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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cherie Hammer
Cuddle Bug Baby Products (formerly The Sweet Pea Company)
(650) 571-1805
LOCAL MOM TURNS ENTREPRENEUR
LAUNCHES SUCCESSFUL BABY ACCESSORIES BUSINESS
SAN MATEO, California (August 15, 1999) – Cherie Wolfe Hammer, San Mateo native and resident, today announced the successful launch of her first entrepreneurial venture, Cuddle Bug Baby Products/The Sweet Pea Company. The Company is dedicated to creating unique, hand crafted accessories for babies and toddlers. The Company’s first product line is Cuddle Bug Blankets™, multi-textured security blankets for babies and toddlers.
Cuddle Bug Blankets are made of three different fabrics (100% cotton terry cloth, 100% cotton flannel and satin binding and ribbon), which give babies interesting textures to explore and teethe on and provide excellent tactile stimulation. The compact size (14" x 22") is small enough for baby to hold and snuggle and is portable everywhere - crib, car seat or stroller. The blankets are easy to care for (machine wash and dry), and retail for approximately $20-25. They are ideal gifts for a baby shower or to celebrate the arrival of a new baby.
Since its inception, the company has established a successful and award-winning e-commerce web site, http://www.cuddlebugbaby.com. The International Association of Web Masters & Designers just awarded the site its 1999-2000 Golden Web Award, which recognizes excellence in web site design.
In addition to its Internet business, the Company has built relationships with numerous local and out-of-state retailers who sell Cuddle Bug Blankets. Here in San Mateo County, the blankets can be found at: Talbot's Toys and Little Cousins in San Mateo, Too Cute and the Peninsula Hospital Auxiliary Gift Shop in Burlingame, Anita’s Gifts and Things in San Carlos, and The Gift Basket in Los Altos. The blankets are also sold in stores in Southern California, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Illinois, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Texas, Florida and Massachusetts.
The genesis of the Company is the classic story of an innocent spark starting a fire. Last spring, Hammer had just had her first son, and realized he did not have a security blanket. So she dusted off her long-forgotten sewing machine and created a little blanket made of terry cloth, flannel and Hey Diddle Diddle ribbon. She never intended the idea to go any further. However when she took her son with blanket in tow to the New Mother’s group at Mills-Peninsula Hospital in San Mateo, the other moms began admiring the blanket. The nurse practitioner and moderator of the group took one look at the blanket and quipped "you should go into business making these blankets!" She then launched a discussion about the importance of security items to the comfort of babies and toddlers, as well as their central role in children calming themselves to sleep. Two mothers ordered blankets that day, and orders have been pouring in since.
"After nearly 15 years of working in the software industry and on Wall Street before that, I never dreamed that I would be starting my own business making baby blankets and other accessories." said Hammer. "But I could not escape the fact that Cuddle Bug Blankets were a compelling product which meet an identifiable market need. I’m learning so much by owning and operating my own business, and I’m proud to be creating a product that brings so much comfort and delight to children."
Hammer, 35, had a successful career in consumer software development and all aspects of product marketing before launching Cuddle Bug Baby Products. Her former companies include Brøderbund Software, Compaq Computer, Berkeley Systems, Claris Corporation and Oracle Corporation. She has been sewing since before high school and is the mother of a toddler, so she knows the infant sewn-products industry first hand. She has a Masters degree in Business Administration from The Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of California at Davis. This is her first entrepreneurial venture.
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Note to Editors: additional information, such as brochures and sample Cuddle Bug Blankets are available for your review. Please contact Cherie Hammer at (650) 571-1805 or chammer@cuddlebugbaby.com
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