business & professional Photo Op A local mom and teacher's business helps other parents document the monthly milestones of their babies. Lynne Konstantin Contributing Writer W hat new mom (or dad) doesn't instantly become an amateur photographer, snapping hun- dreds of photos a day? Carly Dorogi, 35, is no exception. When her first daughter, Avery, now 31/2 (baby sister Mila is 13 months), was born, she wished there was an easy way to document each phase of growth. The Novi mom, who had her bat mitzvah at Temple Israel and is now a part-time curriculum coordinator for a public school in Metro Detroit, already had a passion for photography, and her own mother, Elyse Milstein, had passed on the creative, crafty gene. Growing up, Dorogi's mom worked for a friend's business, sewing custom appliques to sweat suits. "There was never a special occasion or milestone that my sister and I were not out- fitted in an appliqued sweat suit appropriate to the celebration:' Dorogi says. She wanted to take a monthly photograph of her new daughter and, like her mother, commemorate it in a special way. "But it's a different day and age," Dorogi says, "and I don't own a sewing machine:' She also didn't want to buy an expensive onesie each month, to be worn for a single photo session. Musing to her husband, Jim, one night, she wished she could just stick something on their daughter's shirt each month that would look like it was a part of the shirt, or appliqued, without the monthly cost or sewing skills. "People always say: 'Someone should make that: My husband said, 'Why don't you do it?' It really would not have occurred to me to do it myself' a(41 16 Faux-contrast stitching gives the flowers, gingham and polka dots Sticky Bellies' Oh Sew Adorable stickers (and complementary Oh Sew Handsome argyles and plaids) the look of hand- embroidered detail. Dorogi drew some sketches at her kitchen table, had a graphic designer friend bring them to life and in July 2010, ordered 5,000 packs of gender-neutral Sticky Bellies stick- ers, each including 12 graphic stickers, one for each month of the baby's first year. "I thought that ordering 5,000 was a risk, but I figured, so is the stock market — why not give it a try?" Friends and family loved the stickers. Meanwhile, beaming new parents with access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, were working their marketing magic for her. Within two months, a market editor for Parents magazine, the country's largest circu- lation baby and child publication, picked up on Dorogi's simple yet genius idea, and fea- tured the $14 product in a full-page editorial. "I woke up the morning after the issue hit newsstands, and I had 800 orders:' says Dorogi. "I had inventory in the spare bed- New designs launching this summer include Kaleidoscope Cutie and Patterned Prepster. The heavy-duty monthly stickers can be removed and reapplied for several photo shoots. 40 June 20 • 2013 room, and my husband and I stayed up all night printing out and packaging orders:' Next came a mention on the website Daily Candy Kids, and then the big-box stores came calling, including Buy Buy Baby, Carly Dorogi, founder and CEO of Sticky Bellies, Bed Bath & Beyond and interna- with daughters Mile and Avery tional distributors. "I am a teacher," says Dorogi. when Alexis was 3 weeks old. "I was franti- "I have no background in sales or market- cally looking for them before she turned a ing. The product is a photography prop, month:' says McNulty, a West Bloomfield so people post millions of photos. Their nanny and religious school teacher at friends ask 'Where did you get that?' And it Temple Israel. "I love that I have a memory goes from there. I never submitted a pitch; of each month. I always take Alexis' picture I've never made a sales presentation. It all on her pink rocking chair in black leggings, happened very organically:' white shirt and a hair accessory; it makes it Now a member of a local women's so easy to watch her progress. I make col- entrepreneur network, she also studies the lages, stick them in her baby book — and websites and Facebook pages of brands she I plan to use her Sticky Bellies pictures to thinks work well. Plus, she says, "Google is make her first birthday invitation:' an entrepreneur's best friend. I researched Sticky Bellies have reached Hollywood, printers, packaging, retail displays, every- too, finding their way to new moms Jessica thing. We were like, 'We need bar codes? Simpson and Giuliana Rancic, whose son's How do we do that?' We figured it out as we one-month Sticky Bellies photo, was flashed went:' on E! News last year, after which Rancic She ships thousands of orders every day tweeted the photo, along with "OMC alert! and still handles the customer service her- #0hMyCuteness:' self Moms post pictures on her Facebook OMC, indeed. page and she watches these babies grow up before her eyes. "I want to be the one they connect with, not a call center in another country. I feel like I'm a mom's friend:' No easy task for a business that has dou- bled its sales every year since 2010, and is on track to triple from 2012. Sticky Bellies has expanded in design from the original gender-neutral pack of 12 months to a vari- ety of designs for boys and girls from just born to 12 months, plus toddler packs from 13-24 months and a maternity collection. New lines will launch this summer, such as Milestone Memento's ("Yahoo! I'm headed home!:' "Ouch! I have a tooth!" and "Listen! I can say [fill in the blank]!") and Happiest Holidays ("My First Hanukkah" and "My First Father's Day"). Alexis McNulty of West Bloomfield, has Elizabeth Fielder, owner of Bella Belli Maternity in Birmingham, first met Dorogi been stuck with Sticky Bellies going on when she was delivering shipments herself, 11 months. and has watched the company's growth Look for Sticky Bellies nationally at explode: "Sticky Bellies are adorable, so Buy Buy Baby, Bed Bath & Beyond easy to use and priced war says Fielder. and Hobby Lobby. Locally, retailers "Plus, a lot of people see the stickers include Bella Belli in Birmingham, across the country and in magazines, so Restyle Child in Birmingham, Catching we love to promote the fact that Carly is a Michigander." Fireflies in Berkley and Rochester, and more. Visit stickybellies.com for more Lisa McNulty, mom to Madison, 41/2, information. and Alexis, 101/2 months, with husband, Tom, first saw Sticky Bellies on Facebook ❑