Entreprenuers To Watch: Rachel Boguski, Anna Day and Zoe Flower of Playpants Modern Bloomers

The other day, my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter came down from her room, wearing a pair of fuchsia bloomers that came with one of her dresses, and announced that she was wearing “dress-up underwear”. When I saw that, I couldn’t help but think that Playpants, a recently launched Vancouver company, was onto something.

It’s easy to see why parents and children alike will fall in love with Playpants’ modern spin on traditional bloomers. Meet today’s Entrepreneurs to Watch: Rachel Boguski, Anna Day and Zoe Flower of Playpants Modern Bloomers.

What inspired you to start your company?

Our children. As busy mothers, we were each looking to find that balance between motherhood and our careers. The three of us each have two little ones under the age of four who have been playing together since birth. It was one day last summer during one of our play dates that we talked about how nice it would be if we could find some bloomers to cover our little ones’ diapers – and wouldn’t it be even better if we could find them in a wide range of modern prints and solids that would be as great on our sons as they would be on our daughters. As quickly as we could finish our lunch, Playpants Modern Bloomers was born.

Tell us about your company.

Playpants are the original modern bloomers that cover the little bums of your little ones. Available in over 30 different styles, our bloomers are a modern take on the traditional bloomers and the plastic diaper covers of the 1970s that disappeared with the rise of disposable diapers. Playpants are fun, functional, affordable and locally made in sizes 1-5 to coordinate with disposable diaper sizing (they cover cloth and hybrid diapers too!) designed to fit babies and toddlers from birth to three years. Our organic styles are made from 55% recycled hemp and 45% organic cotton, fully certified by Control IMO, Control Union Certifications, Global Organic Textile Standard and Ecocert and dyed with low impact nontoxic dyes. Safe for the environment, safe for your little ones.

What’s your vision for your company?

We hope to see Playpants in retailers across Canada and the US within the next year while staying true to our brand and our current business practices. We’ve got big plans for little bums!

What excites you about what you’re doing?

We get excited all the time! When we see our product in a shop. When we receive feedback from mothers. When we see photos of babies and toddlers of all ages, shapes and sizes in our bloomers – the biggest reminder that yes, we have actually done this!

What are some early examples of success?

The response to our brand has been phenomenal. We feel fortunate to already have retailers throughout the Lower Mainland in just these couple of months since our product launch and a steady flow of orders since the launch of our online shop in the beginning of May (one as far as South Africa!). We were also lucky to be written up in The Vancouver Sun business section – something we are all very proud of.

Tell us about some of your challenges?

As a new business, we are constantly learning as we go (who knew our best seller would be our highest price point!). We are doing our best to educate the public about our brand – that bloomers are not seasonal, not just for babies and not just for girls. We are making sure we meet our demand while remaining a locally manufactured product. And we are learning that being a mompreneur isn’t always easy.

What’s next for you?

We’re going to continue to build our list of retailers and focus on brand awareness. We’ve had several requests for toddler sizing so we plan to expand our sizing to fit up to age 6 as well as introduce our “fancy pants” line of organic silk and linen bloomers.