Park City mompreneur bakes up SweetBaguettes novelty trash bags with whimsy
PARK CITY, Utah (Aug. 22, 2011) – When Park City mompreneur Elaine Murray couldn’t find trash can liners that matched her home décor themes, she did what most self-starters would do: she created her own whimsical line of novelty trash bags, SweetBaguettes, that come disguised as the long, thin French bread sticks that inspired them.
“The name is a play on the literal translation of ‘baguette’, or ‘cute little bag’ and we gave them a playful, memorable twist by packaging them in paper baguette bags just like the bread,” explains Ms. Murray. Three precious designs ring the borders of the four-gallon biodegradable bags that fit most bathroom or bedroom trash containers. Ballerina fairies flutter around the girls’ theme, transportation revs up the bags for boys, and a blue and brown “coffee spot” contemporary design for adults matches the color palette of most every modern home. Whimsical SweetBaguettes become the one decorating piece that brings a room together, and as Ms. Murray puts it, “turn a necessity into an accessory.”
But where did the inspiration come from for the whimsical designer bags? Pairing together creative ideas and business savvy came easy to Ms. Murray, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, CA when being a “Valley Girl” was hip. She developed a taste for style and pop culture while honing a sassy, go-getter personality that served her well as an entrepreneur-turned-corporate-headhunter-turned-stay-at-home-mom.
However, back in the days of her banana yellow skateboard, L.A. Gear High Top sneakers, power shoulder pads, and red rimmed glasses, turning garbage from trashy to trendy was not really on her radar. Shortly after graduating from UCLA, the spunky visionary opened a deli called Garden of Eat’n with her mom, and sold sandwiches floor to floor in local high-rise office buildings as the proverbial “muffin girl”. After two years, she hit the corporate world and fell into recruiting to pay the bills.
When she wed her husband – a recruit she placed AND dated – Ms. Murray found herself thrust into a world of domesticity. In the middle of a remodel in which she had selected the perfect new pedestal sink, that matched her walk-in shower, accented trims and bath towels, “I realized I could decorate everything but the garbage can,” she says. “I just thought the empty trash can looked so unfinished. I spent all this money on tile and fixtures, and I couldn’t even find a coordinating garbage bag.”
That idea was placed on the back burner when the couple relocated to Park City, UT and had three little boys in quick succession. But even as the boys were barely out of diapers, Ms. Murray found herself reaching for her entrepreneurial roots. “I never forgot about creating a coordinating trash bag. I thought that a product company geared toward kid designs would fit with my new life perfectly.”
In 2009 with the support of other Park City mompreneurs, SweetBaguettes was born. “I used babysitters a lot when I was getting SweetBaguettes off the ground,” she says, of the early days when she was juggling caring for preschoolers and building her business. Currently, the novelty bags are available online and Ms. Murray is working on setting up retail and wholesale distributor networks.
Even today, with all three kids in school full time, Ms. Murray says finding work-life balance is a constant challenge. She usually crams in a morning run before settling in to work from her home office. She races to pick up the boys from school at 3 pm and spends some quality time together as a family. “If I can give other busy moms creative solutions for decorating their home in fun, inexpensive, playful ways – and bring a smile to their faces as they see the delight in their children’s – then my job is complete.”
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