When guests stopped by at bedtime, she wanted her daughter, Olivia, to look nice. But Christina Lari didn’t have any elegant bedtime lounge-wear to dress her two year old with – so she created her own. Working full time in her family’s real estate development firm, Christina is involved in renovating townhouses in New York City. Her mother had brought back beautiful sleepwear from a recent trip to Europe and it was made of the softest cotton. “I loved the simple elegance of the pieces and wanted more of them.”
But when Christina found nothing in the local baby stores, off she went to the fashion district to source the material. “The cotton was the perfect fabric for what I wanted to create but it was difficult to acquire.” Finally she found the Pima cotton – from Peru – in Los Angeles and took it, along with her self-created, European-inspired patterns to a New York City production company.
She decided to create a full line of toddler sleepwear that imbues old world class and charm. “When I came home from work, I wanted my time reconnecting with my daughter to be special. I wanted her to be dressed in a charming, yet comfortable, bedtime outfit like the ones my mom brought her from Europe and I figured other moms would want the same thing.”
Christina self funded her first order of samples not really sure what her next move would be. She was learning the process as she progressed through each step. But she had an advantage. Several of her friends had their own children’s wear lines; Kimberly Goodwin with Snapping Turtle Kids, profiled on VentureMom and Christin Rueger of Chic Child, soon to be profiled. These two venturemoms offered their insight and assistance. The name came from her daughter, Olivia, and what she and the other grandkids call Christina’s mom. “Owie” turned to Owen, hence the name Olivia & Owen for her new loungewear.
“A friend of a friend helped me set up a web site and e-commerce and I decided to do a small first run.” Through word-of-mouth and good buzz, Christina sold 60% of that run on-line and was on her way. Then the three moms ran a two week pop up shop. Sharing ideas and stories during their time running the shop gave Christina more ideas on how to grow. With half of her office filled with Olivia & Owen inventory and the other half with real estate files, she manages her full time job and runs Olivia & Owen in her free time.
Her signature piece is the nightgown. “People fell in love with the sleepwear and I realized I needed help with sales and marketing if I was going to build on my success.” So Christina did what many moms do, she went to her mom network and found a friend with a newborn who had left her full time job in marketing. Helping Olivia and Owen turned into a perfect fit for this mom.
Planning to attend the Children’s Wear show in August, Christina’s goal is to be in stores across the country. She now produces six styles for boys and girls in pink, blue and white. She says, “I had a vision and made it happen. Sometimes I ask myself, ‘What did I do?'” With the popularity of dressing children in her comfy, yet elegant Pima cotton loungewear, Christina won’t find any time for lounging herself….any time soon.
Contact: www.oliviaandowen.com, [email protected]
VentureMom Tip
If you love a product but can’t find it locally, explore ways to create your own.
