Each week on the San Antonio Mom Blogs’ Facebook page a Fan of the Week is selected based upon their amount of interaction on the page. This week’s featured fan and San Antonio Mom Blogger is Grace Berios. Want to be selected as a Fan of the Week? Like San Antonio Mom Blogs on Facebook and participate!
Grace Berios is a mother to four, a blogger, an employee, a business owner, and she’s dedicated to bringing comfort to children in need. When you read Grace’s blog, The Chirp, her love for life, her family, and love in general comes shining through, as does her philanthropic spirit. Grace creates and sells colorful and adorably charming blankets, lovies, tank tops, tote bags, tees and more at her Etsy shop. In the past, Grace and her business donated many of her sweet blankets to a local homeless shelter for children needing extra comfort during difficult times. This year she’ll expand that effort to help children in the Congo.
Which came first, the business or the blog? How do they complement each other?
The business definitely. From the moment my friend gave my daughter Ava the very first Bird Lovie as a going away present, I knew instantly this could be big, in so many ways more than just retail. So I started selling our lovies and blankets to a local boutique in Corpus Christi, TX. After a year or so I realized that Little Bird was collecting a small following and many started asking questions about care and meaning of the product, and even wanted to know personal details of how I managed Little Bird alongside of raising a growing flock of my own. I hired on our Faithfully Artistic Bird, Erin Wallace, to design our current website and my blog, The Chirp, which details all things Nest-related and beyond. I have to admit, I don’t update as often as I should–proving the point it’s hard work raising a pretty full Nest alongside a full-time job and growing business!
Where do you get the inspiration for your designs and products?
My inspiration definitely comes from my personal flock of four. It started with a gift of our first Ava Bird and then grew to strong, witty Lions when our son Leo arrived, and then again with the addition of our Loveable Octopus Maximus, and our final addition to our nest, our Gecko for Kalliope Jude. {a 6 year process!} The gifted Ava Bird lovie was the inspiration behind the commissioned designs of the Lion, Octopus, and Gecko. {You’ll notice they all share the same eye and curl to their tails or tentacles} You think it’s hard to come up with baby names? Try adding an animal as well! It’s so funny how my children all completely embrace and proudly represent each of their animals. I developed a collection highlighting each of them to make sure they always know this business was created with each of them equally in mind. 2012 was the first introduction to each of the animals in our Direct To Garment print as well as our hand-painted, appliqued collection. This year, look for limited-edition blankets, such as our upcoming all green bird blanket and lovie in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and our entire flock in pink for October to pay tribute to Breast Cancer Awareness month! Here’s a sneak peak:
Describe your “Buy Love, Give Love” campaign.
Our Buy Love, Give Love campaign is extremely special to me. I created Little Bird with a desire to teach my four fledglings through action and example how one company, one person, one gesture can make a difference. From my earliest days I remember holding my Ava in her first few months of life as she was crying in the middle of the night, sitting up rocking her back to sleep, safe and secure in my arms, wrapped within her lovie. My thoughts instantly would go to those children who might not receive such immediate loving attention.
My desire through Little Bird is to offer that sense of “security” to those without. They should have something that is just for them, to feel consistently safe and loved. How thankful I am to have each one of my children know exactly where they will lay their head down each night. Unfortunately that’s not an option for some, and not necessarily by the fault of their guardians. Natural disasters as we see happening each year around our nation and the world can be the cause. And no man is an island anymore when it comes to being impacted by the global economy, whether through loss of job, or the increasing homeless population. My hope is that the gift of a Little Bird Lovie or Blanket can provide a sense of ownership, independence, pride, security, warmth, blissfulness, love.
So I try to make it as simple as possible.
Here goes:
When you buy a Little Bird lovie or blanket, Little Bird gives a little bird blanket to a bird in need. Win, Win 🙂
In 2011 when I started this campaign, Little Bird donated 40 blankets to children in need at a local family homeless shelter in San Antonio. In 2012, I realized the impact it had on our customers and my children when we did more individually-based giving throughout the year to various organizations and individual birds in need, both old and young. In 2013, Little Bird has been asked to make a large blanket drop to orphanages in the Congo that are in enormous need of supplies and blankets. Since our own Faithfully Artistic Bird, Erin Wallace, is currently in the adoption process of their sweet little fledgling from the Congo, Erin will be able to personally make the drop on behalf of Little Bird late this summer when she is hoping to meet her daughter for the first time. I’m very excited about sharing some whimsy and joy with these children and their caretakers and hope to provide a sense of hope and love, security and happiness to these children with each blanket given.
What are your three favorite blog posts (on your site) and why?
My favorite posts … I feel this post is EXACTLY what Little Bird is about. I’m passionate about spreading warmth, love and happiness, especially love, but even MORE passionate about sharing that experience of giving with my flock. This give was so personal, and I am thankful.
For some reason, I love this post too. When I read blogs, I think it’s fun to know more about the person I’m reading about. I love relating to others and realizing that we’re all in this together. I get excited about the life that I have. I truly believe that you have to work at being happy. It takes a lot of effort! And you know when you work hard at something, you just want to share it! I’m that way, I LOVE to share what I’m excited about, so this one, to me, was just me. I love my world and it shows.
And, lets see… ahhh, this post , one of my earliest postings. I am a sucker for mantras and theme songs 😉
Where do you see your blog in one year?
By summer of 2013 I’d love to have it be more of an informative blog as well being my mompreneur outlet. I would love to share more of the joys of Fiber Arts with ‘how to’ craft projects and insight into the business of Little Bird — and I’ve hired a photo bird so my pictures will soon be great! So stay tuned…
Nice she has a lot of beautiful things in her site
http://www.vindiebaby.com
Vintage Inspired Girls