Made With Love...

Nowadays it is not surprising to find most clothing items are made outside the UK, which makes it refreshing to know that Dribblebuster the baby and toddler accessory for dribbly babies isn't! Lovingly handmade in the UK, each award winning Dribblebuster is individually cut, measured and stitched by the creator Alison Withell and 

friends.

To find out more about the company and the wonderful creator and her visions, I posed some questions to Alison to delve a little further into Dribblebuster!

     When did you start making Dribblebuster's and what provoked you?

 "I started making Dribblebuster's in December 2006. I was away with my family for a break and being with my 15 month old grandson 24/7 I noticed how constantly dribbly he was! His tops were soaked through to the skin after a relatively short time and I realised that this could be the reason why he was always getting colds! This really preyed on my mind as I thought "he needs something to cover his clothes where the dribble lands, without hiding his lovely outfits that his mum dresses him in" As soon as we got home, I set to work with my idea, with great excitement! I got a piece of newspaper and cut out a shape and tried it around my neck, and then cut this down to a baby size. Then I found some fabric, sampled it and rushed round to my daughter's house with my prototype. Jamie was quite happy to wear this and we found it kept the moisture away from his clothes. This was then refined to the shape that it is now."

     How long did it take you to move from your idea/concept to reality? 

"A very short time really, being a dressmaker I had fabrics to hand but had to refine these and find a suitable backing fabric that is soft and absorbent. In January 2007 my husband learned how to build a website and by March 2007 we had our first online order, which was very exciting! We still had a lot of learning to do as far as marketing and SEO etc but feel the website is moving in the right direction."

    How did you come up with the name Dribblebuster?

 "All credit for that goes to my daughter Katrina. I wanted a name that said what it was, as dribble bibs were unheard of at that time and I certainly wasn't aware of them. Katrina was cleaning the bathroom when she had a "eureka" moment. I think she was thinking about dirtbuster and suddenly said "how about dribblebuster" I immediately thought 'Yes that is it!"

   How did you decide on the materials to use?

"I wanted a fabric that would be very soft, absorbant yet light to wear. Anything too thick, like fleece would get hot and could irritate a sensitive baby.  It was important to me not to use any plastic materials. The product also had to look fun and complimentary with a lovely outfit. We decided to add our Dribblebuster label on each item at the back, as not be to an irritant on the skin, yet the brand name is still visible."

   The Liberty prints are absolutely gorgeous - will you be adding anymore to the range?

"Yes definitely! We are constantly on the look out for new and exciting fabrics. The 2011 Liberty print collection are superb and work extremely well for our range. We view the coming seasons prints and make a decision on what will suit our range to keep up to date with the new seasons fashions and colours."

I would like to thank Alison for sharing this information, I hope it gives you an insight into what a lovely and caring company Dribblebuster is.

With many years experience as a seamstress you can also find a selection of clothing that Alison can make for you - the range includes stunning wrap over dresses which can be used as tunics in order to maximize the usage and tshirts! Alongside also stocking favourites such as, Sophie La Giraffe, Huggalugs and Silly Billyz Bibs.

Original Dribblebuster's are priced at £7.99 and Liberty prints are priced a £9.99 - all available from www.dribblebuster.co.uk