Inspiring Conversations with Naomi Kraut of Fun Mom Band

Today we’d like to introduce you to Naomi Kraut.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Fun Mom Band was born out of pandemic parenting struggles when I lost my mind Zoom-schooling my young daughters. As a survival strategy, I channeled my Zoom school mom rage into a puppet musical — in solidarity with moms and the extra heavy mother load made laid bare by the pandemic. After launching this puppet musical, I realized that I wanted to keep creating for the moms — to make them feel seen and to lighten the load. Having always been a fanny pack aficionado, and have always dreamt of a fanny pack toolbelt for moms, I decided it was time to create a fanny pack for the moms, one built as tough as motherhood. While a diaper “would” fit in this pack, I wanted the pack to be about mom’s needs and mom’s stuff; therefore, Mom’s Fanny comes stocked with a fanny flask and pill box for whatever relief mom needs to rock the day.

I knew nothing about manufacturing or making a sewn good product when I decided to pursue Mom’s Fanny. I googled a whole bunch of local people, and thanks to a few kind folks sharing their time and ideas, I got connected to the Carolina Textile District, a wonderful organization in Western North Carolina that is supporting and reinvigorating the world of manufacturing in the Carolinas. After I took the Sewn Goods Module, I was connected to an amazing manufacture in Boone, NC, Tsuga, where Mom’s Fanny is sewn.

Along the way, I was very fortunate to receive an NC IDEA MICRO grant, which was a game changer in terms of the support needed to launch Mom’s Fanny. In addition to the financial grant, NC IDEA’s programming support, and expansive network taught me a ton about the world of startups and entrepreneurship in North Carolina, a world I was new to when I started Fun Mom Band. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s tough to make a profit on a product made in the US, and it’s tough to market a product on a shoestring budget. While the world of startups is fast-paced, I’ve realized that it can be a much slower road with a CPG (consumer packaged good). 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Fun Mom Band?
Mom’s Fanny is the flagship product of Fun Mom Band, a stylish and versatile denim fanny pack that fits everything and looks good on everyone. It is proudly manufactured in the mountains of North Carolina, honoring the time and resources it takes for people to make an exceptional product. While there are lots of fanny packs on the marketplace, Mom’s Fanny is a pack above the rest: it is the purvey of convenience, with its structured shape that holds a ton, pockets galore that support organization, and accompanying fanny flask and pill box that signal that this pack is for MOM’S stuff. It is also the purveyor of cool, with its classic denim style that goes with everything and elevates an everyday outfit. Most importantly, Mom’s Fanny is on a mission to lighten the mother load and make moms feel seen. In the words of our customers: “It makes me feel not just like a regular mom, but a cool mom!” 

What do you think about luck?
I feel very lucky to have received an NC IDEA MICRO grant and that the Fun Mom Band content has resonated with people — not just moms. 

Pricing:

• Mom’s Fanny: $59

Contact Info:

• Website: www.funmomband.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funmomband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/funmomband/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomikraut/
• Youtube: youtube@funmomband

Image Credits
Alex Maness