It was love at first snuggleā¦
Hi, Iām Chinmayie, and this photo is from the first time I wore my second newborn in a baby carrier. It really was instant love and it had such a huge impact on my parenting journeyā¦ and so, I started Soulslings back in 2014 because I wanted every parent to experience the bliss of babywearing.
The story goes back a few years, though.
With my firstborn, things were very different. She was a high-needs baby who wanted to be carried all the time, so I bought a baby carrier by a well-known international brand. Unfortunately, the thickly padded carrier was completely unsuited to our climate and I quickly gave up on baby carriers, but the idea of babywearing stuck with me.Ā
4 years later, when I found out I was pregnant again, I knew I wanted to babywear extensively because I knew that babies like to be held. After a lot of research, I imported a ring sling as I felt it was the ideal choice for my lifestyle and the Indian climate, and there was nothing like it available in the market.
I couldnāt have made it through the early days without a carrierā¦
For the first few months of his life, my son would comfortably nap on me while I read books or went out for walks with my 5-year old daughter. Every time he cried, all I needed to do was to wear him in my sling and he would settle down in minutes. I never stepped out of the house without one and I simply couldnāt imagine my life without the sling! I realised what a fantastic parenting tool babywearing is. Knowing how my life as a new parent with my daughter could have been a very different experience if I had found a good baby carrier made me want to start manufacturing and selling baby slings.Ā
ā¦and so my third baby was born!
Soulslings made itās appearance on social media in 2014 when my own son was barely 6 months old. As a mother who was experiencing all the benefits of babywearing personally, I knew I could make a difference in every parentās life by introducing safe, comfortable, and affordable baby carriers to them. I decided to make small batches of slings with local textiles. As a babywearing father, my husband Ravindra was also convinced that it was a great product to introduce to our local community. Together we worked on a logo, an e-commerce website, and started selling ring slings.
People loved them and the word spread quickly about Soul. Orders started pouring in and we had to constantly work on increasing our production capacity to meet the growing demand! We slowly added more people to our team and set up a small studio space with a few local seamstresses. Quite a few of our early customers went on to join the team too, and I cannot think of anyone better suited for this work than a babywearing mother. As my son and I explored different styles of babywearing, Soul expanded its range of baby carriers, and with it, the number of satisfied customers.
Here we are, 8 years in, with thousands of happy babies in Soulslings carriers!
What started as a local venture soon started growing popular outside India as well. Parents around the world fell in love with Soul for what it stands for as a brand, our growing team of moms, and the quality and range of products we offered while striving to be an ethical, conscious brand.
Today we make carriers for babies from 0-4 years, with options for all kinds of families. Our focus has always been to spread awareness and education about babywearing and its benefits in our home country, India. We are a small, heart-run brand, and we are here to help you get started on your journey.
Love, love, loveā¦
Carrying your babies meets one of their most basic needs which is to be held and loved. This can create a deep and long-lasting bond between babies and their caregivers. Our hope is that our happy and secure worn Soul babies grow up to build a more compassionate world tomorrow.
Today every time a happy Soul parent sends us their babywearing success story, we are reminded why we started Soul in the first place. It makes me believe that babywearing is magic, and that it truly can change lives and society at large.
Ā ~ Chinmayie Bhat
Founder/Owner/Mama-in-charge
