EllaNews

The Mei Tai was our third baby carrier introduction, after the Wrap, then Ring Sling. What a crazy ride this one has been! As with the Ring Sling, the need for this style arose when I owned and operated Peppermint.com. We had been purchasing mei tais from China Town, in LA. These were pretty, but not very comfortable for our American customers, as they were made of thin cotton or satin fabric and absolutely no padding. The body was also quite small, and the straps were short. It didn’t allow for the wrap-around-the-body style of ties that you mostly see with modern mei tais in the States. (I can’t find a picture of one of these anywhere! If you have one, please let me know. I’d love to post it here.)
So we started prototyping our own version, very casually. Bigger body, longer straps, more sturdy fabric, padding. All of the obvious suspects. We even played around with some unusual ideas, like “webbing” between the shoulder straps and body (which I saw on some obscure Asian studies website). I still have that thing somewhere around here. What I really wanted was for some other company to wholesale mei tais to our store, though. So every time I saw a promising WAHM (work at home mom) come up with her own version (sometimes also based on Peppermint.com’s Chinese version), I would put aside my prototyping and hope that she’d start wholesaling soon. Yes, I was optimistic. It’s been beaten out of me by now.

So that didn’t happen. I finally got fed up and pushed on with the prototype and got the original Ellaroo Mei Tai into production locally (Orange County).

Around that time, we also made contact with a company that works with members of the Hmong minority group in China. Working with local craftspeople in their villages, they produce and import into the US many lovely hand-embroidered items. We had a wonderful experience producing our Ellaroo Chinese Mei Tai with them (limited edition). These were especially fun because the crafters had complete freedom to embroider the panels as they liked. Generally, there are family motifs that get passed from mother to daughter through a family.

About a year later, we had the opportunity to team up with Karen Baker, then of Kolamo Baby Carriers. We were working with her to bring the Mei Hip to market under the Ellaroo name, and also purchased her Mei Tai design. This included a flip up headrest, to which we added a magnet to secure the headrest in the down position.

The basic Mei Tai is such a simple design. A rectangular body with shoulder and waist straps. The details are what matter, though. The angle of the straps coming off of the body, the width of the straps, the amount of padding, the dimensions of the body. But the beauty of the Mei Tai, besides the perfect “canvas” that’s created by the body panel, upon which you can embellish, is:

• the great weight distribution (second only to the Wrap)
• compact size
• short learning curve

Additionally, it’s:

• easy to share between people of different sizes (one size fits most)
• reversible to a solid color
• useful throughout your baby carrying years
• used for front and back carries (sometimes side, too)
• hands-free
• possible to nurse in, for many women

The lowdown on the Ellaroo Mei Tai:

DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION

• 15″ wide by ~19″ high
• Each shoulder strap and the waist strap are ~72″ long
• All current fabrics are 100% certified organic cotton.
• All new designs (2007) are organic cotton canvas, brushed for softness (very cozy).
• The batting is recycled polyester.
• Starting in 2007, our Mei Tais are custom embellished using hand block printing, screen printing, embroidery, or appliqué.

USE

• can be worn on back, front, or side (although it’s not the ideal hip carrier - try the Ellaroo Mei Hip)
• recommended from birth to about 35 lbs, when most people prefer to give up babywearing
• recommended for people who need good weight distribution, such as with toddlers, and those with neck, back, or shoulder problems

MANUFACTURE

• Ellaroo is involved in the process of making our Mei Tai from the purchase of the raw cotton all the way to sewing, embellishing, and packaging.
• All of our Mei Tais are currently made in India.
• We use low impact fiber reactive dyes, as well as other processes that adhere to organic processing standards (better for the environment, as well as baby).

SAFETY

• Because the Ellaroo Mei Tai does not come with any rings, buckles, or parts, it’s just you, baby, and organic cotton. Tied with double knots, it’s extremely safe and secure.

-Vesta