Inspiring Conversations with Kelsey Guy of Small World Teething Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Guy.

Hi Kelsey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This shop started when my son was born in 2018. As a truly Disney-obsessed human being, I had to have everything be DISNEY from his outfits, his beddings, his toys, his bath accessories, the list goes on. But when the time came to find a Disney teething toy there were none to be found!

So, I decided to make them myself, which is a BIG PROCESS! I have now designed two custom teethers, one inspired by my all-time favorite Disneyland ride It’s a Small World, and one inspired by Mickey Mouse and my love of Starbucks; I also have a custom bead inspired by Mickey’s Funwheel at California Adventure and I love them all!

I recently added crib sheets, changing pad covers, swaddles, Minky blankets adult comforters, and duvets in a custom design I had made which has been a big success and I’m super excited about adding more designs and a new teether in the new year.

I took two classes that have helped in my success, one is from an Etsy expert who lives in Maryland and also has a Disney-inspired shop as well as multiple other successful shops with different customer bases. The second class I took was from Allison J Prince who previously lived in Utah and now lives in Puerto Rico, and helped me really build my Shopify store to be what it is today.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I guess it’s been fairly smooth, I haven’t had any major disasters. It’s been an amazing learning experience for me. I used to manage multiple dental practices in Washington State and that helped me bring some knowledge into owning my own business but there has been so much to learn and that has been super exciting for motivating for me.

My coffee cup teethers have not been a hit the way I was hoping or expecting them to be, I shelled out $2500 to have 500 of those made and I’ve sold a tiny tiny amount of those. Thankfully, it’s a product that doesn’t expire so I can sell it for years until maybe one day I finally run out. I’ve been blessed to be able to cash flow everything for the business so I have no debt.

We’ve been impressed with Small World Teething Company, 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 specialize in Disney (“parks”) inspired baby products, and things for mom. My most well-known products are my Small World Teether, and my Small World baby bedding and blankets. I have always had a special connection to the ride It’s a Small World at Disneyland and it really emulates the person I want to be and the people I want my children to be. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what color your skin is, what language you speak “A Smile means friendship to everyone”.

I think one of the things that set me apart from other small shops is my customer service, I take it very seriously and will answer every message I received, respond to every email, and will always always always be on the front lines if there’s an issue with an order. If someone asks me if I can make an “x” product in a certain color or something totally custom I will do absolutely everything I can to make that dream come true.

The Disney community is full of love and loyalty, and I wanted to make something and offer a product that directly benefitted the people in my community that I love.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I definitely see my business growing, lots more designs, lots more products for the nursery, the home, and for moms and babies! My husband and I have considered how we might grow and we’ve looked very seriously into things like a GloForge, or a CNC machine… but with the cost of materials like wood going up so much recently and the lag time in material delivery we’ve put that dream on hold.

We are still constantly brainstorming how we can grow and bring new products into our business. We want to set ourselves apart and bring things to the market that not everyone is already doing.

Contact Info:

• Email: smallworldteethingco@gmail.com
• Website: smallworldteethingco.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/smallworldteethingco
• Facebook: facebook.com/smallworldteethingco
• Other: etsy.com/shop/smallworldteethingco

Image Credits
Serena Crawford, Caitlin Winchester, Mallory Roth, and Liz Beisell from Inspirations by Liz Photography