said.

The company now employs nearly 20 and distributes to more than 1,200 retail outlets nationally and internationally. Their bags, ranging in price from $150 to $325, are sold in high-end baby boutiques and stores such as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

But DeNai and Braden recall more humble days. “In the beginning, we had to create a façade larger than we were. We didn’t want people to know we were working out of a room above our parents’ garages. We had one phone with nine extensions, and family members who would answer, ‘This is John in Shipping.'”

After five years, DeNai is finally getting to do what she loves – designing. “I always wanted to focus on just the design aspect of the job, but I was busy packing boxes, putting out fires, making phone calls.”

Petunia Pickle Bottom headquarters is the kind of place that nurtures creativity.
A large loft-like space with wood floors, high ceilings, huge windows and a view of
the Pacific, the offices are open and airy and light. “We’ll pay a little extra for a good working environment,” Braden said. “We want it to feel like family.”

And no wonder. Both DeNai and Braden have nothing but the highest praise for their families, especially their parents. “Our parents supported us all the way,” Braden said. “They gave us strong foundations. You can’t jump far without a good foundation.”

What’s next? “We want to expand the brand, make it more noteworthy,” Braden said. “We want to grow the company, too. We’re on the next five-year plan, which includes multi-product launches in the baby industry.”

And multi-baby launches, as well. DeNai and Braden are the proud parents of two-year-old Sutton and are awaiting the arrival of a second son in March. Korie had a boy last October.

Bodacious Book Launch

When I first saw this photo I thought someone had hired a stripper to promote a children's book.  (Now that's a take we have yet to see).

Turns out it's just little 'ol Katie Price (aka Jordan the British Playboy model - not quite a stripper) launching her new series of children's books 'Mermaids and Pirates' at Waterstones, Harrods today in London.

I will say, she's well covered up in her fuchsia mermaid costume (I thought mermaids always wore green!), but there's just something so un-children's-book like about Katie (and I suppose this is the primary reason we're all posting images of her on websites across the globe).  I understand that Katie/Jordan is all the rage in Europe, with millions of hyper dedicated fans - licensing this and that (most of us have no clue who she is over in the US BTW).

Anyway, the kid's books are apparently semi-autobiographical to make the photo op even more humorous -the stories feature a blonde mermaid called Katie and a pirate called Peter (her real life hubbie).   Oh those crazy Brits!   

 

Branding: When good publicity goes bad

This is the age of the personal brand.  Dr Phil, one who promotes no nonsense therapy and works hard to curtail ridiculous behavior, certainly has gotten himself jammed between a pop star and the wrong end of the media gun. 

Negative publicity for the Doc has spanned the airwaves since his visit to Britney's hospital room a few weeks ago. Releasing a statement post visit was clearly not the thing to do, and calls into question Phil's creditability.  This on the heels of a string of bad business moves puts his career into crisis...(his stock dropped for me when he started doing match.com commercials and promising users they would find the loves of their lives online).

From a PR perspective, Phil has no moves left on the subject but to apologize and say he misspoke, which he sort of did this morning on the Today Show.  Stating "if he had to do it over, he wouldn't do it again" can be construed as an apology, but his tone still sounds defensive and little arrogant. 

In my opinion Dr. Phil needs to throw himself on his sword and just say he made an error in judgment.  History tells us that it's not so much the crime, as the cover up that snarls the legacy of public figures.  People are much more willing to forgive and offer a second chance to someone who is remorseful and willing to come clean, than someone who stubbornly stands by their mistakes.      

The Dr Phil brand needs to get moving past the Britney bump and get on to a new campaign of public outreach of some sort.  A project conceived in the true spirit of charity would help the good doctor's image right now immensely - they're certainly enough causes out there these days that could use his hand.  For someone who is equated with doing good, Phil should take a page from Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt, the Kennedy's, and Angelina Jolie...he doesn't need to make a profit from every personal project.