The Best Swaddle
with Liz Hilton

This is an unedited transcript.

 

Awesome live in an action I love this boy suddenly got really big. Okay, cool. Let’s get going right from the get go. So I don’t keep you too long. Yeah, I’m gonna get my papers up here. All right. Welcome to the Mondays podcast. I’m your host, Holly Lowe and I am thrilled to be interviewing and chatting and watching in action today, Liz Hilton, and this woman is spectacular. I already can tell you this because I’ve following what she does. Now I follow you on Tick tock, new to me, I’m a new to the tick tock world, but I’m having fun with it. And you’re a textile engineer, which in itself is pretty spectacular. I love that. I didn’t know that was even a thing. I’ll be honest, I I’ve known about textile design, and you know, taking I was an art major and things like that. So I have learned a bit of that. But what you do is like above and beyond all of that. So you created something amazing. And I want to talk to you about it. I’m going to let you tell me a little bit about yourself. And then we’ll go from there.

 

Well, with that intro, I feel like I kind of need to give some visuals. Totally. I textile office space. So yeah, I’m work from home. So I’ve got manufacturing in the garage, but this is my office. Um, my this is what my textile programming looks like. So basically, I, I learned on manual knitting machines like this. Wow. Alright, so you can really see like, the needles move up, it makes fabric, but there are electronic vending machines that I can program to create products seamlessly. So that program I just showed you, when it comes out a machine looks like this. Wow, I love it. Yeah, and it comes out. He’s it’s, it’s amazing. This is a very sustainable way to make soft goods. Because you can make any shape of any material and isolated areas, different densities, and you can do it in one process. So in this way, it’s called additive manufacturing. And 3d knitting is the only textile manufacturing process that can be used as additive manufacturing. And so we’ll just head over to my garage.

 

 

And I want to know, while we’re chatting, I want to know why you did this. I know this is something you were doing as a career. You know, textile is something you’ve done in the past as an engineer, but what is it that made you go Okay, now I need to actually make my own product or create something,

 

 

there was a process to there was a building up to that, because so I went to school for fashion I I just but I went to school for fashion not because I like that, like I like shopping or like style. I like making something from nothing. So there’s a bit it’s a big distinction. So my dream school was the Fashion Institute of Technology, which is a great school if you really want to learn the trade. So I was very lucky I got in and and I learned pattern drafting. And I learned tailoring and sewing. And basically I learned how to create a three dimensional structure. The two dimensional means. And this is how you know it’s pretty funny. But fashion design when you’re really getting into the weeds with it and technical It is a great stepping stone to programming, especially if you get into the creation of textiles, which basically the original form of programming. And and so I had to choose a specialization. I chose knitwear because it was it was great. Instead of walking into a fabric store and just feeling like what Prince and what fabric spoke to you, you were in control of that fabric because fading it from all the way down to the raw material. That to me was a much more organic way of designing. And then from there I did a year in Italy and I learned I learned how to use the that manual machine I just showed. And then I also learned that there were big CNC electronic knitting machines that could create garments in one piece. Now, not a lot of companies do this Uniqlo has a great 3d netline that is very affordable, highly recommend. But they’re very rare because there there aren’t that many fashion designers that have really committed their lives to learning the craft of 3d knitting it’s a totally different even though the equipment is more or less the same. The way Programming is very different. And then if you do learn it like I did you leave the session and you go where

 

 

the money is work for me was office furniture. Oh, that’s I spent about a decade making that solutions for like Hayworth and Miller, all those big guys, all our nit backs to our office chairs like that. Exactly. Sad. So my old thought and yeah, and then I actually got fired a month that so I had to be I had a pandemic, baby and February 24th 2020, when I came on maternity leave, I I, I worked for a month and then was let go due to COVID. And let go because my customer fought for me. And then their competitor found out poached me, I work for them another office furniture supplier, and they let me go because not a good cultural fit, and then end up weeks ago, and I realized, you know what, I need to just do my own thing. But all the while I was working for other people, I still had my side business. And it nit, it was founded six years ago, while I worked for a supplier to the office furniture industry. And I wanted to do it both at the same time. They said, Hey, this is a conflict of interest. So I did leave. I did for a few years before I went back into what I call the W two job, which is when you have a family and a very small business, sometimes you need a W two job. Absolutely. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to do both and live. But so knyttet, the company I founded six years ago was just for 3d net product development for everything outside of office furniture. So I got to work with consumer electronic companies really find firms, automotive companies, and even healthcare companies. So I got to work on such cool projects. And it made me such a better designer. And it really prepared me for the big design challenge when I was faced with a problem with an infant that wouldn’t sleep. So I had my first baby at in 2017 Thomas and he he he’s beautiful, healthy baby, nothing is absolutely perfect. But he didn’t like sleeping more than like 20 minute increments. So I have one of those firstborn too. You never know like you could get a baby that sleeps hours at a baby. Yeah, and at the hospital, they teach you how to swaddle, but you as a woman, you’ve got better things to think about taking notes while the nurse is showing your husband how to swaddle so then your husband or significant other, they learn how to swaddle and then. But when you get home, you’re the one doing it. And it’s like what’s going on, and they’re always getting out of it. Because the thing is, when babies are in your tummy, they’re surrounded by amniotic fluid, which is kind of giving them the secure sense of a hug. That’s right. But there anything but constricted you often hear pregnant wife, you know, we complain about the kicks, they’re moving around, you get ultrasound, they’re having a party in there. And swaddles typically will constrict the movement. So I thought and and and then it when they do that the babies will find a way to get out there literally. So I thought you know what I could use my the same design process I use to solve problems in automotive and office furniture to solve my own swaddling problem at home. And I thought, you know, if I could just make a 3d net sleepsack with like arm tubes at the side, which could urge that safe sweet position of arms at the side on the back. It would protect them from that more reflex. You know, they still get that jolt, which is a healthy thing to have. But it soothes them, so they don’t. Some babies they’ll soothe with hands by the face. That’s fine, too. It’s just sometimes they still wake up crying with that approach. Especially when there’s little leg or scratching or crying. We all know scratch mitts don’t work, right. Oh, no. There’s no such thing that stays on No. Nothing. Yeah.

 

 

And they’re there. Yeah. So. So that’s, um, yeah, I I kept finding other solutions I could solve with this swaddle. Like, you know, if you have a Velcro swaddle, it’s really loud and it makes the baby boom in a diaper change. So I have an easy access diaper flap at the bottom. And that’s how you easily you put your arm through and that’s how you pull the arms, the arms through paper, and you can leave their feet out if they want their feet out during that leg there. It’s very adaptable. And when it comes to baby products, adaptability is king. You know, so I I’m really happy to bring to the market something that is completely different, and new and innovative. But of course with newness and innovation. comes an extreme challenge on educating the market. People look at it and it’s so new and different, they don’t understand it. And so some people will look at my product and think, you know, I don’t get it, like how does the baby move in that it looks like a straight jacket.

 

And it’s such a kick out of the comments on your whenever you do tech talks, and I’m like, okay, you know, like, I feel like I need to respond to them. Because like, think it through. This is like, even just watching you demonstrate it and put it on, you can see how flexible it is. And just how, like, I want one, you know, I think you had an adult one as a demo or something.

 

 

I do. And actually I am I got a way to integrate that into my website in a way that makes sense. I haven’t figured it out yet. But it was awesome. I showed my husband He’s like, That’s brilliant. This is actually crazy. I have made one with the arm tubes for specific that there’s a specific illness where you kind of like, like, hit might hate yourself, and you need your arms down. So I do make it for that very specific thing.

 

 

But

 

 

it’s, uh, I mean, but to that point, my I’ve seen my sweater help babies with a lot of different kinds of meats. Some babies are born with high bilirubin levels. And how do you swaddle a baby when they need the bilirubin blanket underneath there. So right up against that they need to give their skin but product you can just insert that into the the sniper flap. They get the hug sensation from the swaddle, but then they also have the effects of the building rooms like it. I even my first time at a baby show I met a seven month old baby who was only like 10 pounds. Who had Treacher Collins syndrome, missing bones. And she needed a feeding tube. And they had to strap it down and she’d hate it. And she but they had to do it or she like, got it out. So put her in the swaddling me. She’d loved it. She didn’t cry about like, it was awesome. So that’s been a privilege. And I’ve also heard from moms like with children who are born with clubfoot, or these big braces and booties and there’s no swaddle that can accommodate it. Well, I thought, you know what, I could make myself accommodate that. So I have a special option for for moms who have babies with club feet.

 

 

That’s amazing. I said, I’d actually when you said that it made me think I had a friend whose baby had the hips associate where they are where they have their hips in the in the cast for months. And she said they did it right from really little. And she said the same thing. They would try receiving blankets to get her arm swaddled, and because she would grab at it in her sleep and pull on the castings and stuff and they could never find anything that worked. And I’m like, stretching anything that you can just get those arms tucked in, but have the bottom open and stretchy. Brilliant, right? Yeah, I

 

 

mean, it’s it’s adaptable. So that has, there’s not a lot of products like this in any market out there. It’s understand that this is actually very soft and stretchy and seamless. And so it I understand the comments where they’re like, Oh, I don’t see the baby’s not moving set the baby free. And I’m like, they don’t, it really is like they’re in a sock designed just for them. They can move in with around, but they’re so comfortable. Like, that’s why most of the pictures of babies in my product, they’re sleeping and not

 

 

likely. But I’ve tried

 

 

it pictures of babies like awake and my product. So you can see the movement I’m but you know, it’s still hard because there’s nothing out there like this. So it’s going to, and consumers typically don’t understand the difference between a knit and a woven. You know, open fabric will only stretch on the bias. Whereas a knit is but it can it can stretch, either at least to from side to side. Or if it’s knit either on a circular name machine or use flatbed with name machines construction all directions. That’s incredible.

 

 

Yeah. And you know what I learned that was when we were selling baby wraps in our store and carriers. And when I first started bringing those in, I was doing education sessions with companies that were making them training us on babywearing, and they would talk about you know, the one way stretch or the two way stretch or the knit fabrics versus the woven fabrics. And you don’t realize it until you start to use something like that and you’re like oh, if I brought my baby in this it’s got a lot more give to it. But if I use a woven doesn’t so yeah, you don’t realize until you do it really?

 

 

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And I mean, I don’t know what to like, I guess. You know, when you put on a pair of jeans like you know it doesn’t stretch so maybe you feel a little skinnier and then or but pants These are

 

 

my well of sweat pants, right? Bring on the leggings. Yeah, that’s awesome. Thank you for that full description. Okay, I know you want to show us I want to see where you do this because the first time I saw you doing a live I hopped on and Like, what is

 

 

this? Oh my god. Oh, it’s in it looks like I need to. Usually when I walk in here, there’s a lot of noise. But anyway, this is my story. Oh, there we go.

 

 

Um

 

 

The intraday lead it to net one. So let me reset,

 

 

right and there goes

 

 

other machines here as well. This one I’m trying to make some adults want to leave, that’s what this is. So I’m just making samples right now trying to figure out what works, you can see my yarn there, I’m sorry, a little bit of a mess and then I’ve got more yarn more yarn moreon actually saved all this yarn from a landfill and I’ll be killing it I’m, I’m, I had this idea to knit baby blankets and do a big promotion where like, you know, but like a portion goes to a charity that does good things. I am looking into that. And then this is a really old knitting machine that I got from a professor in college. My personal items are on my ceiling. Nice

 

 

to work up to where I go. It’s a brilliant, I love it. Yeah, that’s what you do with a small business. Right? That’s my My home is my home office right now too, because we closed the we closed our store location and moved it all online right now. And yeah, so my kids are always like, Oh, no, there’s more boxes arriving at the house, wherever.

 

 

Thank you for sharing that. Because there’s nothing wrong with getting smaller. And I also used to have my own storefront I had employees and a lot. I’m so much happier and less stressed having in my home. And if you look at the price of my my product sells for 3995. So it’s a $40 price point. There’s no I honestly, like unless I scaled up exponentially in a day like I don’t know how any anyone else could compete with my price, even if out how to make it which probably not because there aren’t this, if you noticed that that little machine that’s making the swaddle the SWAT aleni It looks very different to the big machines. Yes, it’s a very rare machine. The factories in North America that have them can’t, it would cost 15 to $20 for them to make my product. I believe it costs $40. And like, if you want to go into retail, you have to sell it for Keystone, which is that, so I literally do everything like so anyway, it’s um, I yeah, I don’t know how I’d be able to sell my product if I didn’t make it myself. So whether I’m making it in my garage, or I’m making it down the street, I will be making it myself. I love that. I love that.

 

 

You know what that but that’s amazing. Because when I’m on the buyer side of the industry, when I’m looking when I’m sourcing products, I’m super picky about that. Because I don’t want sweatshop material. I don’t want stuff that I don’t know who made it or what the conditions were that they worked in all of that I’m very particular about that. But most companies are not, you know, the big box stores and the big stores are like just bring us the cheapest price. So when I’m sourcing things, that’s what caught my eye with what you were doing is I’m like I want mom makers, I want people who are conscientious about how they’re making things. Like I love that you just said you save those from a landfill. That kind of thing is important to a product line when you’re putting your heart and soul into it. And you can keep the price on an affordable place. That is a huge challenge. I know as someone who has their own product line, I know how hard that is. Right? Yeah, so kudos, you because you’ve done an amazing job keeping it up, like not just affordable, but a really good price for something that’s brilliant. So

 

 

I love it. Well, and thank you for also being a part of the Small Business entrepreneur community that’s conscious, you know, and, and also for the fibers that I I, I didn’t save from a landfill. And once I purchased they are 100% recycled. I mean, it’s a synthetic fiber but synthetic fibers are. I’m a huge believer in them because they can give us so much rap. Like my what I use is moisture wicking, it’s recycled. Wrong. It’s terrible. It’s stretchy. It’s that so I um yeah, and and I do have some moms are all about natural fibers. So I do have a bamboo option, which is more expensive, but I made sure that it is manufactured in a non chemical process you if you’re sourcing bamboo, it’s really you have to swap mechanical process. Because otherwise why even bother buying a natural fiber? That’s right. Yeah,

 

 

yeah. It’s funny. How many Think natural can now, you know, working in the world of natural everything right now. It’s there’s so much give there’s so much space in there for leniency as far as labeling and the process. I mean, natural is no longer what that used to mean, you know, like, you got to really do your homework to know if you’re actually getting something that’s true. So I appreciate that. All right, I want to see it. I know I’ve seen it a lot. So can you show us one? Yeah, I’ll pull it up. You can demo with one hand or if you want to buy

 

 

it this down, and I will do a little demo. Okay. Cool. Cuz I love watching how you put them in. Yeah, it’s it’s really fun. So I think I can do the demo pretty well. With good lighting right here.

 

 

Perfect. Got movie.

 

 

So my packaging is really just two postcards taped together. So I’m just gonna simple is the best. Yeah, yes. So maybe I should. Alright. Yeah, that’s perfect. Alright, so it this is actually really easy to take off as well. I just say goes on and off like a sock. It’s actually even easier when I have a real baby. So I recommend putting the the diaper flap on the back. So you put your hands on metal scrunch it up, just like a sock, like this. And then you put it on feet first. And get it over the hip area. So you get this, this is the technology part. So you get that around the chat. Then you go in through the easyaccess diaper flap, and you put your arm in there, and then you put your hand through the hole like that. See? Yeah. And so I actually have a video on my tic Tock where I do this, and it takes 19 seconds. Wow. So that’s a lot faster than my swaddling techniques. I can tell you that. Yeah, and like you have to like lay it out. If it’s a blanket or bap, you suck, like laid out, but they don’t

 

always fit. Like you have to find the right fit. And you have to either wrap it tighter or Oh,

 

 

yeah, that’s actually a good point, you have to rely on your own brute force to do the wrapping, whereas here, you’re just letting the technical yarn do its job. Yeah. And that’s really important. So, so I have two sizes. And the reason is, this can also work as a transition swaddle. So this ties small, but if you if your baby is really you know, active and learns how to rollover before they’re outgrown it, which I doubt this is typically that happens in a large swaddle. But anyway, you leave the arms out when they learn how to rollover during active play. Perfect is usually that point when like they’re three four months old and they’re like you think oh my god you’re about to roll over is tonight the night I have a hard day rollover and I have a heart attack but I guarantee you Your baby will not roll over for the first time in my product it just will not happen

 

totally makes sense because the arms where they are especially arms at the sides it doesn’t they can’t move or it doesn’t work that way.

 

 

They’re asleep but during active play once during active play, arms out that informations on all of my tags perfect. Yeah,

 

 

all I’m thinking now is so my my babies always had blowouts like up the back of them. All I’m thinking is I remember the one time swaddled I they had them swaddled in it because of the swaddle went up the back of their head it was like just the blanket up around behind them. It blew right at the back. The other thing is this would be so easy just to pull down off their feet you could definitely take it off very not that’s awesome. Like to get the the feet out. Yeah, my babies all one of their feet out of swaddles. Yeah, I love it, but I like how it still has, you can have their little feet out if they prefer their feet free and they still get that hug. I love that.

 

 

Also, I’ve seen some some parents put both of their arms in the middle because it’s like every baby’s different. Sometimes they do that. Yep. So I’ve seen moms use it that way. And like they’ll ask me is this safe? I’m like, of course like he’s like, I’ve had this undergo all the design hazard and safety hazard tests. So like literally

 

 

I love it. Yeah, so amazing. Okay, so I we will talk more I know I’ve we’ve gone back and forth. I’m like I need to have these in our store. We’re going to work on this. I’m going to be the first time in Canada. Am I do you have any quantity yet?

 

 

I want I know you’re going to be the first time I need them. I know Okay, so well. So what what I it says on my website if you’re in Canada and you’re going to buy your product

 

 

don’t get a lot of orders from I know, I know. I know. Well, we’ll do a big one and then we can keep them here for you and ship them from here. But I also want to be able to demo it to for you want to talk in on our videos, and not because I do a lot of talks, I do love demos on just straight swaddling techniques. But it’s hard. It’s hard to teach it. It’s hard to explain it. I don’t think it matters what swaddle you use, other than something like this seems very straightforward for any parent, like you said, you’re in the hospital, you get an instruction, you go home, and you’re like, I don’t know what I’m doing. This is simple to explain. To me, it’s a no brainer, right? It just, it makes sense. So I would be more than happy to be able to demo that. You do all the other apps

 

are two to eight. What? You’re in Toronto, right? Just north of Toronto, but yeah, yeah, I have family and try married a Canadian. Yeah, yeah. And borders open. I mean, we went for Christmas and quarantine, but like, really want to get back there.

 

 

I know. We would love it if they’d open the border so he can get back to traveling too. Yeah, yeah. That’s awesome. Okay, cool. Well, I want to know, where can people find you? I know we talked about Tick tock, what’s your Tick Tock handle Instagram, whatever we’ll put

 

all of across all my social media. It’s at swaddle Genie, which is a

 

 

Yeah. And

 

 

also my website, SWAT aleni. Calm, which right now. So it’s like June 17. My wish I had I had a launch of a really nice website June 1, but it didn’t work. So I old ugly website, but I am planning on relaunching soon. Okay, cool.

 

 

I know that process. We’re in the process. Right now we have a brand new site being designed. And I’m we’re still trying to stock items on our old website. And it’s just depressing. I’m like, well, let’s just keep putting the products up. But the new ones coming. It’s all good. Awesome. Perfect. Well, thank you so much for your time. We’ll leave it at that. And I know people will look you up. And I hope you all give this a chance. If you’ve got a little win, or you’ve got a friend having a baby or family having babies by one of these. If you’re in Canada, just be patient. But all we all follow us over the world. So this is perfect. I love it.

 

 

My colleagues, this was lovely. I really, on your show. Perfect. Loved it. That was so cool. I’m just gonna end and then we can hold on.

 

 

Okay, wait.

 

 

Awesome. Okay, so I No pressure. I’m like, whenever I know, I had replied to email and asked a couple of things about the amounts and so on. So I do want to do an order, but whenever you’re ready. Oh, I’m ready. I’ve got Oh, perfect. Okay, cool. Double check if you got my reply, cuz I had sent you my order. That’s okay. It was a while ago, but you you were in the middle of doing something at the time. So I didn’t want to push But okay, if you got one for me that had my order in it. And then tell me what the process is. And we’ll go from there. We’ll just get started. Okay, and then I can demo it and promote it and chat with you know, and then we can do the podcast, all of that with it. So,

 

 

all right. All right. That’s awesome. Yeah, I mean, I could do I have a bulk order? Like discount code on my website, but it I could also, you know, do it through PayPal, or, anyway, I’ll give you that info works. I’m good with whatever. Yeah, um, also, for shipping. It is cheaper to ship if I ship them flat, but, and then it would be on you to fold them like so. Is that is that okay? Okay.

 

I’m good with either way. whatever is easiest for you ship them flat. And if you want to show me even do a quick video and show me how you package them properly. I’ll do it. Yeah, I might. I mean, that is a lot of work. No, this I already like I said, I have my own product line. So I’m already doing this on a daily basis. Anyway. Mine is mine is more mixing oils and filling bottles and things like that. But we’re in that I have a team that helps. We’re totally fine with happiness. You

 

know, I had a girl she was amazing. But I always knew it was temporary, that I was going to go back to college at the end of the summer. And then I got fired. And literally day after I got fired. And I was like how am I gonna afford to keep her on? summer she was like, Oh, I got my dream job. And oh, cool.

 

 

So I was like, Oh, I love you. Oh, don’t leave me. I know. It’s hard. I’ve been through like three or four assistants before I found the one that makes my world spin the right way. So much these days because um,

 

 

yeah, like I think, like you like minimum 1250 an hour is like, you can’t get away with anything less than that.

 

No, I know. I know. Well, my kids are older so I put them to work. I’ve got a 13 year old and a nine year old who love to help me bottle things and do stuff so Oh, temporary they get paid minimal, much more minimal. You get a roof over your head. That’s right. You get dinner.

 

 

Okay, Holly, I’m going to look back in my I’m taking my mom to brunch in just a few minutes but I’m going to look at at that order and respond yeah No rush at all totally fine. Well, I like it. Yeah, there’s always a sense of urgency and me, especially for things like this. Because it’s like, I know that there are people in Canada who want to buy my class don’t. And like I tried giving inventory to my sister in law, it was so much work for her. I felt so bad. And I was like, Can I have my sister was the same.

 

 

My sister in law as a jewelry maker, and she would do jewelry lines for me for oils and stuff. And I got to a point where I’m like, I feel really bad. I keep asking for more.

 

 

I even paid for like a shipstation Canada account, work. Post, I don’t have a candidate a Canadian address. So now I do have someone in Ireland who would love to dropship for me, I’m like, Oh my god, but she’d have to input she’d have to have her own own a post account, and then I’d just reimburse her. Yeah,

 

 

I do that in the UK. I have an assistant in England. And so she everything gets shipped to her in bulk. And then she does all the work on that end. Because it’s way cheaper to do that. Yeah. Yeah. You’re horrible. canadapost here is horrible. Just so you know. It’s one of the most expensive it’s not like USPS like

 

Yeah, no, it’s not. And that’s what pissed me off. It’s like, wait a minute, they’re getting no value add other than just it takes. It’s only a few days. It just pissed me off so much. So I know. You have to charge them more money, because I’m spending way more money to have and they don’t even get a price break.

 

 

Yeah, exactly. Well, in ours like I have lip balm. Lip Balm is our most top selling product that we make. It’s incredible lip balm. But to buy one lip balm is $4 to ship it is 12

 

Yeah, this desertic Okay, great question because I was literally just talking to fulfillment. fulfillment center in Ireland, they’re talking to me about or UK and Europe, and they’re talking to me about the vat. So because your drop shipping included,

 

 

you do always always include that. Yeah. Now, Ireland may be slightly different because of all the Brexit stuff. So

 

 

no, all the average VAT and everywhere in Europe is 20%. But I

 

 

ship I mean, I mean for business rules. There’s because I know Germany has different business rules when we were there like what you pay VAT on what you don’t like there’s the Eurozone. Pay it like with the you have your assistant in euro? I’m not No, I’m not registered to pay that in the UK. Shipping, right? Yes, that’s exactly it because we’re I forget what the terms are. Now, if she was to register herself, like as a contractor or an independent contractor, but she doesn’t she just works under the table. So if she did that, and then she was billing me and all these other things that might get a little trickier. But no, I so I include what I meant by including that I include I roll that into my pricing. You include Canadian VAT? Yes. What? Canada we are, as is 13, eight, Ontario, ours is 13%. But it’s never on the price. So you always have to know and they hate that in the UK. If you do not have the VAT included. They’re mad. Like if you surprise them with tax like we do here in Canada, they get really pissed.

 

 

Alright, yeah, that’s silly. Because I know how much the government stealing. Yeah, exactly. I’m, like one of the only capitals.

 

 

Well, that’s why people come from the US to buy stuff in Canada. And they’re like, Oh, it’s so cheap. And then they’re like, oh, shoot, unless you’re in Alberta, where it’s what? 6% tax. If you’re in Ontario, you’re gonna get fleeced, you know.

 

 

Well, it’s average that in in Europe is 20%. Italy’s high. Yeah, it’s the same. And when I learned that I was like, it’s it’s more value add for my customers just ordered from me soon as they find out. And then it’ll take 10 weeks to get there. Unless it’s in Estonia, then it will go to Japan and get returned to sender. But fun, right? I know. I know. So for a while, like I started out shipping all over the world. And then I just lost so much money because that gives me refunds. And I still had had to pay the shipping and all got returned centers like others not. And then and then people started complaining and then I felt bad. So now I have it up again. But I’m managing people’s expectations this time. And it’s going to take 12 weeks. And of course sometimes it only takes 10 or 12 days. And then I also say no refunds if USPS books.

 

 

That’s right. Well the thing is with tracking to like in Canada when we try even when we send stuff to the US, I can’t even with FedEx or anything like that. I can’t track it past the border. So it’s hard because they’ll be like well I provide a tracking but it only tells me it got to the border like it got to that station and whatever. So it is tricky and doing anything International. So anytime you can have somebody dropship for you it is depending how much work you’re doing. Like what

 

 

I have to say I’m excited that you have a team because like if you already have a platform, I’m hoping and you have a lot of Customers are having babies and stuff and you have other baby products as well. That’s a baby store. I’m a doula. birthing babies. Yeah. Yeah, this is, this is awesome, because I would love to have a wholesale I’m not a wholesale partnership for me is way better than Yeah. Job shipping as much work as the Yeah, I hear you totally. Yeah. Yeah. So like, I could make more money. But I for me, it’s not worth it. Like, I want to find a good wholesale product partner so

 

well. And that’s the thing is, I think, at the end of the day, too, it gives me a chance to promote it like crazy, right? Because I’m promoting all our products. Find out they finally love it. Well, you know, we could do I actually talked to my my web team. I was like, Guys, okay, so if I do get this new product on the site, we have a couple like this, that are American. And I said, You know what, I would actually rather say we’re only shipping this within Canada, and they’re going to buy direct from your site for anything else. So it does help out that way where I won’t be shipping to the US. I’ll ship only within Canada. Yeah. And then we will just direct them. So if they if they select it, and it’ll say right on the thing, if you’re ordering from the United States or Canada or whatever, United States, your best to go to this link and it’ll just link right to your website.

 

 

Okay. I appreciate that. Because I also, like I partnered before with uncommongoods. And one thing I don’t like is they take sometimes way too long to ship. Yeah. Like, I hold myself to a standard of one to two days to get it out there. If they’re not setting themselves that standard. It’s a bad experience for my customer. So So yeah, I think that’s that that works. Yeah, so excited. I need Alright, I might, or any minute. Okay, cool.

 

All right. Awesome. We’ll chat more. Yeah. You know, we’ll be fine. We need to we should plan a tic Tock together to at some point. So I would love to get the product.

 

 

Well, yeah, yes. Yeah, that would be so fun. Let’s we’re ready to launch. We got the products to go in.

 

 

I love. Okay, cool. Day. We’ll see you later.