“There's no reason A-listers should have all the cool stuff, right?” Resa Troyer asks while we're talking about the motivation behind her thriving business, Resa Design.

Defined by clean lines and solid colors, Resa's dream of providing moms with baby and toddler stuff that qualified as ‘cool gear I wasn't embarrassed to carry around,” is now a true reality.

Resa Design officially launched 2 ½ years ago, but was in the mind and hands of mom, Resa Troyer long before that. “I have been sewing since I was five and always been an entrepreneur of sorts…..selling azaleas' at the end of the driveway to passers by, constructing an elementary school newsletter that I photocopied in my dad's office, sewing drawstring bags for my entre 3 rd grade class for our flute-a-phones and selling them for 25 cents each….”, she trails off realizing the many projects she has accomplished.

Before her company actually launched, Resa had begun to make baby blankets and give them away as gifts. She'd had a hard time finding gifts she felt matched the mom-friend's sense of style….and that difficulty continued as she searched for baby items during her own pregnancy, “I couldn't figure out why everything was geared towards a baby that could care less what color his diaper bag was or what print was on his blankets. What I did find available was so expensive and therefore not available to me.” So, Resa started searching for great fabrics. It wasn't long before the requests started coming in and Resa began to sell her creations.

That ball has continued to roll. Now, work-at-home and entrepreneur-mom of 2, Resa divides her weeks into work and play. She doesn't have a magic potion for balancing it all, but is making it work. She explains, “I guess what I've learned, even more since our second son was born last year, is that I have to change my game plan as fast as they (my kids) change themselves. I think God has given my kids and I the grace we need to manage the work-at-home lifestyle. Some days don't go as planned. OK, most days don't go as planned, but for the most part, the work gets done.”

It has to, since Resa now has products in multiple US stores, a shop in Australia , and more than a half dozen online sites. She was even awarded an Editor's Choice award by Cool Mom Picks…an online magazine highlighting great mom stuff – from helpful sites to cool toys to fabulous baby gear (this is where Resa Design comes in).

Featuring custom clothing, (which is often popular for the perfect kiddo photo-op), and sibling tees as well as bibs, changing pads, burp cloths and gift sets, Resa is continuing to add to her collection.

In addition to the fancy, soft fabrics, Resa has taken the ‘practical' into account. She explains, “Our accessories were all designed out of needs I had as a new mom: a changing pad that actually covered the gross bathroom stall changing table, a burp cloth that was cute, absorbent and didn't have farm animals on it, or a bib that didn't hang to baby's knees and still not soak up the gallons of drool.” And she aims to keep her items affordable, but that definitely doesn't mean cheap! Resa says with a smile, “More important to me than price is quality. I am a bit of a perfectionist and will have a product redone as much as I can to make sure it meets my high standards.” She continues, “You're spending your heard earned cash on our products and I want you to feel it's worth every penny.”

Bibs, burp cloths and changing pads range in price from $9-$24. You can't beat it! And there is more to come. Resa's next release will be a receiving blanket that is the perfect size for swaddling.

You can see the entire Resa Design collection at www.ResaDesign.com . And, you can win a darling custom tee (like the ones you see to the right) for your little one simply by heading to her site and then posting your custom tee preference (fabric color and letter or shape) on our blog by July 14th . (You can go straight to the custom tee page by clicking here) We will pick a winner at random. Good luck!

UPDATE: Our Contest Winners are Layla and her 11 month old daughter, Mackenzie. Layla chose the Opal design with the letter 'M'...and she promises to send us a picture of Mackenzie in her fabulous new shirt as soon as it arrives. Congrats Layla and Mackenzie! Thank you to everyone who entered!

Read Past Celebrate Articles:

Paula Radcliffe
Sweet Tee Couture-Larkin Akel
MommySavers-Kim Danger

©Copyright 2007 Extraordinary Mommy. All Rights Reserved.