Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Mingo
Hi Leslie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I graduated from the U of U with a BFA in Illustration. I’m also a mother to 3 children and one was a picky eater when they were little. Because of this I came up with an idea to make mealtime more playful. Combining my love of cooking with my children and my graphic design talents I created Dylbug Dress Up plates. Think back to when you were a child and played with paper dolls. I took that idea and created it on a plate. It’s a personalized plate designed to look like your child, it comes ready to dress up with food by using an outfit food cutter, making their food fashionable. So instead of playing paper dolls with different paper outfits, kids can play dress up with their food.
I started Dylbug in 2015. I first tested out this idea by designing a personalized plate for my daughter and put a pizza slice as a dress on it with a strawberry bow in her hair and carrot shoes. I posted what I made on social media to see how parents would respond to this new idea and received immediate interest. People wanted to know how to order a personalized plate for their own kids. That’s how my journey began.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was a smooth road at first. My strengths are coming up with new designs and products that appeal to both kids and parents and designing them. The orders organically started flowing all through word of mouth on Instagram. Through the years social media has changed and what once was easy has now become a learning curve for me to navigate.
The struggles I’m working through now are in marketing. I’m constantly trying to find ways to get new eyes to my website. Instagram used to be my main source of growing new customers. Recently Instagram has not been as profitable so I’m finding ways to branch out. This has been a big learning curve for me.
I also don’t have a business partner to bounce ideas off of. It can feel lonely and discouraging at times not knowing what direction to go to help grow my business. I do however have connections with other small women owned businesses that I feel I can reach out to and brainstorm with which can be helpful.
We’ve been impressed with Dylbug, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I sell kid personalized dishes online. People love to design a plate that looks just like their child. While kids love creating food art on their plate.
My goal is to make healthy food fun for kids to eat. The plates inspire kids and turn an ordinary snack into a funny food face. Making food faces encourages kids to get creative, while potentially helping them overcome their hesitation to try certain foods.
The plates encourage and help picky eaters. Parents can lay out a variety of colorful foods, including their child’s favorites and those that they may be reluctant to try. Then encourage them to create a “blueberry headband” or “strawberry cheeks” and explore food in a fun way without the pressure of eating it.
It’s so rewarding to receive customer feedback telling me how their picky eater enjoyed mealtime without the usual battles.
What makes you happy?
Spreading kindness makes me happy. Every day I look for a way to be kind. I love looking out for strangers by helping an elderly person with their groceries, giving peonies from my garden to people around downtown SLC, paying for the car behind me at the drive-thru and simply giving a stranger a compliment.
Being kind is a part of who I am and it carries over from my personal life into my business. My business is one way for me to spread kindness by helping children to embrace their uniqueness, celebrate diversity, and respect each other’s differences. I design plates for all children with all unique features and abilities.
In 2020 during a time where the world felt so unstable and chaotic and so many of us wanted to feel love, connection and safety, I wanted to create a design about inclusion and reached out to my Instagram followers for help. People from all over gave input on how they wanted to be represented in this deign. It was amazing to see people come together to create an original design called HARMONY. This design is still available on my website today.
Every kid that comes to my website feels included and that makes me happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dylbug.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylbug_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dylbug
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/dylbug_/
Image Credits
Becky Kimball Photography
https://beckypkimball.myportfolio.com/
