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buddingSTEM

Created by Jennifer Muhm & Malorie Catchpole

buddingSTEM offers a complete line of girls' clothes celebrating science, space, dinosaurs, and other things all kids love!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Last Call for Size Changes (& Other Updates!)
over 8 years ago – Mon, Sep 07, 2015 at 01:37:32 PM


Last Call for Size Changes

We have been more than happy to work with our Kickstarter backers on any needed size changes, as we know many kids have grown between our expected ship date and now!

Please let us know if you need sizes changed, and we are happy to make the change and send you a confirmation of your updated order via email. Since orders are shipping imminently, we need all size changes by Thursday, September 10, 2015 -- please email us at [email protected].


Leggings & Dresses: Shipping Soon!

Our leggings are on their way to us this week and as soon as we receive them, they will be on their way to you! Dresses will follow about a week later.

We are so excited that you will be receiving your STEMwear soon!

Recent Media

With the launch of buddingSTEM's retail site, and the #ClothesWithoutLimits campaign that we co-founded with nine other like-minded small businesses, we had another wave of media in August -- check out some of these stories:

More Announcements Coming Soon

Finally, we are excited to share details about our new Fall/Winter products soon, as well as to announce our first retail partnership, and to share information on another great Kickstarter out of Seattle…look for these updates coming soon!

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Kickstarter Discount Code and #ClothesWithoutLimits
almost 9 years ago – Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 10:47:43 AM

Kickstarter Discount Code

To say thank you for making our Kickstarter campaign a success, we emailed you a discount code for use on our retail site (www.buddingSTEM.com). This code expires on August 15, 2015.

Please email us at [email protected] if you need the discount code resent to you -- we are happy to do that!

For international backers, we look forward to sending you a discount code as soon as we launch international shipping...stay tuned!

#ClothesWithoutLimits: Ten Small Businesses Expand Girls’ Back-to-School Clothing Choices

buddingSTEM is joining nine other children’s brands to promote more diverse clothing options. See below for more information about this campaign!

Back-to-school shopping gives kids the opportunity to showcase their interests through their clothes – but what if the things your daughter likes can’t be found on girls’ clothes?

Look in any mainstream retailer and you would believe girls only like ponies, kittens, and rainbows. But any parent will tell you that girls like so much more – they are also aspiring scientists, athletes, and leaders.

This back-to-school season, buddingSTEM is proud to join 9 other independent small businesses in celebrating #ClothesWithoutLimits, and giving girls a wider range of clothing options that reflect their true variety of interests.

 Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/clotheswithoutlimits!

From atom dresses to dinosaur leggings, from longer shorts for active girls to t-­shirts with empowering themes, these small businesses are expanding the definition of what it means to dress “like a girl.” With their joint campaign, #ClothesWithoutLimits, they aim to bring attention to the impact the messages on girls' clothing have on girls' self-image and their ability to succeed in school. 

"Little girls pick up on messages in the clothing department," said Malorie Catchpole of buddingSTEM. "When girls don’t see dinosaurs, space, and other science themes on their clothing, it tells them that things like science and engineering aren’t for them."

Clothing that allows girls to express their interests in everything from science and sports, to engineering and math (until now, subjects found almost exclusively in the boys' section), provides girls the opportunity to show their new classmates and teachers what they like with confidence and style. It's hard to forget that a girl is interested in science when she's wearing a dress covered in atoms or rockets – reinforcing the message that interest in these subjects is not gender-specific. And a girl wearing a slogan tee touting her boldness, smarts, or leadership potential can sit down at her desk empowered to learn and thrive.

“When a girl walks into a store to do her back-to-school shopping, she’s excited and wants to find things that will show the world a little bit about who she is and what she likes,” said Sharon Choksi of Girls Will Be. “Unfortunately, many girls struggle to do that because the options at mainstream retailers are very limited. We want to help girls head back into their classrooms with confidence this fall, wearing clothes that better reflect their personalities, interests, and abilities.”

This summer and fall, parents can celebrate the opportunity to give their daughters broader options. Because parents know girls’ interests are unlimited – and now their clothing options are unlimited, too.

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Retail Launch, Production Update, and a Few Surprises in Store
almost 9 years ago – Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 10:15:13 AM

It’s a long update! Grab a cup of coffee and read on….

Retail Launch

We are super excited to launch our retail website for U.S. customers!

Thank you for your incredibly generous support through Kickstarter and BackerKit which helps make this launch possible. Here are some of the updates you’ll see:

New website: In the last couple of months, we moved to a new e-commerce platform and completely rebuilt our website.

Fresh photos: We worked with a talented local photographer here in Seattle to capture some of our Kickstarter models in our array of t-shirts and infant bodysuits. We are planning another photoshoot once our leggings and dresses arrive. If you are in Seattle, watch for our casting call -- your girls could be in our shoot!

Online Store: Your generous support through Kickstarter and BackerKit provided the initial capital to launch our store and complete our first production run. We can’t thank you enough. Our online store will be available to U.S. customers beginning July 31st at www.buddingSTEM.com.

Discount Code for You: We so appreciate that you helped make all of this possible -- and so many of you have written us such lovely and supportive emails. We appreciate every single one of you. To say thank you for making our Kickstarter campaign a success, we will be emailing you a discount code for use on our retail site.

Production Update

First, if you would like to update the sizes of your items based on our production delay, please email us at [email protected]. We are happy to change your order to accommodate growing kiddos!

Second, we are pleased to report that all of our fabric was printed, and is moving into the cut and sew process.

For the teal fabric, we ended up changing the print to a darker gray because the lighter gray looked too washed out when printed -- now the pattern really pops off the fabric!

After a number of iterations on the navy fabric, we are all set with dinos, rockets, and trains. We added more “pink” into the print, and as a result it has a few variations giving it a fun hand-stamped look!

 At this point, early September is looking more likely than late August for product shipping, but we will keep you updated with any changes.

A Few Surprises in Store

Finally, we are excited to share some really fun updates with you over the coming weeks!

  • Watch for a fun announcement next week...it’s right up your alley!
  • We have several *NEW* products in the works that we can’t wait to share with you...we’ve given a few people sneak previews and have had great responses!

As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support!!

Notification of Manufacturing Delay
almost 9 years ago – Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 10:21:31 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

What a week it's been!
almost 9 years ago – Sat, Jun 06, 2015 at 03:11:10 PM

Our word of the week: Fulfillment.

We’d love to share a quick update from our week of getting 866 packages out the door. And please keep the STEMwear photos coming as you receive your shirts - we adore them!

See below for The Good, The Frustrating, and The Adorable!

The Good 

In the last week, we shipped 866 rewards out to our Kickstarter backers!

It was a busy week fulfilling the majority of our Kickstarter reward orders, while juggling our full time jobs and families. Thanks to a great fulfillment team, and a few late nights, almost all t-shirts and infant bodysuits are out the door and on their way to YOU!

Our canvas lunch totes were on back-order until mid-June, but in a happy turn of events, they arrived on June 1st and are arriving in mailboxes. They are pretty awesome!

The Frustrating 

Ordering 1,300 of anything has its challenges! And our large order of t-shirts and infant bodysuits was not without a couple hiccups:

5/6 T-Shirt Tags - Our size 5/6 t-shirt tags were delayed...they came in on Wednesday, and we are in process of sending out the remaining size 5/6 t-shirts. If that is the size you ordered and you are wondering where your fabulous STEMwear is, please rest assured that it is now on its way!

Missing T-Shirts - A small number of shirts were missing from the initial order...we’ve reconciled what we received against what we ordered, and replacements for the missing product are on their way. In particular, this affected the X-Small and Small adult t-shirts, as well as a handful of other products. Many of the replacements have already arrived and will be shipped tonight or tomorrow.

If you have any questions about your order, feel free to ping us at [email protected] and we’ll get right back to you with a status update. For those of you who ordered T-Shirt Dresses and Leggings, your entire package will ship in late July once our production cycle is complete.

The Adorable 

And we adore the photos you are sending of yourselves, your kids, and your babies in their STEMwear! We love the pics you are sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Keep 'em coming!

This week in photos:

Infant bodysuits ready for wrapping...and packing... 

 ...and shipping...

 ...and received!