In many countries, women use long strips of cloth to tie their babies to their bodies while they’re working or doing chores. In Mexico, the slings are called rebozos. In Dallas, they’re sometimes called EllaRoos, sometimes Hotslings.
The women, Vesta Hartman Garcia, founder of EllaRoo, and Kristen DeRocha, founder of Hotslings, have tapped into a subculture of parents who think wearing their babies improves their offspring’s mental and emotional development.
“When my daughter was born, there was really a blooming online community of what we call babywearers. That’s one word,” Ms. Garcia said.
She began importing carriers in 2002 because she couldn’t find them in stores. Now the business she began in her home as a way to chase away her stay-at-home mom boredom has more than tripled in size.
Ms. Garcia, formerly a neurobiology researcher, designs colorful fabric and baby slings in her office in an old mill in McKinney. Whole Foods and Babies R Us carry her products.
“You wear your baby while you have two hands free to make a sandwich,” she said. “It allows you to go about your day and make sure the baby is safe and happy.”
Ms. DeRocha founded Hotslings out of her East Dallas home in 2003 when she started sewing the baby carriers because she couldn’t find them in stores.
“The baby carrier market was really pretty slim at that time. There wasn’t much to choose from in terms of style,” said the former high school science teacher.
This year, Ms. DeRocha expects to sell 250,000 carriers through her Web site and through other retailers.
The businesses compete with each other, but the founders have become friends. They even rented a lakehouse together one summer with the founder of a third baby carrier business in Austin.
“There’s enough customers to go around,” Ms. DeRocha said.
Image from EllaRoo.
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