[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3469]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING KELLY'S CLOSET

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I wish to recognize Kelly's Closet 
of Waterford, ME, a woman-owned small business that has helped reinvent 
a traditional product in a new and environmentally friendly way.
  When Kelly Wells founded Kelly's Closet in 2001, there were few 
options for parents looking for cost-effective, sanitary, and 
environmentally friendly diapers for their children. Like any good 
enterprising businesswoman, Ms. Wells identified this underserved 
market and then moved to supply the demand. At first, Ms. Wells's 
venture failed to attract the customers for which she had hoped and no 
orders arrived for 4 months. Despite these early difficulties, Ms. 
Wells persevered, and eventually her tenacity paid off. The orders that 
had started off slow rose exponentially, and her business had grown to 
such an extent that the most significant problem she and her two 
employees now face is keeping the ``shelves'' of their virtual store 
stocked with the company's products. Today, Kelly's Closet combines the 
Internet's tremendous marketing platform with good old-fashioned Maine 
friendliness to create a customer experience second to none.
  Kelly's Closet offers many different diaper and diaper liner options 
in a wide variety of fibers, from flannel, fleece, and organic cotton, 
to more unique choices like rice paper and bamboo. Ms. Wells's notably 
wide variety of merchandise is easy to identify with catchy names like 
``Rumpsters,'' ``Knickernappies,'' and ``Tiny Tush.'' Kelly's Closet 
also sells additional products from other trusted and well-known 
companies, including accessories for strollers, diaper bags, and other 
children's apparel, such as swim diapers for the summer and baby boots 
and shoes for any time of year.
  In addition to a varied selection, Kelly's Closet also helps to 
educate parents about cloth diapers. For parents, making the right 
diaper choice can sometimes be a confusing process. To help these 
parents, Ms. Wells publishes a newsletter and has a special easy-to-use 
section on her Web site that is dedicated to answering parents' 
frequently asked questions about diaper fabrics, size, and care, as 
well as the history of the cloth diaper movement. These additions to 
her Web site ensure that consumers are well informed before they make 
their first purchase.
  Maine is a State known for its innovators and entrepreneurs, and 
Kelly Wells is a member of that proud group. Her perseverance, 
tenacity, and business acumen are a testament to what a small business 
can accomplish. In 8 years, Ms. Wells has helped transform the way 
parents purchase diapers and has expanded their possibilities to a 
great degree. I wish Kelly Wells and all the employees of Kelly's 
Closet continued success as they grow, innovate, and expand their 
business.

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