Sara Hanson
When Sara Hanson, 24,stumbled over a cartoon strip depicting a breastfeeding mum being asked to cover up, and eventually covering her baby's head with a hat shaped like a boob, she hit upon an idea!
What if you really COULD get boobie beanies to add a bit of humour and fun when breastfeeding in public - not to mention really giving those prying eyes something to look at!
Sara, who is currently a nanny but is training to be a doula, decided to get crocheting, and 20 minutes later, she had the first of her 'Boobie Beanies' - an organic, soft cotton baby hat knitted to look like a breast!
She made her first hat as a present for the mum she nannies for, but when a pic of her creation ended up online, interest and demand for the beanies went, in her own words, 'gaga!'
"People went gaga over it and begged me to start selling them!," Sara told Parentdish."So here I am, almost two years and 800 hats (all of which I have made myself, by hand) later!" She sells them for $15 each.
Sara Hanson
And it's not just nursing mums who have bought her Boobie Beanies - Sara says she also makes them for groups doing sponsored breast cancer walks, and for people who just want a fun gift for a friend.
"I think my most common customer is someone buying for a friend for a funny baby shower gift," says Sara from San Francisco. "But I definitely also get a lot of people who just like it as a cute, warm, soft, funny hat for their own kids."
Not everyone immediately 'gets' what the hats actually are though: "I was selling at a craft show and women came up and was touching the hats and saying nice things about them, then she said "and I just love the little thing you do on the top!" I didn't have the heart to tell her it was a nipple!"
Sara says reaction to the Boobie Beanies has been positive, with "most people laughing, smiling and doing a double take".
"Some people assume I'm trying to make a statement or cause a ruckus," she admits, "but it really, honestly, is just a fun project for me and most of the time I get positive reactions, so I do it for that. If someone wants to make a statement while using a hat, that's their prerogative! But I personally do support all nursing moms, of course!"
And although Sara does not have any children herself yet, that hasn't stopped her trying out her own product range! "I have a blue one I wear myself," she laughs!
What do you think - brilliant, funny idea or just a bit um? Would you put one on your baby?