Apericots

For all of you art lovers (and I mean real art lovers…not the Brian Regan type of art lover…see below), we have a cool experience to share.

So imagine this, you are strolling through the Museum of Modern Art in New York and enjoying some amazing art from the likes of Monet, Picasso, & van Gogh when you stumble across a masterpiece from Apericots.  Yes, we shipped an order to MoMA.   No, it probably wasn’t framed and placed next to van Gogh’s The Starry Night.  But yes, we were excited to be considered worthy of shipping one of our masterpieces to the revered Museum.

Curious as to what they ordered?  No,  it wasn’t Abe the Ape (although considered by many to be one the most influential pieces in modern art…or at least by us).  It was the astronaut design placed on a onesie. Pretty cool.

So next time you order your masterpiece from Apericots, just think my child is wearing a modern masterpiece.

WANTED: Creative Juices

REWARD: $25 Apericots Gift Certificate

Here is a trivia question for you, “What percentage of the average human brain is made up of water?”  If you guessed 77% then you guessed correctly…that is for the average person.  However, I believe that our creative folk here at Apericots have brains that are primarily made up of creative juices.

That’s a good thing right?  Well, here’s where we need help.  We have a super talented design team (aka “shrewdness”) who are so busy keeping up with all of the various projects associated with our rapid growth, that they don’t have much free-time to sit and brainstorm cool new ideas for clothing designs.

We want you, Mrs. walking reservoir of creative juices, to impart of your creativity.   We welcome your suggestions for new designs.  In fact, the best new design idea that is picked by our designers for a future clothing design will receive a $25 Apericots Gift Certificate to be used at your discretion…but we hope you will use it to buy your own design.

Tell us what designs we are missing.  Tell us what you’d buy.  Tell us what your kids would force you to buy.  Tell us what design would make the perfect gift.  Tell us what the “hot trend” is in your area of the country.  Tell us what you think…you just might be rewarded for all of those creative juices running through your brain.  Hurry, contest ends 11/24/09

So here at Apericots we have a “shrewdness” (see previous post) of amazing individuals who are some of the most dedicated and talented people in the industry. You already know that they are talented in their work because of the great Apericots product that your kids sport…but we feel like we should give you an insight into our personal lives. Did you know that our “shrewdness” is polished in the performing arts? Here is an after work rehearsal with some of our top talent:

Ever heard of Animal Congregation terms?  Neither had I.  But I was wondering what you call a group of Apes?  You’ve probably heard of the some of the following congregations:

Group of Geese = Gaggle

Group of Bears = Sleuth

Group of Cows = Herd

Group of Dogs = Pack

Group of Squirrels = Scurry

Group of Girraffes = A Tower

Group of Porcupines = Prickle

Group of Monkeys = Troop

Group of Gorrillas = Band

Group of Chimps = Unit

Drum roll please…

Group of Apes = Shrewdness

Yes, here at Apericots headquarters, our group is called a “shrewdness”.  What a compliment.  The dictionary defines the word “shrewd” as someone who is “characterized by keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical”.

So just keep in mind that your “shrewdness” here at Apericots is working their guts out to bring you the finest in responsible & hip baby clothing.

So we “kind of” have a winner for the “Name the Ape” contest.  Congratulations to the 3-lettered “Deb” who came up with the winning 3-lettered name of “Abe” the Ape.   There were a lot of great names that were submitted and it forced a vote amongst the Apericots team (hence the delay in announcing the winner).  At the end of the day, Abe won the hearts of the voters.

The “kind of” referenced above was that the contest was originally for a name & a personality.  We all agreed on the name but we can’t agree on the personality…and so we will have to run another contest to solidify the personality.  Don’t worry Deb, you still get the full $25 Gift Certificate. Contact us and we’ll get you squared away.   Long live Abe!

Halloween is all about being scary, right?  Apericots does not equal scary.  Well, we will stretch to try and tie this in.

–Our designs are so cute they are SCARY

–Apericots clothing is so good for the planet that is is SCARY

–You child will look so hip that it is SCARY

–Or, this post is “stretching” so much it is SCARY (or just plain bad)

Alright, here is something that will scare our manufacturing department to death.  All Halloween items are 20% off.  Visit our Featured Items to browse the coolest, cutest, & scariest designs you’ve ever seen. Order quick to enjoy it by Halloween.  So…Apericots is so nice that it is scary?  We love you too!

Okay…so we have a cute little ape as our Apericots mascot.  The problem is that we don’t know what to call him?  We also need to create his personality. His/Her image  is already one of the “best sellers” but we don’t know what to call him/her.  We just keep referring to him/her as “our ape”,  which just isn’t fair.  He deserves a clever name.

We also feel that we need to define his personality.  One person said that they envision the Ape’s personality as described below:

“He is a vegetarian. He likes modern composition and toned down colors. We think he might be colorblind but is too embarrassed to say so. He knows sign language and Spanish but not much else.”

Tell us what you think.  What should we name him/her?  What is the Ape’s personality?  Respond to this post with your ideas.  The best idea (as determined by our astute panel of creative judges) will receive a $25 gift certificate to www.apericots.com. Hurry, the poor little guy needs a name and identity.

Nowadays when a company opens their doors they use the fancy phrase “we have launched”.  I’m not sure where that phrase came from?  It used to be that you would use phrases like “Grand Opening” or “Now Open” but those terms are “so 90’s”.  Either way,  we are “open”.  We are “live”.  We have “launched”.

“Launching” conjurers up images of a NASA space shuttle firing up it’s engines and rocketing away to the moon where astronauts can bounce around in their fancy space suits.  As we begin our journey “post-launch” we are excited to have you on board with us in our journey to the planet of the Apericots…I mean, planet Apericots where every thing is customized, organic, and hip.  No ugly martians here.  Just cute little kids wearing some of the coolest eco-friendly stuff out there.

In celebration of our “launch” our designers created one of the coolest astronaut designs we’ve ever seen.  Now through the end of the month (until September 30th) you can purchase a pre-designed Astronaut onesie or shirt for 20% off. This offer is valid on the organic American Apparel onesies and shirts. You choose the color you want and the size you want.  Take a look…and thank you for the support in helping us “launch”.  Oh, and because we love you, the “free shipping on orders over $20″ applies to the Astronaut clothing as well.  Enjoy!

Link to Promotional Short Sleeve Astronaut Onesie

Maybe she's upset because she didn't get to wear her cupcake Apericots shirt?

Before you had kids did you ever see a child throwing a fit at the store and promise yourself that you would never allow your kids to do that?  How naive were we?  Here at Apericots we are a group of idealist parents who made those same promises; however, we understand that real life parenting doesn’t happen quite like those blasted parenting books promise.   We don’t try to do “everything” but we do try to do the “small things” to make a difference.  That way, when our kids are throwing their fits we can make ourselves feel better by thinking the following thoughts:

“I’m a responsible parent.  My child is wearing 100% certified organic clothing from Apericots.  Hopefully the judgmental shoppers understand that even though they think I’m embarrassed right now, I’m really calm and collected because I love my child and mother earth enough to dress my screaming child in custom, organic, eco-friendly, and hip clothing.

“That custom shirt that I designed is looks so cute on my little stink…maybe they’ll notice my masterpiece that I created on the Design Tool and not the fact that I’m pretending like I don’t hear him screaming right now.”

“Wow, junior has a set of lungs on him.  I should have brought his Apericots bib because his screaming is causing him to drool like a happy bulldog.  Oh well.  The quality of the clothing and the eco-friendly inks are so durable that I can wash his shirt over and over and it will still look great.  Oh, yeah.  I need more laundry detergent.”

“I can’t wait until she has a child of her own.”

Here at Apericots, we have been there and done that…and we’ll be there again and do that again.  We understand that we can’t control everything and that Murphy’s Law is most prevalent at the grocery store; however, we are proud that we offer some exciting eco-friendly options to everyday parents who want something custom and unique for their screaming beauties.  We love our kids.  We love mother earth…and we feel that we should be responsible stewards over both.  Apericots allows us to be responsible parents without sacrificing the budget and without giving up style.  So…our kids look great while they throw their fits and we feel better about ourselves since we are trying to do our part.

Problem: Let’s face it, most kids have big heads.  This is great for learning and soaking up all of their dad’s bad habits but it makes it tough to get them dressed.  Getting them to “want” to get their diaper or clothes changed is tough enough but it becomes infinitely more difficult once they feel like you tried to “take their nose off” while getting them undressed.  This video explains what we’re talking about:

Solution: Apericots clothing offering is handpicked by parents.  We understand. Not only does it look cool but it is functional.    We offer the best clothing.  Yes, it is 100% organic.  Yes, the designs are “stinkin’ cute”.  Yes, you can customize the clothing to your tastes. But furthermore, most of our shirts and onesies incorporate what is called a “lap over” opening at the neck (see below).  This allows the neck line to open up for dressing and undressing.  Easy to get on and easy to get off.  Your child will appreciate the fact that their face won’t be stretched in ways it shouldn’t…and you’ll appreciate the well designed clothing by Apericots when you have to change them into their third outfit for the day.