Mompreneur Jen O’Malley is changing the name of the game when it comes to Pack & Play sheets with the creation of her newly launched company Linen & Leah. O’Malley has created a first of its kind product designed specifically with sleep safety in mind.
Linen & Leah sheets are made from 100% organic cotton and attach securely to a playard mattress with the help with a Velcro strap.
“I started this company because I’m passionate about safe sleep,” said O’Malley. “If you’re using a Pack & Play, you need to be using this sheet. It is the only sheet on the market that fits completely secure. It’s the only safe fitting sheet.”
O’Malley has a deep-rooted history in the childcare industry. She owned and operated her own daycare in Minnesota where she says the lack of safe playard sheet options quickly became obvious.
“I was always so frustrated with the fitted sheets currently on the market for Pack & Plays. They were too loose and the fabric was too bunchy,” said O’Malley. “The kids would easily pull off the sheet from the corners of the mattress with minimal effort.”
In addition to her frustration in the daycare setting, O’Malley says she experienced a scary ordeal at home with one of her children who would only sleep in a Pack & Play.
“I went in to check on my daughter before I went to bed, right around 9:30,” said O’Malley. “She had gotten the entire sheet off of the mattress and was completely wrapped up in it. I couldn’t see her breathing. I ran in and picked her up panicking. Thankfully she gasped for a huge breath, and aside of being sweaty she was perfectly fine, but I’ve never been more scared in my life. She was 11 months at the time. No parent should feel that way, especially when we can help it can be prevented. At that moment safe sleep became a priority.”
After deciding something needed to be done, O’Malley worked with a local sewing shop to come up with a prototype. The current design took almost two years to create. O’Malley paid attention to every detail including the thread count. She even traveled to China and India in search of the most pure organic cotton.
“We ran studies on sleeping infants that focused around body temperature and perspiration,” said O’Malley. “This helped us determine the Thread count that most babies slept the best on. For example, we found that babies had a more comfortable sleep environment on a 300-thread count sheet, while babies who slept on 500 thread count, often woke up thirsty, sweaty, and very hot.”
The process to create the perfect sheet that was also as safe as possible wasn’t without roadblocks. O’Malley points to one big hurdle she had with the Velcro strap on the sheet which didn’t initially meet ASTM and CPSC standards.
“The strap on my sheet was 12 inches long, and any component such as ribbons or straps attached to infant bedding couldn’t be longer than 7 inches,” said O’Malley. “This was a huge problem because it was a very important part of my sheet. Parents can pull and attach that Velcro strap to give a perfectly tight fit! I had to go right back to step one and re-create the back of my sheet and get a new tech-pack drawn up so that we could keep the Velcro straps. This set me behind by 4 months.”
Looking back at all that she has accomplished, O’Malley admits that starting her own business wasn’t easy and definitely not something she ever thought she would do. O’Malley got divorced when her two children were babies and was forced to start fresh.
“Owning your own company is not easy, it’s not for the weak, and not everyone has an eye for seeing the opportunities right in front of them, most of the time because they’re too scared or think they cant,” said O’Malley. “We are still a new company with so much growing yet to do – but I couldn’t be happier that our sheet is getting into the hands of families with small children, and that parents/caregivers love our product!”
Linen & Leah sheets officially launched November 2018. A portion of each sheet sold is donated to the SIDS foundation, a move that is incredibly important to O’Malley. She says there is nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that she is helping to fund more research and to create a more safe sleep environment for babies.
“I went into Linen & Leah telling myself that if I made a difference in just 1 family’s life, if I could donate just $10 to SIDS from that 1 sheet, then Linen & Leah was worth it all,” said O’Malley.
In the short few months that the company has been operating Linen & Leah has already donated $1550 dollars to the SIDS foundation.
Looking ahead to the future, O’Malley hopes that her brand becomes a household name. She says one of her goals is to see Linen & Leah sheets sold with Pack & Plays. Another dream for the future, seeing her sheets offered at family resorts like Disney.
In case you’re wondering, Linen & Leah is named after O’Malley’s younger sister who actually came up with the name.
Jen O’Malley is the CEO and founder of Linen & Leah. She is a single mom to two kids ages 11 and 13 with years of experience as a childcare provider. Prior to the creation of Linen & Leah, O’Malley opened her own daycare called Little Blessings Childcare. She is licensed in the state of Minnesota and is passionate about SIDS prevention. O’Malley is proud to offer a first of its kind product designed specifically with safe sleep in mind.
