My family lives near the thriving city of Raleigh, NC. When I entered the cloth diapering world, I thought, "There's bound to be so many places to shop for cloth diapers around here..." Four years later, I've found less than a handful! However, there is one store that I frequent and love - SmartMomma. I spoke with store owner, Heather Burns, over the phone one afternoon (thanks to crazy, busy schedules, then sick children, we just couldn't work out meeting up, unfortunately!) and she was so incredibly sweet and funny. I loved that I could hear the love of her store just oozing in her voice!SmartMomma carries a wide variety of boutique clothing and oodles upon oodles of diaper bags in every print and size imaginable!
My first question for her was, "When did you open SmartMomma, and why?" She told me that while she was pregnant with her first child, she was always researching, looking for the best information she could get on products. She started SmartMomma as an informational website, linking to retail sites. It occurred to her that she could be selling these products - so she started doing that, out of her child's closet! There was so much she wanted to sell and Raleigh was seriously lacking in stores that offered these items, so in 2008 she opened a boutique, and quickly ran out of space. In the summer of 2010, she moved into her larger current store, located at 8601-A Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh.SmartMomma also carries a wide selection of baby, toddler and children's toys! This mama may or may not get caught playing with them when she visits! :)
She has a variety of methods for choosing what products to sell. She starts with items that excite her as a parent, things she likes and ones that make sense. She said, "I just trust my instincts." She said she does go with customer feedback, "If enough people ask for something, I will carry it."If you're in the market for strollers in the Wake Co., NC area, SmartMomma is the place to go!
Car seats galore!
Her top sellers are furniture and baby gear. However, cloth diapering is getting noticed in the area. When the store opened, she had a single shelf of cloth diapering items. This shelf has now grown to a full isle! She confessed that she did not feel educated enough to cloth diaper her older children (she did start part time when her youngest was about 2 years old), but intends on fully cloth diapering her newest addition in a few months!I asked her what has been her most enjoyable moment since opening SmartMomma. I could hear her grinning over the phone! She went on to say that a few days after opening their newest location, she was closing the store and was there alone. She just looked around at all her hard work (she, herself, designed the layout and setup of the store) and was just so excited. She said, "It's been very successful. I'm very lucky!"So many cribs and furniture pieces to choose from!
SmartMomma hosts a variety of classes in-store, from pre-natal classes to those for toddlers! Some classes cost a small fee, while others are free, and range from pilates, breastfeeding, labor and childbirth, to cloth diapering basics, infant CPR and baby sign language...and anything in between!
Car seats galore!
Her top sellers are furniture and baby gear. However, cloth diapering is getting noticed in the area. When the store opened, she had a single shelf of cloth diapering items. This shelf has now grown to a full isle! She confessed that she did not feel educated enough to cloth diaper her older children (she did start part time when her youngest was about 2 years old), but intends on fully cloth diapering her newest addition in a few months!I asked her what has been her most enjoyable moment since opening SmartMomma. I could hear her grinning over the phone! She went on to say that a few days after opening their newest location, she was closing the store and was there alone. She just looked around at all her hard work (she, herself, designed the layout and setup of the store) and was just so excited. She said, "It's been very successful. I'm very lucky!"So many cribs and furniture pieces to choose from!
SmartMomma hosts a variety of classes in-store, from pre-natal classes to those for toddlers! Some classes cost a small fee, while others are free, and range from pilates, breastfeeding, labor and childbirth, to cloth diapering basics, infant CPR and baby sign language...and anything in between!
SmartMomma was also a local host site for The Great Cloth Diaper Change earlier this year. I attended and it was fantastic time - great hosts, a very fun atmosphere and, of course, adorable babies everywhere!Do you see someone who looks familiar?! :)
The Great Cloth Diaper Change took place in this fantastic open room SmartMomma has, complete with a mirrored wall. This room is used for the various classes they offer!
When I was shopping late last year for a new baby carrier, I stopped in and received excellent service, specifically with help trying on carriers and getting all my questions answered. I have been back a number of times and had nothing but great experiences!SmartMomma before they opened in their new location. The front of the store is all glass making for some amazing, refreshing natural light to flood the store!
If you are local to the Raleigh, NC area, stop by and say hello! If you aren't local, still feel free to visit SmartMomma online, on Facebook and on Twitter! Be sure to let them know that Cloth Diaper Addiction sent you!
Heather has generously offered a 10% discount on all cloth diapers through the end of October with the code "CLOTH" at checkout!
4 comments:
There is a cloth diaper shop here in Fayetteville, NC - Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique. I wasn't aware of any others in the area. Nice to know that there are! Might need to make a trip there. :)
I hope to make it to the Fayetteville area to visit Sweetbottoms one day! We're north of Raleigh (in Wake Forest) so I couldn't make a trip 'that far' south with our schedule!
Another to visit, if you're in the 'area' is the Boutique at the Women's Birth & Wellness Center (Birth Center in Chapel Hill). Cute shop, super sweet staff, beautiful area! :-)
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I am so glad more and more people are using cloth diapers. it's so much better for the baby.
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