I named a wrap ... and sent it to Singapore

Many babywearers geek out when meeting the designers and owners of wrap companies. I totally geeked out the first (and second) time I met Alisa Heytow DeMarco of Tekhni and JMoney of Pavo at MommyCons. In the babywearing world, the women (and men) who make the wraps we love are our celebrities. I for one enjoy speaking to designer/owners and geeking out about fabrics, colors, and designs.

It is even better when the owner of a wrap company you love is actively involved in the Facebook chatter group. Being able to interact with and talk about babywearing with the owner makes you feel like a part of the process. When you show off your baby catching some sleepy dust in a double hammock with an awesome chest pass and the woman who designed your wrap comments on your post, you get really excited!

Jaime Gassmann of Bijou Wear is one of those owners who is very active in the Facebook chatter group. For Bijou Wear, this group is called the Bijou Buzz. One evening, Jaime told me about a very special colorway coming out and she was struggling to name it. Being the rhetorician I am, I started throwing out possible names and one stuck. I got to name a wrap!!!

Introducing Bijou Wear's Cleo Vineyard, a Tencel®/Cotton blend in a beautiful Merlot color.

When you unwrap Cleo Vineyard, it feels a bit stiff and flat. But all it needs is one wash and a dry and Vineyard will bloom before your eyes!! ("Bloom" is the term used to describe how a wrap puffs up and gets thicker and softer after a wash and dry).

The design of Cleo makes for a nice texture. The flowers are surrounded by lines going in a number of different angles away from the flowers. The color of Vineyard is very much a Merlot wine color, but it changes depending on the light. This change happens because of how the Merlot weft weaves in and out of the cream warp. (The warp is what is placed on the loom first and the weft is what is woven into that warp).

The Cleo design has a very different stretch than other Bijou Wear wraps. I had heard of a wrap wrapping like an "Ace bandage" before and I thought I had felt that, but until trying Cleo Vineyard, I had never felt an "Ace bandage" wrap. Cleo Vineyard hugs the body tightly and stays in place, stretching slightly with your every move, just like an Ace bandage -- just check out this chest pass!

The wrap also hugged my baby. In these pics, I have my 20 pound baby in a ruck. The ruck held Baby Frankie tight and comfy. I finished this ruck off with the very elegant "date night finish" also called the "goddess finish." This was the first time I had a wrap elegant enough for this beautiful finish (I am using my base size +1 in these pictures).

I did not have Cleo Vineyard very long. I was sent the wrap to play with for a few days before sending it on to my friend in Singapore so she could introduce Bijou Wear to her friends in Singapore. I loved having Cleo Vineyard. The color is absolutely beautiful and the wrap qualities are amazing. I am constantly amazed by the beauty of Bijou Wear wraps.