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Jan Norman on Small Business ~ News and practical tips for and by Orange County small business owners

Moms invent solution to dropped baby blankets

July 18th, 2009, 12:00 pm · 8 Comments · posted by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Moms become incredibly inventive when their baby’s blanket falls off the stroller and drags through the dirt.

stroller-suspendersAt least Rina Yano and sister-in-law Tricia Manell did. The two moms created Stroller Suspenders and have started a company, Omma, based in Tustin that is now selling the product worldwide from the company web site.

They also have a large order from the 400-store Baby Depot and Stroller Suspenders should be on the shelves in August, Yano says.

The designer version sold only online costs $18. The Baby Depot Basic Series sells for $9.99. There are six colors.

The patent-pending design doesn’t snap on a baby’s hand or damage blankets, Yano says. They’re baby-31manufactured in the United States.

“We originally got the idea three years ago when my sister-in-law had her first baby. Then when my own son was born I discovered there was nothing like what I wanted on the market,” Yano says.

Yano is a practicing attorney so she was able to do all the legal work to start Omma. But Manell does all the day-to-day work.

Omma has become a real family affair. Yano’s dad Eiji Yano, owns A and F Inc., a computer distributor in Tustin, and handles Omma’s warehousing and shipping.

“We just had the designer line, and then Baby Depot approached us about making a more affordable version because of the economy,” Yano says. “Under $10 isn’t too much of a stretch, and I  hear that the baby industry is recession proof, so we’ll see. We do get a lot of orders for the designer line from grandparents.”

(Click on images for larger view)

baby-11baby-22

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8 Comments

8 Comments

  • JK says:

    Tuck the blanket around the little tyke instead?

  • Marley says:

    Awesome idea, dang wish I had thought of that instead of duct tape.

  • Irwin Orwin Urwin says:

    Great idea. Now can you come up with a diaper that includes an integrated bidet?

  • Me says:

    I’m sorry thats the dumbest idea I’ve ever seen and thats a lawsuit waiting to happen ( hello babies get strangled by dangling things) they basically found a new use for a suspender!!! ooohhh ahhhhh people in orange county are so easily impressed it kills me…

  • deedee says:

    Or how about baby poop that doesn’t smell.

  • ration alley says:

    These are exactly like I still have for bedsheets. I bought mine at the fabric shop, Jeannie’s I think. They help keep fitted sheets really taut and neat. Never thought of this use, cause never owned a stroller. Good luck with an updated version of an old idea.

  • rainman says:

    i agree with Me…that’s so dumb….and like deedee said…how about baby poop that don’t smell…hahahaha…

  • sue cassidy says:

    That is an “artificial need” if there ever was one. AND a lawsuit waiting to happen. Sorry, I’m just not seeing the value of this thing.

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