Once upon a time two sisters had an idea to improve the way their sons dressed. It was a really good idea. No one had thought of this idea before. They talked about the idea for a long time, and finally the sisters said, “let’s do it! Let’s make this idea a reality”. They found a seamstress disguised as a pre-K teacher and she sewed sample 1 of the idea. It was good, but not quite right.

They took sample 1 to a seamstress in another state, a ‘hip’ seamstress with a business of her own. The sisters explained their idea. Sample 2 was designed. It was good, but not quite right. They took sample 2 to yet another seamstress who worked in an old factory that the sisters knew from their childhood. This seamstress made sample 3. It was almost good, but still not quite right. After searching and searching, the sisters found yet another seamstress, a well seasoned used-to-be factory owner, who now sewed in a shed in her rural back yard. Her sample 4 was the best yet, and the sisters moved ahead.

The two sisters had an idea. The idea needed a company. The two sisters became a limited liability corporation. The idea and the company needed names. Sample 4 became the first KidONEder. It became part of Tucked In Dressed Up llc.

Two sisters now had an idea, sample 4 with name, and a company with name. The idea name had to be copyrighted. It needed a marketing plan. It needed a manufacturer. It needed to become a reality. The sisters bought bolts of fabric from the big city, and began.

This was the beginning. Follow along. It is our journey, two sisters with an idea. A really good idea.

We just finished our first professional photo shoot. This is the first time we hired a photographer, Don Carrick, to photograph the kids. We found Don on Craigslist; we advertised for a photographer that would take pictures of our KidONEders for $200 and Don responded. He’s done two sets of product photographs for us but those were smaller less complicated jobs.

We’ve taken photos of kids in our KidONEders before. Kids whose mom responded to our craigslist ad, kids from Carla’s church, all with one of those small digital Nikons, and of course with our cell phones. We met in the church or at the kids houses. It was hit or miss, with most of the shots blurry and unusable. Not to mention those kids who wouldn’t take the pacifiers out of their mouths.

The difference with Don was astounding. Don had stand up lights and light shades. Light meters. A white backdrop that pulled down like butcher block. He scoped out the church, organized and orchestrated the shoot, coddled and played with the kids, pulled up their pants, “hey buddy, come here and let me fix your pants” he told them, without a bit of creepiness.

Don was down on the ground for most of the shoot. We had three boys, Lathan is 17 mos., August is 2 years, and Jack is 3 years. Lathan and August were shy at first. As Don confirmed, “models are always tough.” Jack, on the other hand, is a ham (to quote his mom). “Hello, I’m Jack,” he told us when we greeted him outside. Without a beat, there was a costume change into a white KidONEder and pop art ONEder tie, (“I like orange:,” Jack told us) and Jack proceeded to sit, stand, play with a rocket his mom bought ahead of time (with the $20 we promisedfor the shoot). Carla and the moms warmed up the two little ones with bribes and toys, and after their equally swift costume change in to the first of two kidONEders and ONEder ties, they tossed a football, looked at books, and played with Fisher Price villages.

Don’s photos are great: the kids are melt your heart gorgeous, so cute they could sell anything, and we’ll have plenty of visuals for the website and a booth at Children’s Club in NYC in August. We're finding out that it pays to hire a professional.