By: Natalia Minasi
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Natalia Minasi
Little Bits is located on Spring Street in Newport, R.I.
Walking down Spring Street gives any passerby an assortment of stores and boutiques to window shop. Little Bits by Monica Rodgers, named after everyone doing their little bit and the nickname her husband used for their firstborn, is not just any of these shops, though. It is eye candy. Located at 134 Spring St., the pastel, gingerbread like décor, oversized windows and giant double doors beckon any person to try the door knob. The welcoming atmosphere and charming service prepare shoppers for the spring-like color block walls and the delicate arrangements of baby products ranging from car seats, to clothes, to books. If you are lucky, you may just get to speak with Monica Rodgers herself, the designer and owner of the Newport and South County Commons Little Bits boutiques. Once an English major, now a well known entrepreneur and business woman, Monica Rodgers found inspiration for her eco friendly business when she and her husband started having children. Now the mother of two, Monica’s environmentally aware message is thriving. From her newly opened consignment shop to her earth savers blog, Monica Rodgers is inspiring a clientele of all ages to make a difference a little bit at a time. Monica sat down with us at her consignment shop location at South County Commons to tell us a bit about herself, her business, and her plans for the future.
Q: You founded and launched Little Bits lifestyle brand in 2004. What got you started? A: When I became pregnant with my daughter, a couple of things happened simultaneously. One was that I went to see this amazing inspirational speaker Derrick Jensen, the author of A Language Older Than Words and The Culture of Make Believe. As I sat there and I listened to him, I realized he was the coolest guy, and at the root of his message was that within each of us lies a gift to save the world. Q: What became your motivation for starting your own eco friendly lifestyle and brand? A: I was pregnant with my daughter and simultaneously had been paying much more attention to things on my radar, especially with things like eating and how what I ate would affect the life inside me. From there this perfect storm happened, and I thought if I could bridge the gap by showing moms, new moms, that you don’t have to sacrifice style to be eco friendly and be environmentally conscious, then wouldn’t that be cool. So I called the company Little Bits and I came up with my own brand. Q: How do you choose designers for your materials? A: The criterion was they had to be making a difference because our mission was to inspire our customers in thought, deed, and style. Along with the theme of recycling, we went to designers, to Ralph Lauren, “give us your old fabrics from last year and we’ll make car seat covers.” The cool thing is when we are done manufacturing that fabric we have none left. So it’s a nice sense of urgency to sell them because they are limited edition. Q: What have you found the hardest part about your message and business? A: The hardest part was believing. I mean, who am I? Believing that I could in fact make a difference and have it touch people. Q: How has your business been going with the poor economy? A: I would say that I’ve had the worst year that I have ever had in business. I’m not ashamed of it. I realize that it really isn’t about making money. It’s about the message. It’s a test for me to really go back to what we’re all about. Q: What are your plans for the future? A: I have a vision that, like the Webkinz craze, if kids can go online to take care of animals, they can go online to take care of the environment. The Earth Savers Gang is an online storybook series that goes with an online social networking system with an idea that children would choose a character to align with, like Olivia Watersaver. You have characters that kids can resonate with and align with an ecological area, and inspire each other to make a difference. So really what we are teaching them to believe in is themselves. Then corporations will reward kids for their participation. My vision for the future is that Little Bits will have a character based series and online social network that will inspire kids to make a difference. Q: You’ve been featured in some prominent news and entertainment sources like New York Times, In Style Magazine, and The Today Show. Meanwhile, your customers have included Gwyneth Paltrow, Tiger Woods, Kate Hudson, Jack Black, and Liv Tyler. Did you ever expect your business to flourish so? A: I did. But I don’t know why I did. The minute I thought of this idea, I could see it. What is success, really, though? Did the message get out? Yes. Part of it may be just believing in yourself and your idea. Q: Any advice for people looking to start going green? A: You just have to choose one area, start, and keep adding. People don’t realize that there are two main things that you can do that are a closed loop system. One is recycling plastic bottles and the other is composting. Q: Any inspirational words? A: Every little bit counts. Just do it. You never know what is going to impact others.
