LOFT PARTY » Funkie Baby

It takes a mother to know what a baby needs. When the mother is a sales professional with an eye for style, then the outcome could only be Funkie Baby. After giving birth to a son in 2002, California-based Cheryl Shonnard looked for suitable bibs. "Tyler was a big drooler and I was very disappointed in the bibs available to keep little ones dry," she says. "The more attractive ones would get soaked, and there was no way I'd put an ugly plastic bib around his neck." This young mother, whose last sewing class was eighth grade home economics, decided to create the bib she needed. A trip to the fabric store yielded several cute cotton prints. Shonnard sat down behind a sewing machine "that must be at least 50 years old," she says, and her first bib was created. "The key," says Shonnard, "was to create a bib that looked cool, but was durable and could keep the baby dry." An oversized bib, with a soak-proof lining hidden between two layers of cotton, was the answer. Being a sales pro, Shonnard had an "Ah ha!" moment. "If it works for Tyler," she thought, "other moms would want the bib, too." Funkie Baby, Shonnard's collection of "high quality, machine washable and dryable cotton bibs in funky retro prints," was introduced in 2003 and the phenomenon of her bib collection has exceeded beyond that bib created from an antique sewing machine since then.