At Righteous Baby Diapers, we make beautiful mother and grandmother made cloth diapering products at Righteous Baby.  We use wool jersey, recycled wool sweaters, fleece, and PUL in our covers and hemp/cotton fleece for absorbency.  Our products include Shell Sets (all-in-ones), P-Folds, Fits-Like-A-Glove Diapers, Wooly-Pullie Soakers, and swim diapers.  We also have cloth dolls, lovely handbags, MoonPetal cloth feminine pads, nursing pads, and baby wipes.  We specialize in designer products with appliqué and freemachine embroidery work.

www.righteousbabydiapers.com

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Q: Tell us about yourself and your family.  Married?  Children?  How many?
My name is Ann Megan Hall.  I am 28 and one of eight children.  My dad is married to his third wife and I am the eldest from the middle marriage with five children.  I am married to my partner Dan Fitzstephens.  We have a daughter Lilla Rae who was born in our living room in a warm pool of water.  We are expecting our second baby in April.

Q: If you have children, what is your favorite part about being a mom?
I love to hear Lilla say "loveloo".  I love the kisses and nose rubbing we share with each other.  I love to hear her say "mama".  I love being with my daughter.  We go everywhere together and she is always in my arms or on my hip.

Q: Cat or dog person?  Why?
There is a cat named Meow that lives on our enclosed porch.  We acquired her as a stray.  She lived outside of our apartment in a heated litter box.  We couldn't have pets but she stayed around for the year until we moved again.  She has stuck with us but is not very friendly with Dan.  Lilla loves to torment her by chasing her around the yard.  Meow favors me and no one else.  I guess she took to me like a mother figure because I cared for her.

Q: Favorite color?  Least favorite?  Any particular reason?
I love red and black.  I love blue and orange together.  I have never liked green much and I think it is because I loved the outdoors and the wild outdoors as a child.  My guess is that since I favored seeing it outdoors, I never preferred it indoors.

Q: What type of music do you prefer?
I especially love music with a social and political purpose and statement.  I love Ani Difranco.  I love Cat Stevens.  I love Jazz and Classical music as well.  One of the things I enjoy the most about listening to music is singing along with it.

Q: Last book that you read - or tried to read?
I just finished Unassisted Childbirth by Laura Kaplan Shanley.  I read Tickle Tickle, Mother Goose, Curious George, Ma McDonald, Moo Baa La-La-La, etc. in my spare time with Lilla.

Q: What do you prefer to do in your spare time?  Hobbies/Interests?
Sew, sew, nurse Lilla, sew, and nurse Lilla.  I talk to my mom and Dan several times a day on the phone while I am checking email, sewing, nursing Lilla or eating.  Lilla and I love to go for walks when I allow for a "break" from work (the walks typically include a Post Office visit).  WAIT!!!  I don't have any spare time.  This is what I do on a daily basis!

Q: Funniest WAHM moment.
One "morning", about noon, I got up to call Dan at work.  The line was dead.  There was no dial tone - not a sound.  I started to get very stressed out when I realized that I wouldn't be able to check email or post my goodies for the scheduled in stock in the middle of August.  Our neighbor is working on building an addition to my sewing studio to connect it to the small bedroom of our mobile home.  And it just so happens that he was working near the exterior phone box.  I decided that he must have cut the phone line.  I called Dan on the cell phone and he mentioned that I should check the extra land lines in the bedroom and studio.  I assured him that the phone line was cut and that we were going to be facing problems with the phone company because of that.  There was no point in checking the phones.  I did however check the one in the bedroom since I was not dressed and didn't want to venture unclothed to the studio (it only has access through the porch and there are no curtains).  Our neighbor, Ken, had walked down to his trailer for lunch and would be gone for an hour or so.  Lilla and I prepared for the day and waited for Ken's return.  I had already decided to take the laptop to my mom's so that I could use her dial up to check email.  I was going to have to post my in stock the next weekend after the phone company could fix the cut line.  I was starting to pace back and forth in the yard since Ken was still not back when I decided to check the phone in the studio.  I guess I thought maybe it would miraculously work now and repair itself like a healing wound.  When I opened the door I saw the phone dangling by its cord.  Ken had knocked it off the wall when he had been sawing on the exterior wall that morning. And yes, I had slept through all that sawing and power tool racket and hadn't woken up until 4 minutes before noon!

Q: What was the inspiration behind your business?
First and foremost it is Lilla and Dan.  I told Dan from the beginning that I would not work outside the home and I wouldn't put Lilla in daycare.  There was no one I trusted as much as myself to care for my child.  I had worked at painting piece work needlepoint canvases for a couple of years and up until the summer of 2002 when Lilla was still under a year old.  My business was an obvious direction for me to take since my Lilla was already in cloth diapers.

I have always been an artist.  I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber Arts.  I knew I would never be able to make a living in the "fine art" world so I was preparing to pursue a Masters degree in Art Therapy in Boulder, Colorado.  When we found out I was pregnant with Lilla I decided to stop taking classes and be a mother instead.  I am so glad that I made the choice to stay with her.

I also have a lot of inspiration from my mother.  She has always been supportive in my creative abilities and she loves to hear about my business.  She always wanted to have a little brick and mortar shop so that she could sell her lovely cloth dolls.  I am living out her dream now with my online store.  My mom has always been a hard worker too.  I am the oldest of her 5 kids and just before I turned 13 years old, she left my dad.  As a single mother she has always been an extremely hard worker.  She was very determined to make it on her own and always had at least 3 jobs and as many as 5!  I get my determination and work ethic from her.  I am happy to include my mom in this venture and proud that she is making the gorgeous Wooly-Pullie knit soakers for me now.

The last person I cannot go without mentioning is my beloved Grandma.  She was an incredible seamstress.  My grandma is one of the spirits in my sewing room.  I use her old sewing machine table to work on and her trusty old serger.  I refuse to use anything else because it brings me good luck as well as satisfaction.  I think of her often while I am sewing late at night.  I wish she could have seen the business I have built with sewing.  She would have been very proud and amazed that I could have such success with my sewing talents.  It makes me happy to think of the look Grandma would have had on her face if I had gotten to tell her the stories about Righteous Baby.

Q: How long have you been in business?  Is your business all online or do you have any local business?
I opened my Righteous Baby online store on November 1, 2002.  My very first customer was from an online sale and she lived about 45 miles away from me.  Most of the business I have created is online and out of state or country.  I have sold diapering products to almost 45 different states and 5 other countries.

Q: How did you go about starting your business?  What was the VERY FIRST thing you did?
The very first time I made cloth diapers was for our unborn Lilla.  I made a whole set of diapers for her from a pattern I bought at the store.  When Lilla arrived a few months later, the cute diapers that I had worked so hard on didn't fit her.  Now that I have been designing diapering products, I realize that these diapers wouldn't have worked for most babies.  I think they were designed for a doll rather than an actual baby.

I first started my online diaper store when I bought my license to sell CuddleBuns™ cloth diaper products.  I found the licensing opportunity to sell Cuddlebuns™ when I found an ad for a cloth diaper pattern in Mothering magazine.

Q: What did others think when you started your business?  Were they supportive?
My family was very supportive when I started my business.  My husband has more confidence in me than I typically do.  He told me to take the plunge and to invest as much money in the business as I could to get started.  I am so glad that I listened to him.  I am not sure that I would have done it without his support.

Q: Do you have a business plan or flying by the seat of your pants?
I have always been a fly-b-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal!  I am being forced to create more of a business plan for myself though due to my heavy volume of sales.  Righteous Baby Land is getting a little overwhelmed with all of our wonderful customers!

Q: What is your daily routine?
You could basically sum up my day in three words: nurse, email and sew!

Here is the summary of my day in list format:

Turn on computer, dial up (no cable here), brush teeth, have a glass of juice, read email, Lilla wakes up, "boobie" at computer, disconnect, 1 1/2 minute shower, get dressed with Lilla, have a snack/breakfast, prepare for walk to Post Office, Lilla gets her PO sticker from Cindy the postal worker, go to the "wee" (playground), go to "mamaw's" house, return home for Lilla's 10 minute nap, another "boobie" during email (Lilla can only sleep with the hum of the computer), Papa gets home at 6 pm from the bus, he prepares dinner, I vanish for sewing time, we have dinner on the patio by the fountain, Lilla runs around the yard with Papa while Mama sews again, sew, boobie, sew, boobie, sew, boobie . . . bedtime anytime between 2-5 am.  This all makes for one exhausting day!

Q: What have you found to be the toughest part of the job of WAHM?
The hardest thing for me is balancing my time with Lilla and Dan.  It is hard to stop working and start playing instead.  I am constantly working and thinking about the business so I don't even notice that I have switched into the business mode in the middle of a conversation.  Dan loves the business and loves to talk about it too.  This just adds to the difficulty of balancing my time between work and family.  Being a WAHM really makes me understand the people I have observed who are self-employed and work all the time.  I have become that.  It is frustrating though and I am looking to slow down.  The hardest thing for me to overcome is my determination.  That probably sounds silly but, I love to work hard and it gets the best of me sometimes.  Determination is my best and worst trait.

I have just found recently that I am getting a little burnt out.  The fact that I am expecting another baby in April only adds to it.  I would really love to take a long vacation from the business and sew for my new little one.  I also have a custom order list that seems to grow rather than shrink.  I am kind hearted and have a hard time turning customers away (I am turning them away now though so please don't ask! LOL).  I am working to finish up my custom orders and run an in stock store or put my items on auction.  I am hoping to make this switch before I get the dreaded diaper burn out which is rapidly approaching.

Q: What do you feel is your greatest strength and the greatest asset that you bring to your business?
Artistic skills play a big role in my business.  My customers love my ideas and imagery that I apply to diapers.  I use appliqué and freemachine embroidery techniques on the diapers.  I am often asked if I own an embroider machine.  The answer is no.  The freemachine embroidery technique is achieved by lowering the feed dogs on the sewing machine and then moving the fabric freely underneath the needle.

I also get a lot of compliments on my customer service.  I respond to emails quickly and I love to answer questions.  I usually ship the day after I receive an order unless it is custom made.

Q: How would others describe you?
Quiet, a hermit, determined, hard working, stubborn, passionate, emotional, spacey, sensitive, smart, level headed, open minded (wonderful, gorgeous, talented, wonderfully gorgeous, gorgeously talented, intuitive.  These are Dan's words!  That is what happens when my English professor husband proofreads my writing.)

Q: On the other hand, what do you feel is your greatest weakness - how have you dealt with that in your business?
My greatest weakness is my disorganization with keeping books on the business.  I am very behind and hope to catch up before tax season.

Q: How would you describe yourself?
Stubborn, loving, sensitive, determined, happy, unorganized, emotional, forgetful, creative.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?
Being able to stay next to Lilla all day while I am working at my job.  I love to accomplish so much and be a work at home mother too.

I also love the photos I get from my customers of their babies and toddlers in the diapers I have made for them.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that these mamas appreciate my work so much.

Q: As a WAHM that sews . . . what is/was your favorite creation?  Describe it and feel free to send a picture if you have one.
Lilla!  I always said after I birthed Lilla that she was my greatest creation. I still believe that.  As far as sewing though. . . I love the rattlesnake Righteous Baby Shell Set I made for her.  It is a spiraled yellow snake with jewel tone thread on royal blue wool.  There is a small snake looking up at her on the front.  Her favorite diapers have goddesses on them and she loves the snakes that the freemachine embroidered and appliquéd goddesses hold.

Q: What is your favorite other WAHM/WAHM sites?
http://www.waldorfplay.com Krista has lovely waldorf toys and ships very fast.  I especially love the homemade needle felted toys.

http://www.littlelounginglizards.com Stacy has lovely products and I love the names she has chosen for her different items.

Q: What is your definition of a WAHM?
An incredibly determined mama who works very hard at everything she does, a mama that doesn't have a spare moment, a mama who puts her heart into everything that she does, a mama that would rather trip over her kids at her feet just to be with them.  A WAHM is a mama who needs a vacation!! :)

Q: What is most important to you in a Cloth Diaper Resource site?
It is important to have reviews of products from actual customers.  I think it is good to have a lot of resources available including how to make cloth diapers in the do-it-yourself approach.  I love finding sites that have resources for purchasing cloth diaper making supplies as well as free patterns for cloth diaper making and other natural parenting items like slings.