New things

So you never know, when you have a new idea, if it is good one or not. As an entrepreneur, you are always coming up with new ideas. The last really big "new" idea that I had was for themed shopping cart covers, like flowers, baseballs, footballs, etc.


I wouldn't say that they were a flop, but they certainly didn't make me famous, lol.

Now comes my next big "new" idea, the HUGS bear:

We've been making purses from military uniforms for almost 4 years now, so we thought that it was time to add something for the kids as well. I've been working on this for so long now, and really I need to get some better pictures (cause it doesn't quite show in the pic, but they are SUPER cute!), but I have been so anxious to reveal this new project that I just couldn't wait any longer! I even designed my own logo:

I'll probably go back and have this professionally done, but it will do for now.

How did this idea start? Well, most people are familiar with the Daddy Dolls, my oldest daughter Sydney even has one. But my youngest daughter, Sophie, was only 3 weeks old when my husband left for Iraq this last time, so the Daddy Doll wasn't something that she really associated with. But she does have a special teddy bear (in fact, she's sleeping with it right now). So somewhere, some how, the two things sort of just merged in my head- a deployment doll and a teddy bear!

Then a mad dash to see if someone else had already thought of it (which I haven't found), and then the real work started- actually designing the bear! I wrestled with plastic eyes and noses forever, before I finally decided that if they ever came off, they'd be a chocking hazard anyway, and so embroidered eyes and noses were best. The final version is bear #6, and our testers have had them for about 4 weeks now, they've been washed, loved, beat up and generally well broken in, so we felt like it was okay to finally introduce them.

I am so anxious to see what everyone thinks? Are they the next "must have" or will they be a flop? You just never know, and that's the exciting part. I suppose if poor copies start popping up on MySpace and Craigslist, then I'll know they are a hit. After all, if they are good enough to copy, they must be a success.

We'll see....