From left, Buckhead residents Jacqueline Crisci and Jenny Fosgate last month launched Benbini, a watch for busy moms.
The world would most likely be a better place if babies could tell time, but since they cannot, or will not, it falls to sleep-deprived parents to keep track of all the naptimes, feedings and doses of medicine.
Buckhead residents Jacqueline Crisci and Jenny Fosgate in May launched a product intended to make that process easier — a cuff watch called the Benbini, which features a double-bezel design allowing wearers to track time and a left-right switch to serve as a memory aid to nursing mothers.
“A lot of moms have a lot going on, so it’s nice not to have this watch beeping and screaming at you,” Crisci said. “No one wants another alarm.”
The pair first conceived of the design several years ago while at the pool with their young children.
Crisci mentioned she had been using a diving watch to keep on schedule, but its single bezel limited her to counting hours.
Fosgate had been having watch problems of her own.
“I took my metal watch off when I had my first daughter because it was scratching her and it wasn’t waterproof and didn’t fit,” Fosgate said.
The friends also wanted a watch that was chic.
“[With new moms] the word ‘frumpy’ comes into play,” Fosgate said. “You’re trying to lose pregnancy weight and have spit-up on you. … You want something cute.”
Fosgate and Crisci began working on a watch to remedy these issues and patented their design in 2008.
They also worked with a New York design team before forming a developmental partnership with Fossil from 2009 through 2011.
Crisci, a mother of two, and Fosgate, a mother of three, said they decided to tackle the exhaustive process of launching a business because it allowed them to use skills both honed during pre-motherhood careers — Crisci’s in software sales and Fosgate’s in advertising — without having to give up time at home with their children.
So far, the pair sells the Benbini online and in several area stores including Buckhead retailers B. Braithwaite, Izzy Maternity and New Baby Products as well as Belly Haven in Vinings.
Information: visit www.benbini.com.
Jamee Tenzer