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Spill It! Where Did You Get That Bib?

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

BRANDON - After the birth of her daughter Ryan four years ago, Beth Powell enjoyed dressing her baby girl in style. Reveling in ribbons and bows, Powell thought it could not possibly be as much fun to dress a boy. She changed her tune, though, with the arrival of her son Drew in 2006.

"I discovered there were all these really cool outfits for boys," she said.

Dressing Drew, however, proved to be problematic. He was diagnosed with gastro esophageal reflux disease, a condition that causes stomach acids to back up into the esophagus and, in Drew's case, all over his clothes.

Instead of constantly changing his clothes, Powell kept a bib on him. That resolved the problem but created a frustrating fashion faux-pas, she said.

"I had to cover up cute little baby outfits with all these terribly ugly bibs, or bibs that didn't match, or the silly ones that say things like 'I'm the little brother,'" she said. "The bibs were driving me crazy."

Her friends agreed that it would be great to have outfits with matching bibs, and Powell's entrepreneurial instincts kicked in. She created Bibzees, outfits that include two graphic print bibs and a dyed-to-match solid color bodysuit.

"There are two bibs for each style, so that when one gets damp, you can just pull out the second one from your bag and have a new dry outfit without actually changing clothes," Powell said.

She talks up her product and hands out business cards at malls and parks where she and other mothers with babies gather. Her slogan is "Even cool babies spit up."

She met Donelle Lewis Casselman at a bookstore in Brandon. Powell gave Casselman a card, and the Seffner woman placed an order that evening.

"I bought the Surfer-Dude style for my 6-month-old son," Casselman said. "He looks adorable in it, and it is very versatile and stylish."

Powell would like to expand the line and offer her designs at local stores and boutiques. In business barely a month, she said she has sold a few dozen of the outfits by word-of-mouth and through her Web site.

At her daughter's preschool this month, Powell said she was delighted with the response she received after handing her card to another woman with a baby in tow.

"The woman said, 'Oh I've heard of those!' She sort of got excited, and so did I. It was very cool."

BIBZEES

WHAT: Baby outfit sets with two graphic print bibs and one dyed-to-match, solid-color bodysuit.

PRICE: $24.95 for short-sleeves; $26.95 for long sleeves, plus shipping

INFORMATION: Go to www.bibzees.com for information or to purchase items through PayPal

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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