Dallas Brand BabiSabi Elevates Baby Apparel With Handmade Caps, Booties, and Beyond

When Dallasite Sofiya Deva became an aunt and godmother in the same year, inspiration struck. As a long-time advocate for sustainable fashion, Deva felt called to create a brand that celebrated these precious early years while offering gentle, nontoxic products. As an entrepreneur, she saw an opportunity and as a creative, she wanted to tell a story to share the love. And, thus, BabiSabi was born.

“My friend and sister’s journeys as moms inspired me,” Deva tells PaperCity. “I began to reflect a lot on how crazy and messy of a time it was, but also one in which we wanted to hold on to and treasure every little moment. It actually reminded me of working with artisans, how the beauty was often found in the imperfections and discoveries along the way.”

The Inspiration Behind BabiSabi

On Deva’s last trip to India, she brought together a talented team of designers who started ideating around the BabiSabi brand, which specializes in handmade accessories for ages zero to two. 

“The name is a play on the Japanese design philosophy of wabi-sabi, in which simplicity, nature, and authenticity are the guiding principles,” Deva explains.

The brand started with booties and caps and then moved on to include functional keepsakes that would make sentimental gifts, transporting recipients back to a time when aunts and grandmothers would hand-knit these items themselves to keep a baby warm. The product development process is guided by the mantra “beyond the limits of machinery,” showcasing the handicraft as not just a passion project, but as a mode of luxury and refinement that has its own merits and strengths.

The Design Process

Hand-knit pieces often end up offering more size flexibility than machine-made pieces because of their natural stretch, and one hundred percent natural dyed items create a collection that feels complementary and allows for mix and matching. This limits waste, and boasts an understated elegance.

Deva took an iterative and collaborative approach to the design process, ensuring her products were not only elegant but functional. She knew she wanted to use crochet, embroidery, and knitting for her products, so she looked for craft clusters across India that had a solid tradition of these techniques.

In the mountains in the north of the country, the women were expert knitters because the weather so often demanded wraps and sweaters, so they became the brand’s knitters. BabiSabi was also working with a partner in India who had run training programs in rural areas, so it was able to bring in women who had already been practicing and learning how to embroider and crochet in Mysore and Narsapur. All the artisans were women in rural areas who were committed to improving their craft and able to use the additional income to support their families. 

According to Deva, when you have a mastery of materials and firsthand experience, it’s hard to go wrong. Once she had the materials and aesthetic nailed down, she was ready to test out her product.

“We worked hand-in-hand with craft clusters in India, as well as moms in the United States,” says Deva.

“I remember I brought a prototype to my friend’s house in Upstate New York where her daughter was just starting to walk and we realized we needed to add grips to the soles so that the baby’s first steps would be steady and not slippery. I have a very collaborative approach to design and found the right mix of input comes from both moms and craft experts. We create an environment where we can question assumptions and solve problems.”

Customization Options

Since its launch, BabiSabi has also started to offer customization, which has been popular with its customers for gifting with many people adding embroidered names or initials. Other popular products include the caps with bunny ears, the Proper Booties in organic cotton, and the Biscuit Booties in merino wool.

“I sometimes joke we’re baby couture because each piece takes a skilled artisan a full day to complete,” says Deva. “The craftsmanship, care, and attention to detail are really unmatched. And, at the same time, the pieces are well-designed and made to last. They’re made to stay on, stretch as the baby grows, and can eventually be passed on.”

Babies have never looked so chic. You can order and customize items online.