OUR STORY
It all began after founder and designer Jackie Garrett kept forgetting her wet wipes as a new mom. At the time, Jackie and her husband Travis had just moved from Chicago to New Hampshire where their first daughter Vilah was born. Jackie was working remotely for Lifetime Network and Travis was in his first principalship at a small, local school.
Each day, Jackie and Vilah would head into a local coffee shop as they had better internet connection for Jackie to work. And each day, Jackie would forget her wet wipes and was left using damp paper towel to change Vilah's diaper. She always considered herself organized and professional but for whatever reason, mom-brain was working against her. It became a running joke at the coffee shop and even the shop owners started stocking wet wipes in the bathroom for her to use. As a new mom, you can only imagine how frustrating this was. Such a simple thing to remember but yet left behind each day for even the most simple outings such as: shopping, running errands or playdates. Finally, after countless trips of forgetting her wet wipes Jackie jokingly came home and said to Travis, "Why aren't wet wipes just built into a bag for new moms?" What was a joke at first became the seed of an idea for a line of diaper bags that dispensed wet wipes.
In 2014, after sewing multiple bags on her kitchen table, testing the market by giving the bags to her friends and revamping designs- Jackie was finally ready to open her arms and take her bags to the largest juvenile trade show called the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas. It was a huge leap of faith but she knew her bags solved a simple problem (how to not forget your wipes) that so many moms faced. These weren't just "bags", they were bags that armed moms with easy access to their wet wipes for diaper duty, sticky fingers and germs. They named the company Vilah Bloom (after their first daughter) and purchased a 20x20 booth (which was way over their budget) to really make Vilah Bloom shine at the trade show. Travis built an amazing display and Jackie did all the marketing on a very small budget. They showed up ready and eager to show the world what they had created and were pleasantly surprised by the response. They won Best Diaper Bag by PTPA Media, were featured on TheBump and moms from all over were stopping by booth 211 to see the designer diaper bag that "dispensed wet wipes". They were a hit!
Today, Jackie remains head designer and CEO. Travis continues to play a huge role in operations and Vilah Bloom has opened two stores! Although diaper bags is where we got our start, the company has expanded it's offerings with premium handbags and accessories. Adding the customizable BagBar (a creative bar that allows you to style your own bag by selecting colors, build custom bag charms, monogramming etc.). The addition of custom charm jewelry in our stores have become a huge hit as well!
We continue to be humbled by the amount of love and support VB fans have given over the years and are truly grateful when customers express how much fun they have creating a Vilah Bloom handbag or accessory in our stores.
xx
Jackie pictured in front of the BagBar's "famous wall of bags".
