by Rick London

I am a cartoonist but also am in the licensing image business; that is, manufacturers buy the rights to my cartoons and put them on products and sell them. It’s a good clean business and educational for me. Last week, I opened an online maternity and infant wear shop. Since I have about 8500 cartoons on my main website, I am able to create niche stores, test them, and see how they work. Oddly enough, most of them work better in sales, percentage-wise, than my two superstores.

The store is not just niche or even niche squared, it is taking niche to the zen level or what I call “zen cubed”. I take it a step further.

Whenever there is a new baby coming, or has arrived, there is another item in the house that is always there. A camera full of film, as well there should be. There are a lot of wonderful photographic memories that can be experienced from the gestation period all the way through childhood. Often times more siblings came ahead of the one being born (hence the kids matching clothes, and they want to be a part of the photographic memories as well). A traditional living room scene is baby in crib and parent or parents drinking coffee, chatting and being shutterbugs….hence the matching coffee mugs and teddy bears. Getting the “zen of it all”? Also, with all wearing “matching funny outfits”, we automatically create good cheer, hence reducing chances of sibling rivalry right off the bat. It becomes a team effort. Same game suits. Same team.

And if its a matching set of twins, you double the action, using a matching set of zens. Just twice as many babysuits, and twice as much film. Isn’t zen niche shopping wondeful?

And if all this is not enough, rather than just putting any cartoons on the clothing and gifts, I added cartoons that are in professional-themed categories, such as “future scientist”, “future doctor”, “future lawyer”, future plumber”, “future pro sports player”, etc. Now we have not just another “Kodak Moment”, we have what could be a prediction of the future of this new bundle of joy. What is so “zen” about this? A lot when you think about it Let’s say mom or dad or both are dentists, and they’d love it if their child grew up to be a dentist and take over the practice. A great deal of energy happens in happy moments caught in photography. And when it is done in good cheer, the first words or thoughts, say, “of dentistry”, according to many scholars, “stick in the mind of the child in a positive manner”. Starting to see yet more zen at work?

Can I prove this? Heavens no. But it’s hard to disprove it, and a lot of it is common sense. Our early childhood has a great impact on us for the rest of our days, it is said. If that is true, why not use the yin and yang of zen to help create, or at leaste start, a healthy path? I am not saying dressing everyone up in matching dentistry cartoons, taking a pic, and showing it often in the family album will create a future dentist. I have no proof of that, but I’m not saying it is not either. And even if it doesn’t do that, it creates memories that will last a lifetime, in fact many lifetimes. So MirthGirthBirth was born. Part of my Zen Of Niche Part Two. It is beginning to get a good deal of media and Internet blogging attention. I am proud of it. I love the items that we sell and moms and moms-to-be seem to appreciate that there truly is a niche shop in the maternity and infant arena that is based on humor.

There is no more intense reason to celebrate than childbirth. And it gives parents the opportunity to help mold this new being into something positive by utilizing joy, laughter, togetherness, and celebration in a wonderful way. Zen the best is yet to come.

About the Author:

Cartoonist Rick London is the owner and founder of MirthBirthGirth funny maternity and infant wear The Zen Of Maternity