Meet the Team
Meet Team Babyville!
Jean, Ellie and Angel are some of the leading personalities behind Babyville Boutique. Jean and Ellie, along with the Marketing and Product Development Team at Prym Consumer USA, have developed this program. Angel is the talented artist who made the line come to life with her colorful designs! This team’s combined talents are showcased in the products of the Babyville Boutique line.
Collectively, they will be working to keep new, fresh, inspiring designs, ideas and articles right here on the Babyville Boutique website and blog. Their goal is to help each of you discover and develop your creative spirit and enjoy the satisfaction and fun of sewing your own adorable diapers and accessories!
Meet Our Babyville Design Team
Our Design Team comes to us from all walks of life and from locales near and far, but they all have one thing in common…they love sewing cloth diapers! In fact, our Design Team members are like you in many ways… they want the very best for their baby, want to save money and also use cloth diapers for environmental reasons. We’re proud to have such a diverse and talented group of ladies who will generously be sharing their expertise and delightful designs with us. Their projects, tutorials and articles will help newbies learn to sew as well as present unique techniques and shortcuts that more experienced sewists will find valuable. We encourage you to take a minute to read each Design Team member’s bio to learn more about the artist behind the design, and to find links to their blogs and work-at-home-mom sewing businesses. We think you’ll agree that this is one talented group of gals!
Angel Hartline is a freelance Product Development & Graphic Art Professional working...
Angel Hartline is a freelance Product Development & Graphic Art Professional working primarily in the crafts & giftware industries. Angel’s family claims she started drawing as soon as she was old enough to hold a pencil, but she discovered her love for product development while managing accounts for importer Don Mechanic, a craft industry veteran and founder of Zaks craft stores.
As Key Account Manager at DME, Angel supervised all aspects of key accounts including product development, sourcing, trend analysis, purchasing and sales. She worked extensively with many mass merchants including Michaels Stores, ACMoore, Burlington and Cato to develop custom product lines directly with the factories. During Angel’s tenure there, DME was recognized as a recipient of the first Michaels Annual Partnership Award for 2003 and also received the Dallas 100 Award for 2003, 2004 & 2005.
Before moving on to start her own business, Angel also managed a team of designers and developed several programs as the Product Development Coordinator for another craft industry importer. After a decade of experience in import crafts & giftware manufacturing, she decided it was time to truly focus on design.
Angel Hartline Designs provides graphic design, web development and product development services. Angel also designs digital & hybrid scrapbooking products and is known throughout the online scrapbooking community as Angeltown. You can find more information on Angel’s designs on her website & Facebook page.
She often collaborates on design projects with other designers including the dynamic duo of Jean Kievlan & Ellie Joos. Jean, Ellie & Angel combine their varied talents and experience along with the fabulous team at Prym Consumer to develop & nurture Babyville Boutique.
Angel creates Babyville’s playful characters and patterns. She loves vibrant, cheerful designs and truly loves bringing each character to life. Angel also designed the Babyville Boutique website in collaboration with Prym Consumer and Synergy Point.
Ellie has been sewing cloth diapers for several years now. It all began with a call from her...
Ellie has been sewing cloth diapers for several years now. It all began with a call from her friend Jean who shared an idea she had for a cloth diaper sewing program and as they say, the rest is history. Ellie is a former a fashion and craft industry veteran, has been creating and executing public relations, education, and marketing communications programs and providing trend forecasting for employers for more than 30 years. As Public Relations and Education Vice President for the Offray Ribbon Company, a major manufacturer in the craft, floral, gift, and fashion industry, she developed brand image via print and TV media, education, web site development and advertising and trade show design. Prior to Offray, Ellie was Fashion Director for the Wm. E Wrights Co., manufacturer of trimmings for home sewing and apparel. She began her career in the home sewing industry at Simplicity Pattern Company as Associate Fabric Director.
While at Offray, Ellie authored three ribbon books published by Friedman/Fairfax, New York, an imprint of Barnes and Noble. THE SPLENDOR OF RIBBON, published in 1997 is a beautiful hard cover ribbon idea book. GLORIOUS WEDDINGS, published in 1999, celebrates this special occasion. TREASURES FOR BABY, published in spring 2001, is filled with special projects for the new baby in the family. Who knew at the time her career would continue with baby products!
Ellie has been a frequent guest on numerous craft and home décor shows on HGTV and PBS where she was known as “The Ribbon Lady”. She has also represented several clients on QVC and even met Joan Rivers!
Ellie and Bill, her husband, are parents to four wonderful children and six fantastic grandchildren, including the youngest, Trey, who wears and models the diapers Ellie has made for the Babyville Boutique program.
Jean Kievlan is an accomplished designer who has authored over 200 “how-to” craft...
Jean Kievlan is an accomplished designer who has authored over 200 “how-to” craft books. She regularly teaches retailer workshops at industry tradeshows and has taught thousands of consumers a variety of crafting techniques through magazine articles, books and Internet projects. In addition, she has made television appearances on both HGTV and PBS.
Jean’s company, Kievlan-McGuffee Design Services, is co-owned with her long-time friend and business partner, Julie McGuffee, host of the PBS’s Scrapbook Soup. Kievlan-McGuffee has worked with leading craft industry manufacturers for over 15 years, and has won several awards for product innovation and excellence.
Jean continues to work closely with Prym Consumer USA to develop additional products for the Babyville Boutique brand. As Design Team Coordinator for Babyville Boutique, Jean enjoys working with these talented team members to develop articles for the blog, website as well as designing projects for new books in production.
In a previous capacity as Education Coordinator for Design Originals Publishing Company, Jean mentored numerous new designers seeking publication, as well as shared her expertise and skills to help other novice designers achieve success in many facets of the creative industries.
Jean’s interest and sewing expertise were revived with the birth of her grandson several years ago. As grandma to both an adorable grandson and beautiful granddaughter, she looks forward to creating more fun sewing patterns and projects in the near future. For more information and to see additional projects and tutorials, visit Jean’s blog, justcraftyme.com, or visit her etsy store at: www.etsy.com/shop/SoftnNaturalFabrics.
Melissa P. is a WAHM with one toddler and an infant on the way. She started sewing during her...
Melissa P. is a WAHM with one toddler and an infant on the way. She started sewing during her college years because sewing sounded like fun. She purchased a cheap $50 sewing machine and off she went! In just a few years, she found herself hemming pants and replacing zippers for clients. Soon after that, she started a home-based alteration business (working primarily on bridal gowns and formalwear) - all while teaching special needs full time.
When Melissa was expecting her first child, she realized her sewing business would allow her to stay home with the coming baby. While pregnant, she made her first cloth diapers. Now in addition to the joy of sewing special things for her baby, Melissa has a home-based business, Monster Pants, which allows her to sew to her heart’s content.
Melissa also loves knitting socks, reading, running and cooking. Although Melissa still does alterations and takes a few special orders, her main focus for the past two years has been in her cloth diaper sewing.
I started sewing at age 13 when my mom bought me my first sewing machine. Before that, I was her...
I started sewing at age 13 when my mom bought me my first sewing machine. Before that, I was her cutting slave and loved helping her pick out fabric. I sewed sporadically until I became pregnant with my third baby. I had recently moved to Canada from Southern California and money was tight. My sister, Krista, got me interested in cloth diapers. She sent me my first pattern and away I went. Now I am the WAHM behind Tangeroo Baby. I’ve been officially sewing and selling diapers for a year and a half. In addition to diapers, I make wet bags, wipes, covers and swim diapers.
I have three children, Tamberly 18, Michael 16, Emily 5, and Tristan 3. Along with diaper sewing, I love making clothing for my kids. I also knit, crochet and spin my own wool. My most recent venture is dying my own fabric for specialty items. And somehow in all of this, I actually find time to bake, my other favorite thing to do!
Katie is a twenty-something mom to three little ones - two girls and a boy. She started sewing...
Katie is a twenty-something mom to three little ones - two girls and a boy. She started sewing at a very young age, but didn’t really engage in sewing until she left her full-time job when her oldest child was born. She is a completely self-taught seamstress who enjoys teaching others to sew. Katie sews mostly baby items but also enjoys sewing clothing for her children and herself.
Katie started sewing cloth diapers five years ago when a friend showed her a tutorial and asked if Katie would consider making cloth diapers for her. From that point on, Katie was hooked! All three of her children have been in cloth diapers, and she helps other moms with their cloth diapering endeavors by teaching classes at her local Birth Network. Another great passion of Katie’s is helping moms successfully breastfeed. She now works part-time as a WIC Breastfeeding Counselor, a job she absolutely loves!
