We were lucky to catch up with Tracy Charbatian recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tracy, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I like this question! My business is named Rosie Tot Baby, and this name comes from my daughters middle names. I have two daughters- aged 8 and 10- with the middle names Rose and Sophie. I wanted to incorporate them in my business name, but I didn’t want it to be very obvious, so I combined their middle names – “Rosie”. I really want to build something for them and show them that it can be done as a woman, even with children and a family. Also, give them an opportunity to help me build the business and maybe continue it when I’m done!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Rosie Tot Baby was born out of a desire to have a creative outlet that could also be my career. I always knew I wanted my own business, but all of the events of the past few years have led me to jump in and go for it! Rosie Tot Baby offers neutral, modern baby clothing in mostly organic fabrics and excellent quality. I want the customer to know that when they buy from us, they KNOW it will be comfortable and soft (and trendy!). We don’t do bright plastics and cheap polyesters. Another thing I am passionate about is being environmentally conscious. All of our toys and accessories are in materials like silicone and wood, and most of our packaging is eco friendly too! We offer items that are hand knit in small batches by small businesses like ours, as well as organic muslins, bamboo and cotton.

Quality and the environment are very important to me. I want to make sure that if you buy an item from us, that it will last and won’t end up in a landfill taking up space for hundreds of years. I believe the world is moving towards buying less and investing in quality items that can be handed down and re-used. I’m finding that many of my customers are buying for important events, such as their newborns “coming home” outfit. I’m very flattered that they trust us for that!

I am also working on a personal line of baby basics in organic bamboo that I hope to introduce some time next year. It’s been a blast working on this and really lets me get creative! The bamboo fabric is extremely soft and comfortable. It is organic and GOTS certified. I will most likely include rompers, bodysuits, pants, and onesies. I can’t wait to show everyone!

Have you ever had to pivot?

My whole life has been pivots! I feel like I’ve gone through phases in life. I’m a Sagittarius, so I love adventure and travel. In the beginning of my career, my first job was closing down their Boston office. I was offered the opportunity to be moved to NYC from the suburbs of Boston and I jumped at the chance! Once my then boyfriend moved down to NYC and got an offer to open an office for his company in Singapore-but if I wanted to go we had to get married- I jumped at that chance too! We were married a day later during his lunch break at the courthouse! We spent almost a year in Singapore.

Coming back to the US, I had to figure out where my career was headed and went back to my old college job selling jewelry, but this time on Madison Avenue. (It was 2008, so jobs were scarce!) From there, I landed back in my career temporarily before my husband and I decided to start a family. Once I got pregnant, we decided it was time to move out of the city, so we purchased our house in CT. I left my job and stayed home with my children. That was a huge change!

Fast forward to now, and I feel like I am finally working towards something that is sustainable and I can do on my terms. I need the flexibility that having my own business provides. For example, today I attended an event at my daughters school during the work day. Since I work from home and make my own hours, I didn’t need to ask for approval or use paid time off days, etc. My confidence in my abilities is growing with age as well. I’ve gathered experience in so many different areas of Retail and Apparel Merchandising/Development along the way, that I feel (somewhat) comfortable taking this giant leap of faith and finances to open Rosie Tot Baby! I never would have done it 10 or even 5 years ago.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Rosie Tot Baby is still very new, but I’ve found through my years of interacting with customers is that you really need to have a quality product AND great customer service. That is what creates brand loyalty. Your customers need to be able to trust you, and know that if anything goes wrong with their item or shipping that you will have their back. Especially buying online. That is another reason why I provide free shipping. It’s just a good thing to offer your customers. We all hate paying for shipping!! The hardest aspect of the business for me by far has been the marketing aspect and enticing new customers. I know the product is great and that I would do anything to keep customers happy, but as a shopper you always have a healthy dose of skepticism. It’s convincing new customers to trust the brand that is the hardest part. I feel like I am learning new things daily through trial and error when it comes to marketing. It’s also very expensive!

This Holiday season is also giving me the opportunity to attend vendor fairs in my area. I have one coming up and I am really excited for it! It’s also giving me another chance to include my children as my helpers. I hope this will really give some customers a chance to see and touch the products, and get to know me and my family.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RosieTotBabyClothing.com
• Instagram: @rosietotbabyclothing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084538422466
• Linkedin: Tracy (Bridge) Charbatian

Image Credits
Tenth and Pine, Ziggy Lou, Mushie, Under the Nile, Jaime Kay, and Tracy Charbatian