I received a sample of the Argyle Skulls Single Layer Blanket ($25 value) in exchange for this promotion. Any opinions expressed here are honest and my own.
Austin Tie Dye Company looks like any other muslin-type baby blanket/wrap on the market, but when you dig deeper into the founder’s intent, unique prints, powerful personal background story, and manufacturing process and vision, you find much more than another baby blanket.
Here are some interesting company tidbits:
The Founder:
- Raised by a single DAD after her mom died from cancer (which she was diagnosed with when the baby was nine months old) when she was five
- Dyslexic
- Was diagnosed herself with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Disease at the age of 22 (she is now 33 – yay!)
- Has a Master’s Degree in Criminology
The Vision/Mission:
- While undergoing chemotherapy (at which time she got her first 4.0 semester in school) she knew she wanted to create a company to give back and allow opportunity for flexible and fulfilling work by parents
- Parents tend to lose their own identity when the baby is born, and this brand wants to give those parents permission to maintain more of their own identity by creating less “baby” type prints and more interesting/cool/adult-like offerings (a blanket that is printed from her favorite book, skulls, paisleys, prints made for Bass Pro/Cabellas, and military prints are among them)
The Business:
- With a firm belief that one’s past doesn’t dictate their future, the company hires those often rejected by others (those with criminal records, those who cannot work eight-hour shifts because they are the primary caretaker of small children, those who don’t have a formal education…)
- The blankets are made by hand by people who are allowed truly flexible schedules
- 25% of the company is employee-owned
- 3 year plan includes the opening of a dye facility in a lower-income and more poverty-stricken area in the country to bring jobs areas who need and help families support themselves
- They believe in fair business practices domestic and abroad and enforce higher standards of labor, materials, and delivery than mass production blankets
The Blankets:
- Available in boutiques across the country and online
- Prints and solids available
- Prints include skulls/argyle, book print (you’d be surprised what the book chosen is,) paisley, and of course tie dye
- Softer than other muslin blankets on the market – seriously – ask for a sample
- These are blankets that moms use to: swaddle the baby, find privacy when breastfeeding, and wear as a scarf when traveling (you can’t do that with cutesy elephant and teddy bear prints)
The Review: First of all, the blanket is SOOOO soft. It was larger than I expected and I had to look up the size..which is 47 x 47. The blanket also came in an adorable drawstring bag to carry it in if needed. This also adds a bit of keeping it clean and not dragging it on the floor or dropping it and then wrapping our little one in it. Truly a great idea! The size of this blanket is great for swaddling or using for baby wearing or as mentioned above…a privacy for breastfeeding (which I could have used a few years ago).
Founder, Becca, mentioned in her correspondence that her tie-dyed blankets are dyed in Austin, TX and the prints are designed in Austin also. She also stated, “We are a small company with a big attitude. We embrace the weird in life and choose to create blankets for parents who don’t have a connection with traditional baby designs.”
The Austin Tie Dye Co has a very interesting business concept that seems to have a well thought out plan of its existence and it’s successful future by being fair and helping others in need, along with the military.
For more information and to see all tie dyed blankets and printed blanket selections available and to shop, go to http://www. austintiedyeco.com.
*Photo courtesy of Austin Tie Dye Co.