Blogging With SurpieGirl

With genuine Rigilene© boning, you can make it yourself.

One of the best innovations I’ve seen for new mothers is the nursing cover. Moms rave about this attractive and easy-to-make accessory, which provides Mom with coverage and privacy while nursing, and with its clever opening at the top, allows baby and mother to peek out at each other.

Many new mothers sew their own nursing covers, but in addition, a cottage industry has grown, with entrepreneurial moms producing these terrific items in a variety of fabrics and colorful patterns for sale on the Internet. You can find them via Google, but here are some of the best known:

http://www.uddercovers.com
http://www.bebeaulait.com
http://www.nursingcovers.com

(If you are a mom in the nursing cover business and would like me to add your name here, email me and I will be happy to do so!)

Making your own nursing cover is a cinch, and again, a Google or other search will provide you with several variations on the same simple instructions. Here’s a link to a post I found at La Leche League: http://forums.llli.org/showthread.php?t=8079 (La Leche League)

Again, if you have an easy-to-follow set of instructions, preferably with a photo or two, email me! I’d be pleased to publish it here with a credit to you or your own website.

The key to the nursing cover is the bowed top that allows Mom and Baby to watch each other while nursing, and for that you need a stiffener, traditional corset boning. At SurpieGirl we sell white polyester 1/2″ boning from Rigilene, the leading boning manufacturer, for the lowest price anywhere in the US. I sell my boning in rolls of 44 yards, for only $27.95 per roll, plus $4.95 USPS Priority Mail shipping for up to 2 rolls. You can buy my Rigilene at www.surpiegirl.com or at my Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/surpiegirl. Need only a few yards? I normally sell only by the roll, but if you email me and say you read about SurpieGirl on my blog, I’ll be happy to sell you 2 yards at a great price.

While UPS and Fed Ex continue to nickel and dime me with fuel surcharges, pick up surcharges and residential pickup and delivery surcharges, the USPS continues to amaze me with their reliability, transparent fees and .... every once in awhile an astounding display of customer service. Last Thursday I realized that, despite good planning, I was about to run out of the free, Priority Mail shoeboxes that have enabled me to… Continue reading

Photographing a doll for my online store or my eBay store can be a mystical experience. I know that sounds New Age Hokey and I'm a Here And Now Person, but there is a moment, as I move my camera around my subject, when my eyes lock into the eyes of that porcelain doll and she comes to life and I simply… Continue reading

I'll start off by saying this: I am the mother of two grown sons.  We had a home full of vehicles: Matchbox, Lego, Little People, Brio, Thomas the Tank Engine, John Deere. We read books about trucks and I learned about front loaders, backhoes, and 53 footers. School buses, helicopters, emergency rescue vehicles. From room to room we laid miles of tracks… Continue reading

Readers of a certain age may remember the inflationary 70's, when President Ford sported a button that read, "Whip Inflation Now!" Like his 'diss' to New York City -- crime-ridden and teetering on bankruptcy -- to "Drop Dead", this slogan will be remembered as another one of Ford's sorry misteps. He figured, if we wore the W.I.N. button and wished hard enough, we'd magically halt the dangerous inflationary spiral. Well, we… Continue reading

Loyal customers who have enjoyed my terrific deals on children's toys and art and craft supplies will be thrilled with the newest additions to my store. It's never too early to encourage your child's creativity, and what better setting than bathtime. Your child will love the Tubtime Studio, Bath Mitt & Crayons, and Bath Fun Bucket, made… Continue reading

Between high rents, high fuel costs, and high stress, how does an urban surpie, or surplus dealer manage? It's a challenge, for sure! Ask my kids, who roll their eyes when friends notice the cartons of merchandise piled ceiling high in the apartment hallway. >My mom sells stuff," they explain, making the 'crazy' circle with their finger, as friends pass the giant Elvis collectible that lights up while singing, "You ain't nothin' Continue reading

It's June here at SurpieGirl, and my office is piled high with boxes of wedding gifts and resources for wedding planners. If you are looking for a perfect centerpiece for your pre-wedding family dinner or decoration for your placecard table, here are some lovely suggestions, both in handpainted porcelain. For the flower girl or soon-to-be stepdaughter, these dolls move and are made for active play as well as display… Continue reading

Autumn in New York: Selling quilts from the back of my VW

Posted Oct-08-07

It's autumn in New York, and everyone is out on weekends enjoying (thanks to global warming) unusually warm and sunny weather. Your intrepid Surpie Girl has taken to the street and has joined the ranks of Sunday stoop sellers, sidewalk vendors, and street fair dealers.

This past Sunday I opened the back of my old VW Passat wagon and… Continue reading

From Random House to Frette, Hästens and Vera Wang -- Once a retailer always a retailer Posted Dec-21-07 If it's December, then it must be another RETAIL CHRISTMAS SEASON IN NEW YORK! After 20 years of raising children and pursuing other professional goals, I find myself back in retail. The only difference is that I'm not standing behind a counter, making change, or kneeling down gingerly in stockings and heels to straighten book… Continue reading