Lady LaDuke is a sister partnership here on Zibbet. Courtney and Betina are the inventors of the “feeder frock” for mothers.

In addition to their famous feeder frocks for nursing your baby in comfort and privacy, they also create nursery/nesting items. Their curtains, crib fringe and rugs turn any nursery into a fun place to nest with your baby.

Whether you have a baby, are expecting a child or a grandchild, you will want to visit Lady LaDuke.

Lady LaDuke is also a one-stop shopping experience for that baby shower gift you need.

You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Watch for their package deals.

Read on for an enjoyable interview with these talented sisters….

1. Tell us a bit about yourself?

   We are two sisters from a big family of seven kids.  We grew up sharing a room and fighting like cats and dogs at times of course, and now we are business partners and get along famously.  We are both married.  I am a recent empty nester after raising my four step-daughters, and Betina has three young children at home.  We always loved fashion growing up, and used to play dress up with a bunch of fabulous 1920’s-40’s clothes stored in an old steamer trunk, given to us by our Grandmother.  Our Mom would sew a lot of our clothes, and many of our days were spent after swim team practice at the fabric store with our Mom, looking through the Butterick and Vogue pattern books.

2. Apart from being ‘creative’ what do you do?

   I am a Real Estate Broker with my own Residential Brokerage.  Betina is of course, a full-time  Mother, and works for her husband’s sales and marketing company, managing sales, shipping and accounting.

   
   

3. What inspires you to do the kind of work you do?

   We are Moms, so we know our customers well, but we also have always been t

   he ones to walk into a store, and know the exact item we want, and it’s usually not there.   A lot of my ideas come to memaybe while browsing through a fashion or home décor magazine, or in my sleep.  I can always picture exactly what I want, and then comes the challenge of making it.  We are very much in sync, and so any design idea I have, I run it by Betina, who can also picture it, and then gives me her expert advice on whether Moms will like it or not.   So you could say we are inspired by what’s missing, and the challenge of making it available and completely unique.

4. Do you look up to anyone? Who? Why?

   We look up to our Parents, who taught us to work hard and be happy.  They taught us to set goals, and work towards them, but most importantly, our Parents are truly the ones who set an example, and are all action, never just words.  You can’t find a dishonest, disingenuous, or selfish bone in their bodies.
   

5. What other passions do you have in your life?

   We are a family of athletes, so sports are in the blood, but with some musicality thrown in.  I love to play classical piano and was a ballerina for many years.  I also enjoy restoring antique cars with my husband, and I build dry stack rock walls as a hobby.  I love to travel and learn history.  Betina plays the piano, violin and sings, and played softball and volleyball. She has a passion for exercise and sports of all kinds, and actually gets up for Boot Camp exercise every morning at 5:30, Monday through Friday.

6. What do you like most about Zibbet?

   What Zibbet offers for the price and the aesthetic.  You can tell that Zibbet cares about their community of Sellers, and they care about providing an efficient, unique service.  They listen and perform.  

7. What ‘new’ things would you like to see added to Zibbet?

   The ability to add more photos, and move them in a desired order.  We have a lot of custom orders with swatch photos needed.  4 photos aren’t quite enough for us.  More Seller editing tools, like batch shipping and description/details batch changes.  More batch editing tools in general.   A Facebook tab, and more detailed search categories(suggested to the shopper, instead of plugging in a keyword).  Also, more tips and inside information available for Sellers.  Who are the Zibbet shoppers, and how do we connect with them, especially on the other side of the world?

8. How do you promote your work?

   We have 3 online Shops.  Each offers something different.  One is an Outlet, one offers Spring/Summer Collections and Plus Size options, and Zibbet offers Fall/Winter Collections currently.  Our customers, live in all types of climates, and use our products through season changes.  It keeps things moving, and there’s always something to talk about with 3.  We have a blog.  We use a Facebook fan page and Twitter.   Facebook fans get special sales offers.  Asking a customer to become a fan is in our e-mail signature and communications.  We feed Facebook to Twitter, but also tweet in addition.  We tend to retweet our fans and social network members a lot.  We have wholesale accounts we work on constantly.  We promote these businesses in our shop with buttons and to our fans.  We also run giveaways and sales promotions with them.  We suggest each other to our friends on Facebook.   We join social networks and teams, and  we participate as much as possible with those members.  We do product reviews and giveaways at least once a month, and prize sponsor as much as possible.  We connect to the Mom Bloggers and their readers that way.  A review and giveaway is inexpensive advertising and great exposure.  Plus, your product goes out to someone and is used in front of others.  We use Link Love on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=94037758826&topic=13772 Everyone can post their links and fan, follow each other, etc.  We also buy ad space on various Mom blogs and on our Mom social networks. We register in directories, and try to be everywhere possible on the internet.  A new idea brought up by a Facebook fan is to have a referral program.  Moms refer their friends to us, and earn points and discounts for their next purchase.  Our LaDy Club referral program is just up at our Facebook discussions.

9. How would you recommend other Zibbeters make the most of Zibbet.com?

   Upgrade to Premium!  Take advantage of the tools you can use to promote yourself with an upgraded account.  Take that risk, and believe in your business!  Link to your fan page, blog, wholesale accounts, other shops, Twitter, etc.  Get on Link Love, join Zibbet Community…create a group.  We’ve created 3 groups on Zibbet Community:  “Zibbet Community on Facebook”, “Sales and Promotions” and “Zibbet Baby”.

   Take advantage of customizing your shop.  Make it eye candy.  Style your shoot, and take good, interesting photos.  Use a model if you can.  Look and act like a brand, and bigger than you are.  Use professional labels and make hang tags.  Name your products.  Provide excellent customer service, and communicate galore!  Let the customer know you got their payment with details, when it will be shipped, and how it will be shipped.  Let them know you’ll confirm with them that it is shipped, and ask them for their feedback .   Present their item like a gift in the mail.  Handwrite a thank you card, and always carry business cards.  Always be ready to describe and talk about your products easily, and wear them if you can.  Put an advertising magnet on your car. Volunteer in your local community, and join local clubs to connect with others.

10. In the future we’d like to be…

    …Looking at LaDy LaDuke’s page in Vogue Magazine!

Tags: featured zibbeter, Lady LaDuke