New Diaper Bag with built in changing pad, Southern Baby

[Dscvrlifewith3]

No not something of mine... LOL As I have no plans to ever make one with a built in changing pad, but I am intrigue with the concept and design. So I was browsing eBay and came across this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15558&item=4306614343

Now I do not know much about this seller, but I can say that I really like the form of the bag and I also like the very boxy and squared off look. It looks like all her pockets are lined and her stitching looks nearly perfect on the flap and the rest of the bag. It has a very complete look to it. Very crisp, with care paid to detail. I have to say as far as the pictures it looks to be a very well made bag and not all bunchy. I have to say her price is really reasonable too. $75.00 is a good buy.

[lmariana]

That does look really well-made! Funny, they're in Ringold, GA, just like Ella Bags is.

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

[pritchettzoo]

Maybe a local competitor? I think Ella has a different eBay ID, and that looks nothing like their new bag (other than the basic design concept). And it's much better priced! Same fabric too? That's a gorgeous bag--look at the straight stitching (says the anal one ;) ) and check out all the different straps! $75.00 is a steal. She's got 100% positive feedback, too.

Ooh! Someone needs to buy it and give us the scoop! Mariana, oh bag maven? :)

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[Dscvrlifewith3]

I like how the pad wraps over the bag and snaps down fully covering the front. This way it doesnt matter if the print matches up or not. Also the inside, check it out, it looks just as good as the outside of the bag and has a complete look to it. I think the different straps are cool too.

[workaholic]

Just let let everyone know!

After my sister-in-law and I started making and selling bags online my MOTHER-IN-LAW decided it was for her too. Being our direct competition and offering the same bags and fabrics she set out.
How did she learn to make diaper bags?
Hmmm, she came over for months and watched Andrea and I sew everything from bags to straps to changing pads. Let me tell you, this has created a great deal of strife.
I do support all moms who stay at home and work in the bag industry or make any handmade products. I sell many other ladies products in my boutique. However, this woman took a good look at our new Ultimate Diaper Bag and completely copied it. The only thing she can't do is figure out how to do elastic pockets. I recently gave her a piece of my mind about this issue. She has literally taken the very food from our mouths for too long. At this point I'm venting. She only changed a few features on her bag but if you'll take a look at ours you'll see the shocking similarity.

DO NOT SUPPORT THIS SELLER!

She is an able body person who refuses to go out and get a job. I know this sounds awful but Andrea and I have been putting up with her stealing ideas, concepts and techniques for over a year. She's also doing it to other eBay sellers. It's not fair to them or us. She has no imagination what so ever.

I will never say that her products are poor. On that note, they are not. She's a very good seamstress and does beautiful bedding. However, being that she is my mother-in-law, most people are appauled at what she has continued to do. She's even gone as far as taking orders from customers who thought they were ordering from us. A simple mistake on the customers part. A huge mistake on hers. I'm sure she's done it to others.

I really wish that we could hand this as a legal matter at this point, since she is blantenly coping everything from other peoples bedding to our bags. Seeing this bag actually made me sick to my stomach. I'm afraid the issue may be forced. I have no shame it devulging this information.

I wish the best to all sellers but refuse to support her. I nor any others are in the bag industry to support her.

WHEEW, now I'll have to cool off!

Sorry for the ranting and any mispellings as I am typing extremely fast.

Aimee
Momma to Cooper

[lmariana]

Aimee, I'm so sorry to hear that! Most people have enough problems with the mother-in-laws, without them copying their business ideas!

I hope you guys can work things out civilly; it sounds like a tough situation.

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

[workaholic]

Well, we've tried so hard.

It seems like every few months she pulls a new stunt.
I used to build her website for her but she's just really good at taking advantage of me. It's really Cooper that's missing out. She's never bothered to get to know him and she only lives 5 minutes away. It's a shame really!

I guess I should just stop letting my gaurd down but it's not in my nature to hold grudges and it's not in my nature to hurt others feelings on purpose.

Pray for the best, right?

Aimee
Momma to Cooper
Co-Owner of Ella-Bags

[boys2enough]

Aimee, I am very sorry to hear this. Gosh, it's like MIL from Hell. Because she's family, you can't really do anything about it from the legal point of view... Yikes!

I wish I could offer some wisdom to help you out here. Will some {{{HUGS}} make you feel better? {{{{{HUGS}}}}} Hope everything will get better.


Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pnoodles.gif

[boys2enough]

Kim, you are a true enterpreneur, always researching, studying and thinking of ways to improve your products. I will be surprised if we don't see your company and your bags featured soon in one of the shi shi magazines...

I personally do not like the built-in changing pad idea.

1. Unless the pad is super super size (like a table cloth, lol), my kid will outgrow it in a second. Then in what position do you place the baby? If you want the pad to be under their bottom, the bag will be totally in the way of their kicking legs.

2. Most of the changing tables you can find have barely enough space for the baby, let alone the bag. Think "Koala" changing station in a cramped McD bathroom.

It is just not practical IMO.

How many bags do you have to sew still? ;-)

Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pnoodles.gif

[pritchettzoo]

While I fully support your right to vent about your MIL, there is a forum for that if you would like to participate. I find your bashing of another retailer as a retailer yourself wildly inappropriate.

First of all, Ella Bags' Ultimate Diaper Bag looks nothing like Southern Baby's other than the general design concept. And I don't think Ella owns a patent on that concept, as Petunia Picklebottom and various other manufacturers have been producing such a product prior to the introduction of yours.

Additionally, selling boutique bags on eBay is done by MULTIPLE people--Ella hasn't cornered the market on that.

Furthermore, and I had no intention of posting about this here before reading your post, I think the Ella Bags' website has had some issues with plagiarism and the like, no? Like the Intellectual Property notice site that was blatantly and without permission copied from Coastal Baby? I've heard rumors of others, but that was one I verified myself.

Designers "copy" from each other's styles all the time--you see an idea and you try to make it better. I think the legal requirement is something like 3 substantial changes? I'm not even looking at the bags (Ella's and SB's) that closely and I see at least three: the shape is different, the straps are different, and the fastening is different. The bags are totally dissimilar! Ella's appears more like the Petunia Picklebottom's or the toile all-in-one on Posh Tots than Southern Baby's to me.

Petunia Picklebottom (I assume that's not actually the woman's name but whomever is behind the bags) doesn't come on here and complain about people copying her bags!

And this is just about the all-in-one bags in general--what happens when the baby poops or pees all over the changing pad? YUCK! You could never wipe that off completely. Even with a "vinyl" laminated coating, the cloth thread stitching would get covered in human waste. After sitting the cloth down on a nasty germ-infested changing table, the last thing I want to do is wrap it around the bag, stick it on my arm, and tote it around. It'd be like using underwear as a purse--a dry clean only purse!

Again, if you want to vent about your MIL, go to the bitching section and vent away. You'll have 100 people lined up to listen and support you and tell MIL stories of their own. Here, as a retailer (although you can't tell with your ID or signature line--wasn't there an Ella Bags ID a couple of months ago? What happened to that user ID?), slamming another product is just, IMO, distasteful. You're not just a consumer or a daughter-in-law here. That's what's so hard to separate. When someone complains about Lands End bags, it's not an attack on anyone--it's the BAG they don't like. I know people think I'm a bitch for not liking Ella Bags because they think of the last posting where you talked about your son's surgery in the context of a customer service complaint. I don't know YOU from Adam. I have had two Ella Bags and I was dissatisfied with the products and the service I received and I have posted as such--not that I have a problem with some mom and her son. Other examples of individuals joining to defend their products have gone sour--the Bellisimo (sp?) guy and the Preschoolians guy for example. It's a fine line and very hard to walk. If you want to join as a parent to talk to other parents, great--jump on in. It just seems to me that you're only here to promote your business.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[workaholic]

Abviously, it's not about the bag. I really wouldn't care if it had been anyone else. This is my mother-in-law. She lives 5 minutes away from me and refuses to be a part of my sons life. She has hurt us in so many ways. I agree that we don't own the concept but we did spend many hard working hours developing it. She had actually told us that she was so involved with bedding that she wasn't doing them anymore. She received letters from Coastal Baby's attorney about her bedding. It looked almost exactly like theirs but was not enough like theirs for them to do anything about it.

The legal requirement is 30% of a product or description. However, that was not the issue. It had been rumoured that CB's IPN was a copy. It was not. It was very similar as it had been sent to me. We do have lawyers that help us write material for our website. They change all that is need in order to make it usuable. The issue was addressed with CB. I'll consider that issue dropped. I really don't understand how I was slamming her products when it's almost exactly like ours. I also said that she was a good seamstress. The issue is that it is my MIL. The shape of her bag is exactly the same, she only added a strap, she can't do elastic pockets and she used a zipper instead of a snap. Fortunatley I did find the Bitching Forum, which maybe will help me with the issue.

Once again, if it were anyone else it wouldn't bother me a bit. I realize that competition is healthy. It seems my point was completely misunderstood. I'm sorry it seems I'm on here to promote my business. I'm actually just looking for a great forum. I have been reading and posting in many areas tonight. It just happened that I stopped by to see what was new and fell across an issue that's had me tore up already this week. I still can not support my MIL on this. What she continues to do to us is most distasteful.

Thank you for your honest opinion.
Aimee Larsen
Momma to Cooper

[Dscvrlifewith3]

Actually Lin, the idea of a built in changing pad does not appeal to me on a personal or business level. As i have told others, if I don't have it, will not make it I always refer out to those that will (if I believe the quality and customer service is first rate) Boutique custom made diaper bags are not for everyone. I carry bags now because 1) I have too and 2) Good advertisement. But before I had kids, I had a money clip and a man's wallet I carried in my pocket.

Like Anna mentions in her post, human waste can get in the stitching, etc. I know for me, I have had three very heavy wetters and poopers. Breast milk poops were often explosive in the early months, so something like that would not have been for me or my family. I don't have time to have my bags dry cleaned for human waste, if you know what I mean. Changing pads IMO need to be cleaned in hot water and washed well. Fecal matter spreads all kinds of illness. Ecoli and other bacterias grow in fecal matter and that would be one of my concerns. Urine can cause mold spores to grow, which could be potentially hazardous to children who have breathing problems due to prematurity or astham/allergies. I rarely use those changing tables in dressing rooms or in bathrooms. I am pretty phobic about public restrooms as it is!

I also wanted to say something, copying is the biggest form of flattery, however, my attorney (and yes I have one) has made it clear to me that to make something your own you have to change three things about the item. This can be color, style, design features, you name it. This goes for anything in the fashion industry that is why there are "knock offs". Great places to find knock offs are Target, Walmart, Marshalls, etc.

There is truly something out there for everyone, no matter what your price range or desire!

[workaholic]

Thanks Debbie.
I really should have went straight to the Bitching Forum as Anna suggested. I appreciate your support. It really means alot.
I just hope it does get better. I keep hoping I'll wake up from a dream and it'll be all better.

Aimee
Momma to Cooper

[kelly ann]

The bag does seem to made very well from the photos, but I also can't imagine using the built in changing pad. Maybe when you have an infant, but with DS twisting and turning and grabbing everything in sight, I need to keep my bag on my shoulder as I change him. Too bad the seller doesn't offer any other styles at this time.

Anyway, I will probably go with WW or Chester for my next bag (that I don't need), but I am still curious about the quality of this bag. One of her previous auctions was for toile crib bedding and accesories...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20420&item=2396926280

I am sorry to hear that there are these problems between Ella/Aimee and her MIL. I do think "copying" bags and features is perfectly legit and happens all the time, but it can't be easy when it was someone you trusted.

[robmab719]

ITA on the built-in changing pad. That's the main reason why I've managed to resist a Petunia Pickle Bottom. While I love the bag, the built-in changing pad seems like a waste. I know I would personally never use it for many of the same reasons you mentioned. To me, a changing pad should be 1) washable, 2) wipeable (vinyl-coated?) and 3) able to move from one bag to another.

[alandenisefields]

Just a word here: we do NOT allow bashing of other vendors in this forum, even if you are related! We will leave this post up, but need to warn all that is the policy!

--
Alan & Denise Fields, authors
BABY BARGAINS * BABY 411 * TODDLER BARGAINS