> Who We Are
> Our History
> Our Designs and Innovations
> Our Mission
> Our Manufacturing Process
> Commerce with a Conscience
> Contact Us

> Who We Are
kissed baby is a privately-owned company originally begun in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and now based in Bowmanville, Ontario (about an hour's drive from Toronto). kissed baby started out originally in 2002 as "cxd baby", named after the founder's daughter, and was re-branded in June 2008.

^ Back to top
__________________________________________________________________
> Our History
Soon after our daughter's birth in 2001, we discovered that there was a name for the parenting philosophies and ideals that we instinctively wanted to practice: "attachment parenting" (AP). Our readings on AP lead us to babywearing, and we tried an uncomfortable front-pack carrier, an uncomfortable padded sling (both well-known brands), and a WAHM-made unpadded sling that wasn't quite our style (and that, to tell the truth, fell apart within three months). We decided that we could design our own fashionable, comfortable, unpadded sling. We received many curious requests and compliments, and the company was born in January of 2002.

We believe that at that time, we were the first in Canada to openly associate the terms "fashionable" and "stylish" with baby slings, and many of our customers have told us that we were trailblazers. Since then, kissed baby has been constantly evolving and improving to meet customer needs and requests and to set ourselves apart from the pack, with innovative twists on the sling, as well as more products that we thought we could improve upon.

^ Back to top
__________________________________________________________________
> Our Designs and Innovations
We took our Montréal fashion sense and combined it with our parental desire for good function: We emphasise that style and great looks are just as important as comfort, and we make slings that go with your wardrobe, not your baby's! After all, we understand that a parent's look is about more than just teddy-bear prints and colours to hide spit-up!

Some of our innovative features over the years include:

• We are officially the first anywhere in the world to offer slings made of 100% bamboo fabric
• We were the first sling-maker ever to hand-bead designs onto a baby carrier, let alone use semi- precious stones and crystals!
• We introduced an Embroidered Panel on our Ring Sling shoulder, which has now expanded to include embroidery on our Pouch Slings and Mei Tais. The embroidery is exclusively designed here at kissed baby, and won't be easily found elsewhere, and we also give customers the option of having their own designs embroidered by us.
• We starting offering an optional Mobile Pocket^TM in matching (or contrasting) fabric, when everyone else is doing a tail pocket that bangs against the thigh or knee. As other sling-makers have become "inspired" by our design, we've differentiated and improved our attachment style so that it now has no clunky hardware (and a great new name).
• We package in an attractive drawstring bag of cotton and coordinating fabric, so that no plastic or vinyl is ever used for our products.
• We sew differential-colour stitching on the Ring Slings, to help the wearer visually separate the tail sides (and upper and lower rails) when adjusting the sling.

We're constantly experimenting with fabrics and styles, so keep your eyes open for unique new features.

^ Back to top
__________________________________________________________________
> Our Mission
We offer slings that are not only comfortable, but also fashionable, in our desire to see more parents proudly bond with their child. Often, we would hear someone say that they never wanted to use a sling because it looked too "ethnic" or "hippie", or the prints available were too childish or dull. If it takes a cool print, a great-looking silk, or some hand-beaded detailing to positively change someone's mind, so be it. To that end, we also offer slings that are priced a little higher than The Basic cotton slings, for the fashion appeal.

^ Back to top
__________________________________________________________________
> Our Manufacturing Process
Not only are our products proudly made in Canada, by kissed baby employees, and by work-at-home parents, who are professionally trained by us. Buying a kissed baby product means that you're supporting a parent's decision to be at home, and supporting a stress-free, commute-free work environment. In the final analysis, our goal is to encourage a new way of thinking about manufacturing, business, and home life.

Our philosophies on fair working environments are ones that:

• as much as possible, do not separate a working parent from child, just to sit them in front of a sewing machine in a factory; and
• do not outsource to a factory in a poorer country to make our product more profitable, because we believe that living fairly and peacefully is a part of our social responsibility.

^ Back to top
__________________________________________________________________
> Commerce with a Conscience
Our mission as business people is to not only support ourselves, but to share with others, and model for our children what it means to live with compassion. This is why we make a charitable donation (in the form of either funds or merchandise) every month to a different non-profit organisation or charity that we personally support. Past recipients have included La Leche League chapters, Ontario Early Years Centres, Toronto Sick Kids Hospital, international aid efforts, etc.. In addition, we periodically donate fabric to the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto, for use in children's learning projects.

^ Back to top
__________________________________________________________________
> Contact Us
slingme @ kissedbaby.com
Phone: 905.447.3525 (Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST)

Please note that we have a new address as of June 2011, for standard mail and pick-up orders. Call or e-mail us for our postal address.

When you get in touch with us, we try to respond as quickly as possible. But sometimes, computer systems go down, and answering machines go on the fritz. (Sometimes e-mail doesn't even by-pass our spam filter.) So if you haven't heard back from us in 48 hours, assume that something went wrong, and please contact us again by an alternative method.

A great Canadian product that will be very useful! Kindest regards, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, Montréal, Canada

Read what people are saying about kissed baby . . .