I had my first child over three years ago. She was a sloppy eater from the get-go. And she hated bibs with a passion. She would tug and tug at the neck ties and Velcro, and always ended up ripping them off.

After age one, she refused to wear any bib at all. But she was still one of the messiest kids around and we were horrified watching her ruin all of her beautiful clothing. We tried every kind of bib on the market, from smaller softer bibs, to full plastic numbers with full arms. She hated them all.

So as a crafty-ish Mom, I decided to try to make something that she would be willing to wear. The first few were a bust. Then I designed a product that tied up on her back, not around her neck. The bigger and bolder the graphics of the print, the more she loved it. She started asking for it before mealtimes! Friends and family all started commenting on it, and asking me to make ones for their kids. So I made a few more, in cooler and cooler fabrics. And their kids loved them too! So I’ve decided to produce my product for every kid, who no longer wears a bib, but is still ‘Spillin’ Like a Villain!’

Around the time I was creating my company, I bought a beautiful dollhouse to give to my daughter for her third birthday. I sent a picture to some online friends, and one of my Aussie ladies wrote back “Great dollhouse! Looks very Smicko!”. I had been looking for a good name, one that would suit the product and ‘us’ over at the company. I emailed her back immediately to ask “What does Smicko mean to you?” She wrote back “Smicko: totally cool, incredibly awesome, looking sharp! – and I knew we had a winner. You see, this product isn’t a bib – and it isn’t a smock – it’s a SMICKO!