Last updated May 2014. :)
My name is Gretchen. I am a 34 year old mama to now 5 year old twins, M&D. My husband Mike is the love of my life, and an incredible business partner! It is an honor to run this company with him. Mike and I went through two years of infertility before becoming pregnant with the twinkies, who joined our family on April 5th, 2009. Being a mother was my deepest desire for so long... I still have to pinch myself sometimes to realize that my life now is really my life now.
My name is Gretchen. I am a 34 year old mama to now 5 year old twins, M&D. My husband Mike is the love of my life, and an incredible business partner! It is an honor to run this company with him. Mike and I went through two years of infertility before becoming pregnant with the twinkies, who joined our family on April 5th, 2009. Being a mother was my deepest desire for so long... I still have to pinch myself sometimes to realize that my life now is really my life now.
My passion for cloth diapers evolved out of the instinct to parent naturally once M&D were born. I hadn't planned to use cloth - I had advocated for it during pregnancy but after some discussion Mike and I decided that it would be too much work with twins (we had no idea how untrue that was!) After the babies were here, I found that I identified strongly as a natural parent. I exclusively breastfed my twins for 16 months, which is something I am incredibly grateful for. I developed an intense passion for babywearing, and often wore the babies together, becoming a connoseiur of wraps and slings.
As I grew more into myself as a parent, I was led to cloth diaper by the time the twinkies were a couple months old. Mike and I researched and decided to try some AIOs and some fitteds with wool. We discovered we were passionate about fitteds and sunk our teeth in, never looking back. We also found that CDing led us to be more and more eco friendly at home. In conjunction with my passion to CD I have become very passionate about being green in every way I can, and that is something I want the twinkie tush brand to represent as well!
After a few months of CDing I started making my own diapers. I started out using old T shirts and sweatshirts and scrap cotton fabric. I played around creating a pattern until I landed on one that worked really well for us. I bought a snap press and invested in some organic bamboo velour (obv) and I started making diapers that I liked better than the popular brands we had been using! My CDing friends started saying "you have to sell these!" and I soon realized that this could be a way I could contribute to the household income and do something I am passionate about at the same time. So twinkie tush was born! In those early days I never envisioned the rapid growth of the brand, and words can't express how grateful I am to be where we are now!
I've always loved sewing and creating patterns. There is something incredibly special about taking a fabric from yardage to diaper form, and something even more special about seeing those diapers go out into the world and to the amazing families in the twinkie tush customer base. It warms my heart so much to see our diapers well loved in so many homes around the country and even around the world. And now as we expand the brand to include blankets and wipes, and the clothing line made within our sub-brand twinkie togs, I find even more joy in creating and designing new things for our customer family and in seeing you enjoy them as well. <3
Over time what began as a little work at home mom business has evolved to include a growing team of (at present 8) employees, almost all full-time, in our studio space in Ithaca NY, and we continue to evolve! We hope to continue to grow and to provide you with the best quality handmade diapers, blankets, clothing and accessories on the market, and the best customer service and communication as well. :)
Thank you so much for your support!!
Over time what began as a little work at home mom business has evolved to include a growing team of (at present 8) employees, almost all full-time, in our studio space in Ithaca NY, and we continue to evolve! We hope to continue to grow and to provide you with the best quality handmade diapers, blankets, clothing and accessories on the market, and the best customer service and communication as well. :)
Thank you so much for your support!!
With love and respect,
Gretchen
