Meet Jen

Hi, I’m Jen Starks, the founder of Ecological Babies. You can learn more about why I started EB in our “Our Story” page.

I’m enthusiastic about being part of my community, connecting to local businesses and residents. I love helping families learn how to raise their children more sustainably, especially regarding cloth diapers.

I practice my own version of attachment parenting and strive to find balance in my role as a mom of 2 young kids, working at home, keeping up being our homemaker, and finding time to pursue my outside interests. I love yoga, knitting, famers markets (especially our co-op), leisure cooking (a rare gem these days), live jazz music, playing piano & guitar, gardening, hiking, and camping. Those who know me well know that I am as extroverted as it comes with a splash of humor.

Meet Jennifer, our newest team member

I was raised in a small Michigan town and learned at an early age to be as minimally wasteful as possible. Over the years, this has developed into a true passion of mine and I have developed a deep respect for protecting our planet.

My husband and I have two boys, ages seven and two, and while I was not familiar with cloth diapering for my first-born, I have definitely come to love it with my two year old. I am a strong supporter of breastfeeding, baby wearing, and, like Jen, my own unique blend of attachment parenting. In my “free time” (wait… do moms EVER truly have that?) I am an avid runner and enjoy quilting, crafting, gardening, yard work, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

I am excited to join the Ecological Babies team and look forward to serving my Tallahassee community!

A little about Claire, in her own words...

I was born in La Grange, Georgia on December 18, 1982. The next summer, my family moved to Marietta. When I was in third grade, we moved to Lufkin, Texas because of my father's job. As a child, I was very active, and loved playing with anything from mud to Barbies. I was and still remain very close to my parents and older sister. As a teenager, I fell in love with classical music, and began studying the oboe. I married my husband, Nathan, in 2003 after meeting as fellow fine arts students (him - theatre, me- music) at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Nathan and I loaded up the cats and moved to Tallahassee in July 2005 so I could pursue a Masters of Music - oboe performance, at Florida State University. After graduating in 2007, we decided to stick around another year or two...and ended up deciding we liked Tallahassee after all! Nathan teaches theatre and language arts at Deerlake Middle School, and is involved with Tallahassee Little Theatre both on and off stage. We have a 3 1/2 year old son, Grant, who loves trucks, robots, and playing in the sand. When I'm not coaching new parents through diapering decisions, I can usually be found playing oboe in community groups and pit orchestras, cooking and baking up a storm in the kitchen, or playing in the backyard with my boy.

When I found out Jen was moving back home to Indiana but looking to keep the business going here, I jumped at the chance. I have been with Ecological Babies since the spring of 2010, and I love it! My favorite part of being an Ecological Babies Team Member is doing Cloth Diaper 101 workshops. It's a great way to connect with new parents and ease their concerns right up front. Many of my workshops take place at The Birth Cottage, and I love our relationship with them. It is such a friendly, homey atmosphere, and I like the conversational tone I'm able to adopt when speaking to parents there. I also really enjoy registry appointments. It's such a warm, mutual blessing to be able to invite someone into my home and connect them on a personal level, and help them customize a list of exactly what they'll need to diaper their new baby.

It's great to have the flexibility of working from home. I would love for Ecological Babies to have a store one day, but for now I set up shop at the kitchen counter. My "store" is a constantly changing display in my guest room/play room/office. I have a big squishy arm chair in there that mamas are able to cozy up in with their babies (or their bellies!) while we chat and spread out all the diapers. My son Grant is my little helper, fetching inventory from the garage and "helping" carry customers' bags out to the car. If I could teach him to answer the phone and make invoices, we'd really be all set!