Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Winterer.
Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself and how you got started.
I am an English Language Learner (ELL) teacher in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. I was a classroom teacher at international schools in Guatemala and China before I moved home to pursue being an ELL teacher. I love working with students and families that are from all over the world, but with the pandemic it became extremely stressful. While in lockdown, I was looking for a creative outlet to deal with the stress of online teaching. I was scrolling through Tiktok, because who wasn’t on Tiktok during quarantine?! I stumbled upon silicone beads used to create adorable teethers. Having several friends who were pregnant and just had babies, I thought this was the perfect unique and creative gift for them. After gifting my friends the teethers, they came back asking me to create more for their friends and family. I had so much fun designing each teether I became very passionate about this new found creative outlet. My husband saw how happy it made me he encouraged me to create MNbaby into a business. We made it official in May 2021!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been a fairly smooth road. My husband and I have slowly invested our money into the business to help it grow. We had a little bump in the road getting our Minnesota teether to us. I knew I always wanted to create a Minnesota shaped silicone teether, but needed to find a person to mass produce them. I finally found a manufacturer and spent months going back and forth about the design. We finalized everything, the Minnesota teethers were made, and were shipped out! I was beyond excited, but also nervous since I invested a lot of money into making this happen.
After a few weeks of waiting, I started to hear about all the boats with shipping containers that were stranded off the coast of California. Of course, my teethers were on one of those boats! I needed them in time for a major Christmas craft show and started to panic. After keeping a close eye on the news and communicating with my manufactureer, they finally made it to me one week before the show. I spent the next few days frantically making clips for the Minnesota teethers. Luckily, they were a smash hit at the Christmas craft show and all throughout the holiday season. They continue to be my best sellers!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
MNBaby specializes in unique, high quality teething items for little ones. All of our products are safe for little ones to chew on. The beads and teethers are all made from BPA free, food grade silicone. We pride ourselves on having products that are chemical free and safe for little ones. We are known for our Minnesota shaped silicone teether, as well as, our unique custom designs. I also create chewelry, chewable jewelry, for children with special needs. Being a teacher, I work with many students who need oral sensory input and use chewelry. However, their chewelry necklaces only came in limited shapes and designs. I wanted to create something that could express their interests and likes.
You can not only find MNbaby products on our website, but you can also shop in stores at Minnesota Makers and Unearthed Arts.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I grew up in Brainerd, MN and have many fond memories of spending time outside with many neighborhood kids. Our favorite thing to do in the summer was to explore the woods behind my house. There was a creek that fed into the Mississippi, trails to walk, and trees to climb. We spent hours building bridges to cross the creek, rope swings, and treehouses. In the winter, we would go sledding down the big sand dunes and slide along the frozen creek. There wasn’t a part of those woods we didn’t know.
Pricing:
- Minnesota Teethers $20
- Pacifier Clips $12-15
- Other teethers $20-27
- Chewelry $22
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.mnbabyco.com
- Instagram:www.instagram.com/mnbabyteethers
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mnbabyteethers
