Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Ulmer.
Hi Alexandra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve come a long way since growing up in Oklahoma City and learning to sew in Jeremy Scott’s Hollywood Hills garage (with the sound of coyotes howling outside!) My journey started in Fashion Design with a focus on knitwear and has grown to include entrepreneurship and my passion for wellness. I moved to London at age 18 to study Knitwear Design and took those skills to NYC and Portland, OR, where I designed apparel and footwear for luxury and sportswear brands.
In 2019, before starting a family of my own, I launched AU Baby, the first organic, purely plant-dyed baby blanket collection. After 10+ years designing behind the scenes for other companies, I was ready to take a leap and bring my passion project to life. I come from a medical family with lots of doctors and healers, and I’ve always been fascinated by the human body and our ability to thrive under the right circumstances. I always wondered how I would marry my dual passions for knit design and wellness, and becoming an entrepreneur perfectly bridges that gap. My lifelong passion for human health and my personal experience in healing myself from a laundry list of chronic gut conditions (thanks, childhood stress!) is the perfect launching pad for a new category of baby products that serves babies with truly functional health benefits.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Fashion Design is an incredibly competitive field, making my career journey a challenging one from the start. Apart from choosing a path where success is as rare as becoming a Hollywood star or pro athlete, I was also geographically disadvantaged by being born and raised in Oklahoma City. Not exactly the hotbed of material innovation or fashion design! That being said, I’ve never minded being an underdog. In fact, it’s made me fearless in the face of insurmountable odds. Just like I knocked on doors to land my first fashion internship in NYC at age 17, I love networking and making connections that help AU Baby grow bigger by the day.
Launching a self-funded direct-to-consumer brand during a pandemic pregnancy came with a lot of risks. What if there isn’t enough marketing budget to get in front of our consumer base? How will we get exposure without a traditional retail model? I have welcomed all the difficulties as a learning experience and am looking forward to building AU Baby into a household name.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about AU Baby?
AU Baby is the world’s first clean, sustainable baby blanket collection. We provide a welcome solution for parents looking for a safe, soft, sustainable baby blanket, all while outperforming the industry standard. Did you know that the average baby blanket is made with petrochemicals (polyester)? Materials matter and our natural fiber is a top performer for some of the world’s messiest consumers — babies. We’ve harnessed the performance properties of extrafine merino, the cashmere of wool, to help induce sleep and actively soothe sensitive skin. Merino resists microbes, smells and stains while also staying wrinkle-free. Perhaps the most amazing benefit for parents? It only needs laundering once or twice a year.
On top of re-inventing the baby blanket, we also offer a truly sustainable supply chain and product lifecycle, no greenwashing necessary. Made with love in downtown LA, our blankets are made with 100% traceable, renewable, long-lasting and biodegradable materials. Our Italian plant dye process means zero toxins entering wastewater or coming into contact with sensitive skin. It’s a win-win for baby and Mother Earth.
We’re proud to provide an easy answer to the perennial question — what is the perfect baby gift?
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We hope to inspire people to consider the fabrics they put on their skin with the same scrutiny and conscientiousness as what they choose to eat.
Pricing:
- Sawa Blanket $160
- Popcorn Blanket $160
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aubabyshop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.u.baby/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShopAUBaby
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/37252560/admin/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AU_Baby_Shop
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMpEwrBHWu1XMSL2wmjsG8Q
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@au_baby_shop
Image Credits
Robbie Augsburger for headshots. Alexandra Ulmer for the rest.
