Archive for July, 2009

Not Sure? Two Words: Fabric Swatches

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

I just spoke with a customer that was trying to decide on some different fabrics.  For her, seeing the fabric made all the difference.

Our website is very helpful and you can many times place your order without seeing the actual fabric/product beforehand.  However, so many times being able to see the actual fabric ultimately drives your purchasing decision.

For that reason, we highly recommend you order fabric swatches from us prior to placing your order.  You’ll see the area to order fabric swatches on every single product page on our website.  So, if it is a page where you can add a bumper, sheet, or some other product to your shopping cart–you can also order the swatches.

Jonathan

Carousel Designs Featured in Fortune and CNN Money

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Carousel Designs was recently featured in an article by Fortune Small Business Magazine / CNN Money. The article focuses on the company’s ongoing growth efforts led by Allan Sicat and Jonathan Hartley, the company’s President and CEO. Selected as the July/August 2009 Small Business Makeover recipient, Fortune and CNN Money solicited the assistance of 3 external business consultants to provide practical advice on business obstacles the company leaders face.

Specifically, these consultants provided insight and shared their expertise in the areas of brand marketing, finance, and inventory management. Because of the co-owner’s unique connection as West Point classmates and former Army officers, the article humorously and ironically relates their experiences in the baby bedding industry to that of a battle zone.

 Check out the article here:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/14/smallbusiness/baby_bedding_small_business_makeover.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2009071504

And the associated video here:
http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2009/06/12/sbiz_makeover_baby_bedding.smb/

We hope you enjoy it. 

Allan Sicat and Jonathan Hartley at the Carousel Designs Manufacturing Facility in Douglasville, GA

Allan Sicat and Jonathan Hartley at the Carousel Designs Manufacturing Facility in Douglasville, GA

Crib Sheets — Elastic All the Way Around?

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

We field many questions about our crib sheets.  It is the bedding item that touches the baby the most–you could argue it is the most “important” part of the bedding ensemble for your new baby.

The most common question is if our crib sheets have elastic all the way around.  It is worth mentioning that ALL of our crib sheets all have elastic all the way around.  In the past 21 years we’ve made literally thousands of crib sheets–experimented with different cuts, fabrics, and crib mattresses.  When we make a crib sheet we are taking into consideration all of those different factors, and we’ve got a wealth of experience to make sure that we get it right.

Here’s what you get from a Carousel Designs fitted crib sheet:

  1. deep pockets to accomodate for shrinkage?  YES
  2. fine fabrics that are fit for sheeting?  YES
  3. elastic all the way around?  YES

Any other questions about our sheets?  Just ask!

Jonathan

Ordering Swatches For Your Baby Bedding

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

In this video we demonstrate some of the features of babybedding.com that will better help you choose the perfect bedding for your nursery – primarily using the zoom imaging feature and ordering fabric swatches.

Let’s say you are designing a girl’s nursery. Clicking the baby girl bedding link quickly takes you to the section of our website dedicated to the girl’s nursery.

As you can see, there are also filters available for boys and gender neutral collections as well.

Maybe you like the Pink and chocolate damask collection and you’re interested in the four piece bedding set. To get a closer look at the bedding, simply click on the image and you will see a new zoom window appear. You can click and drag the mouse to view any section you would like to see better.

But because all monitors are different, we encourage you to have a fabric swatch sample sent to you. That way you can actually feel the fabric and make sure that the colors match your design requirements.

We usually mail swatches out within 24 hours so you can make your design decisions quickly.
And if you have any questions, just give us a call toll-free, (800) 600-5190, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

Thanks for shopping with us!

 

John