Business & Tech
New Shop Offers a Unique Selection of Products
Buttercup Baby, a new Ellington business, specializes in cloth diapers and other baby-friendly products.
What started as a financial decision has turned into a passion for one Ellington woman.
When Audrey Marandino’s daughter, Sophia, was born, Marandino knew she wanted to do cloth diapers. Now, she owns , a specialty shop that she runs out of her home.
Marandino, a 2004 graduate, said that she began thinking about cloth diapers when parents at the daycare center she worked at mentioned them. Wondering what she had missed – these can’t be the same cloth diapers of old, can they? – she started looking into them. What she found was surprising.
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“It was a totally foreign concept,” she said. “They’re completely different nowadays. The only reason I even started looking at it was because we were just on such a budget and I was looking for ways to save money.”
Once getting into the cloth diapers with Sophia, the idea came to turn it into a business. During the October snowstorm, Marandino escaped to Maine, and while she was there – being bored – she decided she needed a project. But it had to be something that could keep her busy, but also keep her home with Sophia. And so, Buttercup Baby was born.
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“That sparked everything,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. I know that I can’t not work, so I’d rather do something here. Something that’s still fun, but brings in enough money that we can stay home and have fun.”
There are no places in the area that cater to cloth diapering, and Marandino said that some of the customers she has helped were going to travel a long distance to find a shop.
In addition to the cloth diapers and accessories, Marandino also sells breastfeeding and other food items, cleaning items, and accessories for moms.
Marandino said that she has a hard time shopping online – she likes to physically touch, and feel, and see what she is buying – so that plays a large part in her business. While items can be ordered online, she also encourages people to come to her home to see what she has to offer. She will even use her little model to demonstrate how everything works.
Marandino will ship items, but will also deliver them, and offers pickup options as well.
“I wanted to have that sense of community,” she said. “Yes I’m online, but online can be distant and cold. With this, if people have questions, they can come to me and I’m always here.”
If you would like to learn more about Marandino and her business, you can check out her Web site, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
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