Tiny hipster clothes among expo offerings

By Mother’s Day 2014, Ashlee Thomas had grown accustomed to getting “domesticated” gifts from her husband. It started with a slow cooker, and when she got a little pouty, his rationale was, “You said you wanted one.”

info

“Well, yeah,” she said, “but not for Christmas or our anniversary. At first, I was like, ‘What else do you want me to do?’ Before we got married, he gave me jewelry.”

He didn’t get the hint. A vacuum machine followed, as did other such practical gifts, so that by the time she received a sewing machine on Mother’s Day two years ago, she was accustomed to his habit. She didn’t even know how to sew, but this time she was elated.

“It was always in my mind that I wanted to start a clothing business, but I had zero ideas about how to do it. My mom never sewed, and my grandmother never sewed that I knew of.”

It took her two days to simply figure out how to thread her sewing machine, saying, “The thread was going all crazy.”

After problem No. 1 was solved, she started making headbands and headwraps for her two daughters, and created a Facebook page, offering to sell some of her designs.

“The next day, I had 500 followers and tons of orders, including one for 35 headwraps.”

Thomas was now in business, creating infant clothing reflecting her own preference for bohemian style, calling her company Hipster Littles.

Hipster Littles will be one of dozens of child-oriented businesses featured during the Oh Baby! Family Expo — including a Toy & Game Expo and a Party Expo — taking place Oct. 8 and 9 at the Blaisdell Center. The event is geared toward the holidays, whether for gifts or for family-oriented entertainment, activities and party venues.

Hipster Littles took off with a romper that Thomas created to deal with yet another husband issue.

“When he dresses the kids, he puts them into two mismatched things, so I wanted to come up with one piece that he could just grab and it would all work out.”

Knowing most parents appreciate easy, the military mom from Ohio said she worked at an upscale denim boutique before coming to Hawaii and adopted its philosophy of building a wardrobe around a few hardworking pieces. She also created the romper to work year-round, whether over a T-shirt in summer, or with a cardigan and leggings in the winter. Her rompers sell for about $40 to $60.

She headed to Etsy.com to find a pattern, and scanned page after page before determining, “I had no idea what any of this was, so I started drafting my own pattern.”

She used her 6-month-old daughter Paxtyn’s body as her template, saying, “I based all my patterns on how she was growing, and I was lucky that she was true to all baby sizes.”

Thomas opened her own Etsy shop in January 2015 and luckily found herself with an underserved niche. “It really spread because there was no bohemian fashion for children. I find so many mothers here are natural — they’re in the parks or on the beach, they eat fresh food, so when they’re shopping, they want to feel the softness of organic fabrics.”

Hipster Littles was also a hit when it debuted in May 2015 at the Oh Baby! expo, and demand from the expo alone is enough to keep her busy most of the year because she continues to sew each item herself. “It gets a little crazy,” she said.