Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Like Tweet

Who is the Cloth Diaper Whisperer? A personal look.

You might have asked just who is this "Cloth Diaper Whisperer"? My name is Kelly Wels and I am the owner of Diaper Shops and run 4 online cloth diaper speciality stores.

I grew up in Maine most of my life since I was 6. My parents had a camp in Maine and moved from New York in the early 80's. I come from a very hard working family. My Dad owned his own landscaping business and from a very young age I had great work ethics. I graduated from a small high school in Bethel, ME as a member of the National Honor Society, ski team, and cross-country running team.

I attended colleges in both Maine and Florida and after changing majors a couple of times decided to get my degree in horticulture. I am licensed by the state as a Maine Certified Nursery-person and my official title in the non-cloth diapering world is Kelly Wels, MCN. I worked as a manager a nursery (plant nursery not a child nursery!) for several years and then worked as a sales representative for a bulb company based out of Holland.

After I had my first child, Olivia, in 1997 I decided that I wanted to stay at home with her. After my second child, Hanz, was born in 2000 I felt the need to contribute to the family income. In 2000, the idea of Kelly's Closet was born, and I launched the site on April 1st, 2001. I didn't even sell cloth diapers. I started selling boutique style baby clothing and it was a major flop!

After a few months with no sales I almost threw in the towel. When a couple of Moms emailed me asking if I could get cloth diapers as one of the clothing brands I carried also made cloth diapers, I honestly thought, "This is a joke- no one uses cloth diapers anymore." I did decide to order a few and within days they sold....and as they say-"The rest is history."

I now have 3 beautiful kids (Olivia, Hanz, & Riley) and a wonderful husband Scott and live in a 1794 farm-house at the top of hill in a small New England town called Waterford. It is a summer village and many people come here to vacation. In the winter the population dwindles to under 1500 as the snow keeps people away (see the picture of my house to the left last November before it "really" snowed). Last year I had snow that went over the top of my kitchen window!

What do I like to do in my spare time? I like to scrap book, love stamping cards, and gardening. I have to make a point of getting off the computer as I tend to over-work a lot! My goal this year is to spend more quality time with my kids. I am involved with our church and am starting to help out with our church's food pantry and a program called Waterford Santa. This program helps needy families in Waterford with gifts for children at Christmas.

Our family loves to have fun and we never act our age! Halloween this year was no exception. This year we all dressed like Candy! (see picture right) Olivia was Candy Corn, Hanz was Junior Mints, Riley was a Tootsie Roll, Scott was a Sugar Daddy, and I was a Reese's PB Cup! We went to the kids school Halloween party and had a blast!
I wouldn't change my life for anything. I have a wonderful family I love and adore, a home in a beautiful town, and a prospering business to the thanks of my customers.

I thank God everyday for the many blessings in my life!

10 comments:

Katrina said...

Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your life with all of us. It's always interesting to learn a little bit about the person behind the name. I for one am glad you started selling cloth diapers. I think I've purchased 80% of my stash from your online stores! God Bless.

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Hi Katrina,
So nice to hear from you! I just love what I do and thank all of my customers, including you, for making the business a success.
Blessings to you too!

Kathleen W. said...

It was nice getting to know you a little Kelly. I envy you and your business, since it must be so nice helping people get started with cloth diapering and also knowing that you are contributing to earth conservation efforts. Keep up the great work!

PS I love your house. I {heart} old homes. Mine isn't quite as old as yours (1903).

Jenny said...

so fun to get to know the lady behind the diapers better. wonderful story and wonderful owner - you make it easy for your customers to want to support you!

Instant Family of 4 said...

Always great to put a face with the name. Keep up the great work!

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Hi Kathleen,
Yes, we love our old home...it is a lot of work but it certainly is nice. Thanks for posting!

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Hi Jenny,
Having customers like you make my job fun! I love what I do.

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Hi Jon, Lindsey, Alex, and Ben
What a sweet picture of your kiddos!

Andrea @ Momma in Flip Flops2 said...

Thanks for sharing about you. I would love if yu'd like to do a guest post at Momma In Flip Flops2. I am showcasing Cloth Diapers this month and would love to let readers know about your site if that's okay??

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Hi Andrea,
Thank you for your comment and would love to do a guest post. If you can contact me directly thru this link that would be great:
http://www.kellyscloset.com/crm.asp?action=add