Mother’s Day celebrates all that moms do for their family, from handling the chaos of every day to supporting their kids when they need it most. But some moms go above and beyond by finding a unique solution to a problem and bringing that bright idea to market to help other families too.
Robyn Pomonis is one such mom. Pomonis loved saving her kids’ work, but while many companies created hardcover books for photos, none could use original work. She created her own keepsake books, and when she received positive feedback from friends and family, she realized how many moms loved the idea.
“It’s a need we stumbled upon and moms are loving it,” Pomonis said. “It’s personal, unique, and holds their original work in a book, not digital scans. Moms across the country are just thrilled to get those saved papers into a personalized book.”
Pomonis founded her company 4ever Bound so other moms could save their children’s cherished work and create a special keepsake. The company binds schoolwork and artwork into a personalized hardcover book, with three styles and additional personalizing features available.
Like Pomonis, Kristen Del Castillo wanted to hold onto special memories, particularly the ones created when kids lose their teeth. Her son lost his first tooth late, so Del Castillo wanted to make it very special, but couldn’t find anything that commemorated the milestone. She decided to create her own keepsake box, making one out of an old VHS movie cover. However, despite the innovative idea, it wasn’t until a couple years later that Del Castillo realized the potential to turn it into a business.
“We have a non-verbal severely autistic daughter that was having a difficult time,” Del Castillo said. “I quit my job so I could stay home with her full time, as she needed me and she’s our first priority. I did just that, but how could I help our family? Now was the time for me to market my Baby Tooth Keepsake Book idea to other moms.”
Del Castillo founded Tooth Fairy’s Tale with her monumental idea, and has since added other unique products to her lineup, such as the Legend of the Tooth Keeper Kit, which encourages kids to brush their teeth.
Marcia Haut was also concerned with children’s milestones. As an early intervention therapist and special education teacher, Haut often worked with families in their homes. She noticed many parents didn’t know exactly how to encourage baby development to reach early milestones. Throughout her years of working with children, Haut hadn’t been able to find the right toy to use as a learning tool, so she finally decided to design one.
Using her experience both in her career and as a mother of two, Haut created a unique rattle that stimulated baby senses, including eye tracking, auditory orientation, and much more. Dubbed the NogginStick Developmental Light-Up Rattle, it was introduced in 2012 after Haut founded her company, SmartNoggin. Her line of developmental toys has expanded to include NogginRings Reaching and Grasping Rings and the brand new NogginSeek Peek & Seek Rattle.
Haut and her company have been acknowledged by the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as The National Institute of Play for their innovative designs, and have even twice won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum, a rare and highly regarded award.
Jakki Liberman was also in search of a product that benefited her kids when she came up with the idea for her business. Her third child developed a bad reaction to the ingredients in disposable diapers, so Liberman was forced to use cloth diapers. However, the options she found were difficult to use, and she found herself wanting a better solution.
Using her garage as a workspace, Liberman created her own cloth diapers, designed with a more modern, fun, and, most importantly, waterproof exterior. She used Velcro to fasten the sides instead of pins, making them safer for babies. Her design quickly gained traction, and in 1989 Liberman founded Bumkins, a company dedicated to kids and families by creating unique and useful products. Despite the fast success of her business, Liberman notes there were a few obstacles.
“Trying to successfully balance my time between my family and my business has been the biggest challenge overall,” Liberman said. “[I was] a single parent of four young children, running a company by myself, without the option for failure. I really had to figure out my priorities and how to best stretch and optimize my time; my children were growing, and so was my business.”
But Liberman found a compromise by bringing her work home with her, turning the garage into an office. The company has grown exponentially since then, and has since expanded to include a variety of cloth diapers, bibs, clothing, feeding items, and much more. Liberman has also partnered with top brands to bring fun designs to customers, including Disney, Dr. Seuss, and Nintendo.
Like Liberman, Michele Welsh had a brilliant idea that fit an underserved need in the community. When she took her three small children to an amusement park on a busy Labor Day weekend, Welsh was concerned her children could easily get lost in the chaos. Her solution was to write her cell phone number on her kids’ arm. Although Welsh had to rewrite the number multiple times, many parents told her what a great idea it was.
Welsh found there was no product out there to meet this need, so she decided to create one that kept kids safe and lasted longer than a ballpoint pen. She founded SafetyTat, a temporary tattoo for kids that parents could write their phone numbers on. The company has expanded to include allergy tattoos, Anywhere Labels for items, and much more. SafetyTat has helped hundreds of parents keep their kids safe while on the go.
“SafetyTat has impacted the parenting community at large by offering a much-needed tool for peace of mind,” Welsh said. “While nothing takes the place of watchful parenting, SafetyTat is a great ‘low-tech’ tool for both parents and kids.”
These mompreneurs have created successful businesses from unique ideas, taking their innovative designs to market and making them available to families worldwide. Their companies continue to dedicate themselves to families, children, and moms alike.
