by Angela Tsai
The Mamachic is the do-it-all scarf for the do-it-all mama. It’s versatile, multifunctional, sustainable & made beautifully in the USA.
I saw my life change in an instant after I had my first baby, Max. My hair brush gathered dust while the bottle brush got a workout. Max’s outfits were cute and colorful, yet I ignored my own wardrobe while my body recovered from pregnancy, childbirth and nursing. As his main needs were to eat, sleep and bathe, I saw my own list of to-do’s grow exponentially, on top of making sure I myself ate, slept, and bathed.
The changes of motherhood were supposed to be beautiful. So why didn’t I feel beautiful?
In 2011, my family embarked on a tour around the continent with my husband Michael Hollick, a performer in The Lion King. We wittled down to our essentials, left a little house in Las Vegas, and moved every month to a brand new city with our life in a minivan! We gladly embraced a minimalist lifestyle. I suddenly felt lighter, freer, and happier without so much “stuff.” So what did I do? I had another baby.
Toting my new infant Eva around the country, I had a desperate need for a versatile, eco-friendly and stylish product to help both burp and nurse her. Most burp cloths were like dish towels, and slipped off the shoulders or soaked through easily; many nursing covers on the market were utilitarian, looking like smocks or aprons.
As a mama, I needed one garment to help me do everything, and still look great. So I decided to make it myself.
Are you lusting after The Mamachic? Are there women in your life who would look amazing with this? Are you excited about our minimalism, sustainability and mama-lovin’ values? Do you want the world to know? Share the love, and spread the word!
Click to SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN:
Click to FOLLOW US:
The Mamachic team shares a passion for clever, functional design, sustainable business practices, and instilling a sense of confident beauty in women everywhere.
Angela Tsai is a former TV host and sports reporter, and mama to Eva (1) and Max (4). She co-founded and designed the Mamachic to make motherhood a snap and help women recover their swag after birthing a tiny human.
Michael Hollick is an actor with The Lion King North American Tour and co-founder of Mamachic. He was tired of being spat-up on by his baby Max and brainstormed with wife Angela on chic ways to create a foolproof burp cloth. Their design evolved into the multi-functional Mamachic and he’s excited to say he hasn’t had to change a dirty shirt since.
COsewn is the official Mamachic production partner. Helmed by former theatre costume designer and mama Jessica Montoya, this Colorado-based sew shop is passionate about the Made In The USA movement, and pays their sewers a good, living wage.
dirty sugar photography shot the Mamachic lookbook and Kickstarter video, and was founded by Robb Sapp and Jason Weston. Their Brooklyn-based creative studio offers a variety of personalized imaging experiences as well as their own tried and true brand of portraiture and event photography. #nowgobefabulous
Chris Ritchie designed the Mamachic logo as well as our collateral marketing materials, the Baggu reward totes, and our printed instructional booklet. This Brooklynite dad of two will be creating our print lookbook soon — and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
Diane Tsai – early-stage angel funding
Frank Wright – sound mixing for video
Michael Hollick – original music for video
Jayan Decambre – baby model; Anita Gundanna – baby mama; Mark Decambre – baby daddy
Dan Barry – photography for early-stage product development
Alli Barry – styling for early-stage product development
Shannon Whitehead of Factory45 – sustainability and marketing consultancy
Kristin Tidwell of Be Well Designed – prototype design and consultancy
Mikaela Wallinder Clifford of Ruth & Ragnar – prototype consultancy
Graham Burns of CoolBurns & Co – video editing
Selena Moshell of Gypsy Drive – product photography
The Cordileones, The Schmidts, The Hirshfields, Shanté Sykes and Anna Speed of The Lion King tour – babysitting while mama works!
Mamaspeak Mamas – exceptional featured women on the Mamachic blog:
“With great risk, comes great reward.” I think Spiderman’s uncle said that. Or was it Thomas Jefferson? Well, whoever said it was absolutely right, and fortunately, I’ve taken great care to keep up with both!
We’ve nailed down lead times and production schedules with all of our suppliers, from our labelmaker in North Carolina, to our fabric supplier in Canada, to our awesome sew shop COsewn in Colorado, whose leader Jessica is ramped, amped and ready to craft the first batch of Mamachics by August 2015. Even Olivia over at Baggu in San Francisco is eager to print our two designs on a plethora of totes for our supporters!
The current Mamachic prototype has been field-tested by a number of women across the country, from California to Florida to Wisconsin, and has proven durable with proper care. It’s Mama-Approved.
All this being said, there’s always some risk when making a product with multiple parts and materials, particularly when it comes to delays in the supply chain — no matter how simple the product is. Luckily, I’ve checked with each supplier who has given me a thumbs-up on current inventory, and so unless someone else makes a run on our bamboo jersey in the next two months, or we hit some unforseen shipping obstacles, we should be good to go!
I look forward to updating you along the way, sharing photos and video of the manufacturing process on the Mamachic blog, and providing total transparency about any problems or delays. Believe me, I want your Mamachic to arrive by your due date or big event, so you can flaunt it happily.
I’m so excited. Let’s do this!