About Krista Mikulski

Behind the Diapers

Krista has always dreamed of having a business of her own. Her entrepreneurial roots stem way back to when she was six years old and sold home-made potholders door to door after getting a little loom one Christmas.

As she grew, her parents had their own business importing beer and wine from Europe. That was where she learned her work ethic, helping with everything from unloading shipments at the warehouse, to book keeping and customer service. Krista's parents understood that without satisfied customers, there was no reason to have a business, and that was instilled in her heart from the start.

Krista worked several jobs, from being a customer service representative to being a UPS driver. She then married and had three children and was content working part time and taking care of the children until her marriage fell apart, followed by her ex-husband dying in a car accident. With the realization that she was now the sole provider for her children, she knew her choices were to either go back to school full time to get an adequately paying job, while paying day care and working full time to support three children under the age of 3, or find a business that could support her family. She tried to start a desktop-publishing business in the small town of Lyndon Station, Wisconsin, where she lived at the time, but had very little success. Before long, Krista realized she needed to move back to her hometown of Chicago to find a better way to support her family.

Initially the only way to get by back in Chicago was to work two jobs, an early morning shift at UPS followed by a full time customer service position. Krista's younger brother was able to stay with her to help watch the kids in the morning until she got out of UPS. Then she would pick them up, take the kids to day care, then take her brother to school and dash off to her full time job. After a couple months of this, she was fired from her full time job because of a tardiness problem. With the approaching holidays she was not allowed to leave her job at UPS until the work was done, which allowed her inadequate time to make all her stops and get to her next employer on time.

Not knowing where to turn, she called a friend in the personnel department at UPS who said he would make her a driver/helper immediately to carry her through the holidays until she could figure out what to do next. That fate seemed to be exactly what was meant for Krista. It was on the UPS truck the following Monday morning that she met her future husband Jeff.

Krista worked with Jeff for the next two months, not really thinking much other than how great he was at making her laugh. What was to be their last day together, the Friday before Christmas, Jeff asked if she wanted to accompany him to the mall. She said that they would have to take her three kids with to what was sure to be a mob scene, and he was fine with that. At the end of their excursion, Jeff commented that he had fun, which made Krista realize there was something very special about this guy.

A couple years later, Krista and Jeff were married, but Krista was still working for someone else. After the birth of their daughter Alayna in May of 2000, Krista knew that she could not leave this baby as she was forced to do with the others. She knew it was time to build a successful business, but she did not have a clue of what to do.

The first three children, Jack, Corinna and Tyler had all been cloth diapered in Gerber prefolds and pull-on covers. These were days before the Internet, and before the world of WAHM/entrepreneurs selling their creations through such accessible means. When Alayna came along, Krista was thrilled to find all the new diapering options, and was particularly interested in hemp. However, she was not satisfied with the performance of the popular hemp diapers available at the time. Krista found her calling. She designed some diapers with the help of her little brother, who by now had become a fashion designer. The concept behind her diapers was strictly utilitarian. Her diapers would be practical, durable, adequately functional, and last from birth through potty training.

In October of 2000 BabyKicks Hemparoo Diapers were born! Krista has enjoyed a year of growing success so far, with her BabyKicks Hemparoo line, including fitted and prefold diapers, Joey-Bunz, doublers and wipes, and plans to expand in the future to include AIOs, hemp diaper bags, and the BabyKicks Hemparoo Baby Loungewear line. Her dreams are still to support her family with her business, including her 5th child due on November 19, and even her husband. Krista envisions a life for her family as hers was as a child, Mom, Dad and kids working together, being together, and growing together.

Krista, Jeff, Jack, Corinna, Tyler and Alayna currently live in the northwestern Chicago suburbs. You can see what BabyKicks has to offer at http://www.BabyKicks.com. Krista uses hemp because of its durability, absorbency, it's natural anti-microbial properties, and because growing and processing hemp fabric does not have a negative impact on the environment such as cotton does.

Krista thanks you for reading "Behind the Diapers" and hopes you continue to enjoy learning about your favorite WAHMs in future articles.