A few bolts of colorful fleece and a dining room table
Little Moonjumper began in 1997 at my dining room table. Having just moved from balmy Atlanta to chilly Chicago in October, we were freezing (brrrrr!) especially my 10 month-old daughter Olivia and our dog Bruno who had to wear boots to protect his paws from the salt on the street. (Have you ever tried putting boots on a 65 lb. dog??!!)
Having given up a job I loved as a graphic designer/art director, I suddenly found myself a stay-at-home mom in a new city, no network of friends and lots of free time. Not one to be idle for long, I dug out my trusty old Singer sewing machine determined to keep my daughter warm. (Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.) A few bolts of colorful fleece, some bobbins and thread later, I was hard at work sketching, cutting, pinning and sewing while Olivia napped.
WARM and cute, fun and practical
Soon the first Little Moonjumper baby blanket emerged. It was WARM and cute, fun and practical, it could easily tuck into her car seat or stroller without getting stuck in a wheel or buckle. Best of all it had her name sewn on in BIG bold letters announcing her relatively new presence to the world. The blanket I made for her (which she still has on her bed today) eventually evolved into our popular Mary Mary pattern. Next was the Moonjumper blanket, which featured the cow with colored spots from our logo. (Which is based on an illustration from my first class in graduate school – never throw anything away…)
"That great blanket"
One day, while house hunting, a realtor commissioned a blanket for her granddaughter. Soon my friends (and of course my mother) were ordering blankets for all the new babies in their lives. Strangers stopped me on the street to ask where I’d gotten ‘that great blanket.’ Before I knew it, there was fleece in every corner of our apartment and I was the one in need of a nap. After a friend opened a store and carried our blankets on consignment, Little Moonjumper, Inc. was officially formed.
Moms, dads and babies alike think our blankets are the cat’s pajamas
The next few years were like that old shampoo commercial, “they told 2 friends, and so on, and so on…” Moms, dads and babies alike thought our blankets were the cat’s pajamas. As luck would have it, so did the editors at InStyle magazine who featured our Moonjumper blanket in their July 2000 issue. Within days, we were overwhelmed with orders. Over 11 years later, our original colorful, yuck-resistant blankets are made by loving hands in an historic mill in Fall River, Massachusetts near where I grew up. It’s always been important to me to keep our manufacturing in the USA.
There's a blanket that’s right for everyone in your family (even Dad)
Our line has grown to include nearly 20 patterns in 3 sizes; stroller – with our signature scalloped edging, crib – perfect for tummy time or hanging on a wall, and twin – for little kids making that first step to a big bed or for older kids venturing off to camp or a dorm room - our blankets make their new digs personal. Even dad (pictured here) when he ‘rests his eyes’ during the game. In short, there’s a Little Moonjumper blanket that’s right for everyone in your family.
So that’s ‘our story.” We’ve seen our blankets featured on TV shows and grace the pages of many magazines. They’ve been shipped to happy babies in all 50 states, countless countries and 4 continents. The best part of Little Moonjumper is that it has allowed my children to grow up seeing their mom turn an idea into a business. Lucky for me, one which has given me the freedom to be home with and for them.
