Meet Jessica and Alyx

Jessica & daughter

Alyx & son

Hello there! I'm so happy to get to introduce you all to our staff, so you can put a face with the names of our employees. I'll be sharing a few introductions at a time and will hopefully have everyone posted by next week, so be sure to check back often!
First up, we have Jessica & Alyx.

*What does working at Starlight Stitches mean to you?

Jessica: Working at Starlight Stitches gives me the chance to contribute to a cause I believe in with a bunch of cool creative moms. I like that it is an opportunity for my daughter to connect with a group of awesome kids in a healthy environment to play and explore.

Alyx: Working at Starlight Stitches means to me that I can work alongside my son without the worry about leaving my young child at a daycare. I can take a break and feed him when he is hungry. I can wear him when he needs comfort or a nap. Or I can let him play next to me if he wants to play. Working here has allowed me to be both a mom and a worker at the same time. It allows me an easy transition for him into a daycare possibly later on down the road. It allows him to learn to play and socialize with other children while still having mommy close for when he needs me. And it allows me to get back into crafts and sewing while making things for other moms.

 *What is your creative method or medium of choice?

Jessica: This is always evolving! Lately I've been making birthday hats out of paper bags with felt flowers and glitter for my daughter’s 1st birthday.

Alyx: My creativity flows through dance for me. I have been a Lindy Hop swing dancer since about 2009, and it's something I've done religiously for the past several years. I have traveled around the country to dance events and have Lindy Hop friends from around the world. While pregnant, I went out dancing once or twice a week the whole time, and would feel my son dance and kick inside me as Fats Waller, Django Reindhart, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, and Cab Calloway played on and on. I love the social and "loose" aspect of Lindy Hop and that you don't have to be a professional dancer to do it.

 *What is your favorite thing about being a parent?

Jessica: Watching her grow as she figures little things out, and her sweet smiles and songs.

 Alyx: My favorite part of being a parent is the way my son looks at me with his eyes full of overwhelming unconditional love. Here is the tiny human who I grew inside me and I mean the world to him!

 *What is your most embarrassing moment (that you're willing to admit to us)?

Jessica: I do things all the time, it’s too hard to choose!

Alyx: My most embarrassing moment would have been worthy of viral video status if it was caught on tape. I was a wedding photographer for 3 years and I was once photographing a wedding at a vineyard here in Albuquerque. It was after the ceremony when I was taking formal shots of the bride with bridesmaids and family, and the rest of the guests were off to the side having hors d'oeuvres watching the fury that happens of trying the quickly put together group shots. I had just helped organize a family group shot as I hurriedly backed up while looking down changing my settings on the camera. But I had forgotten that there was a low-to-the-ground fountain behind me. Yep! I tripped my heel on it backing in and I, along with both my cameras, fell completely into the fountain that was about a foot or more deep in front of all the guests and a horrified bride and groom. Thankfully, no photos were damaged as I was super quick to shut off power and not attempt to use the memory cards until a few days later and they were dried off. But it put a kink in photos for the rest of the day as I used only my drier camera. I don't think I had ever apologized as much as I had that day.


Thanks so much ladies! It's so good to get to know you!

Referral Contest Leaderboard

Hello! Well, week #1 has come to an end! Our referral contest has taken a slow start. So far, the number one spot is GoGo Rocket with 3 points! Second place is Courtney Hughes with 2 points.

At this point, it would be really EASY to jump ahead and take the lead and win the HUGE $600 prize pack or $300 CASH! All you have to do is share our campaign. You can share with you family, friends, on your blog, on your Facebook, or wherever you think people would find it interesting. Click here to find out all the details on how to win.

Welcome!

Welcome to our campaign! ♥ ♥ ♥ I am Lacy Pontes, the owner and creator of Starlight Stitches, a small, handmade children's clothing and cloth diaper business. I am a mom to 2 year old identical twins, Orion and Sunny. They are my drive, my passion, my life.

My husband, Jeff, and I have been dreaming for some time about a new business model. One that supports stay-at-home parents in contributing to their household income without having to send their children off for care. One that builds a community, provides a support system, and inspires creativity.

Well, just recently we snagged an opportunity to bring this dream into reality. We rented a commercial/retail space and have hired 15 amazing women who share our passions about supporting small businesses, providing quality, handmade items. We have turned a portion of our retail space into a children's school/play place, another part into a retail showroom, and the rest of the area is becoming a fun, vibrant, work space.

Our work place is structured so that the moms (or dads) working can bring their children to work with them to participate in a safe, fun, engaging environment that fosters social interaction, learning, and creativity. Instead of hiring child care workers to staff the "school" and requiring our employees to pay for childcare, each employee takes turns in the kid's room. They are responsible for coming up with fun and stimulating activities. This promotes parent involvement in their children’s learning and allow the children to get all of the benefits of a traditional preschool without paying the high price for low quality care. We also provide the opportunity for moms to wear their little babes in a baby carrier while they work.

Starlight Stitches has been in business, providing quality handmade products for children, for about 1 1/2 years. The feedback and support we have received from our customers has been enormous. We love striving to provide the very best products and service to each and every customer. We are constantly learning from our mistakes, listening to our customers, and improving our processes.

We are so ecstatic to be able to expand our little business, make more products, expand our retail sale of other amazing products, and build on the incredible community that we have already started to form! This revolutionary business model, however, will not generate a profit as quickly as a traditional business. That is where you can help! Your support through purchasing perks, sharing with your friends, and helping to spread the word about our business will help us to grow this little business into something truly incredible! ♥ ♥ ♥

How much do we need?

To start off, our goal is only to reach $7,500. This number is our break-even point for the campaign (so we will definitely be shooting for some stretch goals once we reach this point).

Breakdown of expenses for $7,500 of campaign perk sales:

$4,700 - Perk fulfillment (product, materials, and labor)

$650 - Campaign advertising and giveaway prizes

$600 - Unplanned campaign expenses (margin of error)

$550 - PayPal and Indiegogo fees

$1000 - A month of rent to stay afloat

What do you get?

So, now you must be excited to learn about the AMAZING perks we are offering! We have compiled a huge assortment of products that are fun, inspiring, handmade, or eco-friendly. There is something here for everyone! Due to limited space here on Indiegogo, we have set up a blog page for each more detailed information on each of our perks. Click on the links below to get the scoop on all of these incredible products! 

Special Surprise Perks

We also have some exciting surprises coming. Each week we are going to feature two special perks from two amazing WAHMs (work-at-home-moms). We will announce these special perks each Friday and they will be available to purchase the following Monday. These special perks will only be available for ONE week each! Make sure to check back frequently to see what new, exciting products are available.

Fabric Prints

For this campaign we have 3 very special fabric designs that are being printed just for us. We have made limited amounts of these designs available to other WAHMs and home sewists. Many of our perks offer these 3 prints as design choices. We hope that you love them as much as we do!

Perks

• "I <3 Handmade" Vinyl Sticker
• Cloth Diaper Wash Instruction Magnet
• Sensitive Plant Kit
• Plantable Thank You Card
• Changing Diapers Book
• A la carte StSt Children's T-Shirt
• LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls
• A la carte StSt Maxaloones
• A la carte StSt Hybrid Fitted Diaper
• Horse Feathers Silk Wrap Bracelets
• Starlight Stitches Cuddle Cloud Blanket
• Eco-Kids Art Supply Kit
• Complete DIAPER Set
• A la carte StSt Cuddle Hoodie
• Deluxe Starlight Stitches Set
• Ultimate Set
• Ultimate Designer Set

Timeframe

Most of the products we are offering as perks are handmade, therefore they take time to produce. We plan to combine every supporters perks into one fabulous package. We will begin shipping packages as soon as every perk for the package is finished. Ready made perks, such as the Sensitive Plant Kits or LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls, will ship as soon as we have them as long as there are no other items in that we are waiting on. 

The Impact

We are so excited and passionate about the work that we are doing and the business model that we have created. We hope that with your support, we can work out the kinks so that other businesses can take on this model. We truly believe that it can become the way we work in the future (just as it was done in the distant past). It seems to be the natural, biological way. Parents should be able to stay with their children and still contribute to their household's income.

Other Ways You Can Help

A campaign like this can only be successful if people know about it. Sharing with your friends, family, and social networks, will mean the world to us! There are links above that you can click to easily share with your social networks (you can even win some amazing prizes by sharing). Have a blog, please type up a quick post. Know someone who might like one of our perks, send them a quick email (or even better, a handwritten note). You can also help by just leaving us a quick comment on this page! We appreciate you! ♥

Want to win some cool swag?

Weekly Giveaways

Each week throughout the campaign period, we will be hosting a giveaway of some of our best perks. Make sure to check back or join our newsletter to get the details on each one.

REFERRAL GIVEAWAY

Want to win an incredible prize package worth over $600 or $350 CASH? All you have to do is SHARE! Click here to get the details!