One of the greatest pleasures I get from this project is dedicating an entire post to spotlight just one site.
Today’s featured site is Nifty Nappy and it’s the very latest site to be added to the Mona Lisa.
What I really love about this post is that it’s written by the site owner and as such you get a real feel for the person behind the business.
So without further delay, allow me to introduce Vilate:
Cloth addict
Hello my name is Vilate Thacker and I am admitting to the world that I am a cloth diaper addict. There I said it. This really isn’t news to those that know me. I live, eat and dream cloth diapers. Well, I guess I don’t really eat them. I do live better though, because of all the amazing friends I have made and all the interesting information I have gathered. I try to be a little more eco-friendly and help my family live healthier. All because I decided it would save us a little money to cloth diaper.
It all started when we were poor college students. We had two baby girls, they aren’t twins, but they are super close, about as close as you can get. With two little ones we were pinching our pennies, one day I saw a pattern at a small town store for a cloth diaper. I asked my mom what she thought and she said if I would do the sewing and really use them she would buy me the stuff I needed. We bought some diaper flannel and… ok I admit it… some plastic pants. YUCK! My first diapers were some flannel fitteds with velcro. I know so much better now.
We used these for our first two kiddos until the baby developed really bad rashes and we couldn’t get them to clear up. With no support system I gave up and we used disposables for the final diapering of number two. When number three came along we still used the disposable diapers until I met a gal that used pocket cloth diapers. I loved these ones. They had snaps and a waterproof layer in them! How awesome is that? Then she told me how much they cost and I thought… I can make them for less than that. So I did. I spent the money I would have spent on the diapers and I bought some of the right fabrics and an industrial snap press and made my own diapers.
I really learned a lot from that first set of pocket diapers. I sewed them all wrong and they leaked around the edges if they were left on too long. So you can imagine our mornings were always wet with lots of extra laundry. I knew that this was not the way they should work, so I got on the internet and I did a LOT of research. I discovered better, more absorbent fabrics. I took the time to learn the qualities of these fabrics so I could know how best to use them. With the discovery of organic fabrics like hemp and bamboo fabrics I went looking for a cover. This is when I discovered wool covers. Oh how, I love wool! Now I could have an amazing absorbent fitted cloth diaper and a natural breathable cover. I was overjoyed!
My new cloth diapers I made worked great! I couldn’t believe how good they were.
After all this work and effort I already had the supplies so I decided to make some cloth diapers and sell them. They worked great for my last four kids maybe other people would want a nice diaper too. I started selling my cloth diapers on etsy and eventually I decided to start my own cloth diaper website, Nifty Nappy Cloth Diapers. It has just grown from there. I now have seven active retailers and I am adding more all the time. My Nifty Nappy fitted and Woolie Wrap combo is touted as a great night-time solution for the heavy wetter. I also make a pretty mean PeachyKeen Pocket diaper and the most adorable SnappySwimzEaze, which is a reusable swim diaper. What do I like most about what I do? I love the interaction I have with other mothers. I love that I can help them determine what it best for their families and live a greener lifestyle.
Vilate
Twitter: MyNiftyNappy
Facebook: NiftyNappy
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: DaveFowler
July 14, 2010 at 20:17
Vilate, you have fantastic website and what looks to be a terrific product.
It’s a real pleasure to have you associated with the Mona Lisa Million project and I look forward to shouting about you here and also on Twitter.
Dave.
Thanks Dave! This looks great! I love the picture choices too.
Twitter: DaveFowler
July 15, 2010 at 06:58
Glad you like it. You made it easy for me, so it was a real joy to put this together.
Those are adorable cloth diapers!
Another way that cloth diapers can save money is that you can resell the ones in good condition after you’ve potty trained your last child. I’ve known people to almost entirely recoup the cost.
Diapers have come such a long way since my baby brother was in cloth. Those plastic covers were the worst. Blech.
Thanks for pointing that out Tracy!
That is a good point Tracy, thanks for bringing that out. I don’t ever think about that because I have given away all my cloth diapers. LOL! The original diapers I made are now covering the bums of some of my nieces and nephews. BUT I do know that resale is huge in some online communities!
Greatest site name ever. Haha. It has a much different connotation for me and I wish I’d thought of it first
Thanks Erica! It was an evolved name though. I started with an etsy shop… I called it Vilate’s Nifty Nook, and sold all sorts of craft things, but the diapers are what sold the most. When it got big enough and I decided I needed a website I wanted to keep the “Nifty” and the Nappy sounded cute with it. So it stuck!
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