Reflections on the first year

My baby, Caribou Baby, is turning one! Well technically, the one-year anniversary was March 1, but let’s ignore that for a moment and stick with the sentiment I’m trying to convey. I know the professional thing to do right now would be to avoid any self-congratulating or back-patting and focus on continuing to thank all the important people (customers, suppliers, friends and family) who have helped us along the way. But I just can’t get over how (unexpectedly) emotional this occasion is becoming for me! I’m sure that parents who have experienced the joy of their child’s first birthday can relate: I am proud (how smart, wise and capable my baby is now, how far they have come and how much they and I have changed), I am sad (that the innocence and excuses of the “first year” are now in the past), I am simultaneously nervous and excited (for the future, the changes and challenges of what lies ahead). One thing is definitely for sure - this occasion feels momentous.

As I cruised around the store today, my mind was flooded with memories of what things were like at Caribou Baby one year ago. Days were spent speed-walking between my apartment and the store, all the while on the phone, managing an insane and impressive build-out, running home to feed myself, bathe/nurse and put to bed my young toddler, and back to the store for 2 am evenings spent on my hands and knees in a construction mask and pants stained with various eco-friendly adhesives and finishes. And after months and months of painting, sanding, reconstructing, repurposing, and rewelding, we finally opened our doors and let the real learning begin.

In a year, even more has changed. Our treatment room has transformed into a maternity and nursing apparel and fitting room. Our event space has been padded and redesigned for comfort and organization. Our office is a now a stock room and our once-empty basement has aisles of racks filled with product (we’ve quadrupled our inventory selection). We have an office and shipping area upstairs. We changed and optimized our inventory and point-of-sale system and we can email you receipts and let you know when items are back in stock. We have a full calendar of classes and events. We now offer breastfeeding and postpartum support, fitness, art, music, massage, cooking classes and more. We recently launched our web store! We have regular customers and friends of the business who we know well and love.  We can’t wait for all the new people we meet in 2012.

The next year will be equally ambitious and we have several new ideas and services in the pipeline that we are itching to share with you. Blogging regularly is a major goal of mine, so stay tuned for more posts! I feel so unbelievably lucky to be able to have all of you by our sides and supporting us as we listen to you, learn from you and try to help make your lives with a baby a little bit nicer and easier. Here’s a little documentation of the before and after of my baby, Caribou Baby.

Right after we realized the storefront was falling out of the building (gasp)

The endless fiasco of sanding, staining, pickling and waxing the floor - all whilst looking for the most eco-friendly way to do it.

The DIY solution for turning the golden antler chandeliers into scary, black tarantula chandeliers

Nursing break for me (Mom, Owner, Adriane Stare)

Doors Open! March 2010

Store fills clean up, fills out.

Anniversary Windows, March 9, 2012

March 10, 2012
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“Mother Me”: A Photo Exhibition

 

Carriage House Collective and Caribou Baby are pleased to announce ”Mother Me”, an exhibition of dynamic photographs, all taken by female photographers.  The opening reception will be held at Caribou Baby at 6pm on Saturday May 14th. All proceeds of the exhibition will go to Earth Birth, an International Women’s Health Collective run by midwives that builds birth clinics to encourage and promote safe, peaceful birth as an act of social justice and community healing. 

 
“Mother Me” focuses on intimate stolen moments within a new family, either in the months of pregnancy or in the day-to- day life of parents in years to come. Each photographer has a unique gaze from which she has focused her camera. 
Eleonore Hendricks, a born and bred New Yorker, is an accomplished actress as well as an artist and the recipient of the 2010 AOL “25 for 25” grant for her photography. Austin, Texas based photographer Ana Klausmann takes portraits and glimpses of people interacting in natural setting, and, in this case, young families. Annabel Clark has recently gained notoriety for the studied portraits of her mother’s cancer treatments. She studied photography at Parsons and has had her work published in New York Magazine, Marie Clare, Glamour and The Observer, to name a few. Victoria Dearing has traveled extensively, focusing her camera on diverse ways of living across the globe, revealing the fragility of human existence. Lastly, native New Yorker Samantha West’s photographs are a curious combination of ethereal beauty and harsh reality. Her works have been published across Europe, Asia, and North America. Publications include Vision Magazine, NEO2, Vanity Fair Germany, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, Jalouse Magazine, and The New York Times. 
 
While each of these women has her own aesthetic, together they show a similar view, exposing the beauty and complexity of the role of mother. Hope to see you there!

Some more featured photos from the show:




For more information about this event, please contact us at events@cariboubaby.com or 347.460.BABY

April 29, 2011
Enjoy a post from Ellynne Skove, Caribou’s Gogo Babies yoga and developmental movement teacher! BABIES & SITTING As parents we all get so thrilled when our babies reach a new developmental milestone. Sitting up is one of the most exciting events as it correlates to the verticality of human beings. Sitting up is so exciting, in fact, that numerous manufacturers of baby equipment have invented items to “help” with the process. The irony of this is that babies come “pre-programmed” with the blueprint for developmental movement and will find their way to sitting when they have put all the other developmental movement “puzzle pieces” together to SAFELY support their own heads on their spines that are working to develop the necessary curves to become vertical mammals. There is no equipment needed to do this, and in fact, pushing a baby into a seated posture before he/she is really ready could be detrimental to the alignment of the body! The head of a baby is the largest and heaviest part of its little body. In fact, take a good look, and note that a baby’s head is bigger than its bottom! Imagine your own head bigger than your bottom, add to that the need to develop muscular strength and curves in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, and you will have much greater appreciation for just how delicate holding your head up may be! Placing a baby in a seated position independently before it is able to get to sitting all by himself is also not a great idea. IF the baby wants to sit, it needs to get there on its own to do so with optimal physical integrity. Safe ways to have a baby sitting before he/she can do so independently include using any seated position that includes a slight recline which allows the head to rest. A bouncy seat, car seat, Adults lap, or baby swing can accomplish this. Asking a baby who is not able to sit on its own to sit in a high chair is asking someone who can’t really sit up to try to manage sitting along with eating. It is too much. If your baby is eating solids but not yet sitting independently, try feeding in your lap or one of the safer options just mentioned. Do your baby a HUGE favor and enjoy their hard earned process to get to sitting on his/her own. It is the first vertical connection between Earth and Sky, the first “mountain pose” for those of you who practice yoga, and the joy of getting there brings great self-esteem and positive body image along with excellent alignment. Savor the process and intelligence of your child’s development and try not to push them into places they can find so wonderfully on their own if given the support and encouragement to do so. Ways to encourage your baby in developmental movement include Tummy Time, play, baby wearing, and other movement oriented activities that encourage balance, strength, and exploring the senses! You can all have fun doing these activities! Ellynne Skove, LCAT, BC-DMT, NCC, is a New York state licensed Movement therapist, yoga teacher, Orff music educator, nationally certified counselor, and Polarity therapist. She has worked for over 25 years with pregnant women, babies, chidren, and adults. Stop by the store on Wednesdays to try a class!

Enjoy a post from Ellynne Skove, Caribou’s Gogo Babies yoga and developmental movement teacher!

BABIES & SITTING

As parents we all get so thrilled when our babies reach a new developmental milestone. Sitting up is one of the most exciting events as it correlates to the verticality of human beings. Sitting up is so exciting, in fact, that numerous manufacturers of baby equipment have invented items to “help” with the process. The irony of this is that babies come “pre-programmed” with the blueprint for developmental movement and will find their way to sitting when they have put all the other developmental movement “puzzle pieces” together to SAFELY support their own heads on their spines that are working to develop the necessary curves to become vertical mammals. There is no equipment needed to do this, and in fact, pushing a baby into a seated posture before he/she is really ready could be detrimental to the alignment of the body! The head of a baby is the largest and heaviest part of its little body. In fact, take a good look, and note that a baby’s head is bigger than its bottom! Imagine your own head bigger than your bottom, add to that the need to develop muscular strength and curves in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, and you will have much greater appreciation for just how delicate holding your head up may be! Placing a baby in a seated position independently before it is able to get to sitting all by himself is also not a great idea. IF the baby wants to sit, it needs to get there on its own to do so with optimal physical integrity. Safe ways to have a baby sitting before he/she can do so independently include using any seated position that includes a slight recline which allows the head to rest. A bouncy seat, car seat, Adults lap, or baby swing can accomplish this. Asking a baby who is not able to sit on its own to sit in a high chair is asking someone who can’t really sit up to try to manage sitting along with eating. It is too much. If your baby is eating solids but not yet sitting independently, try feeding in your lap or one of the safer options just mentioned.

Do your baby a HUGE favor and enjoy their hard earned process to get to sitting on his/her own. It is the first vertical connection between Earth and Sky, the first “mountain pose” for those of you who practice yoga, and the joy of getting there brings great self-esteem and positive body image along with excellent alignment. Savor the process and intelligence of your child’s development and try not to push them into places they can find so wonderfully on their own if given the support and encouragement to do so. Ways to encourage your baby in developmental movement include Tummy Time, play, baby wearing, and other movement oriented activities that encourage balance, strength, and exploring the senses! You can all have fun doing these activities!

Ellynne Skove, LCAT, BC-DMT, NCC, is a New York state licensed Movement therapist, yoga teacher, Orff music educator, nationally certified counselor, and Polarity therapist. She has worked for over 25 years with pregnant women, babies, chidren, and adults. Stop by the store on Wednesdays to try a class!

April 26, 2011

Open for business! Pics and Aftermath

After a long and jam-packed grand opening weekend, Caribou has officially survived and is now open for business! I could do entire posts dedicated to the throngs of amazing people and supporters who have helped us get our feet on the ground. Thank you to all of you, you know who you are, for your invaluable contributions, be it advice, hard labor or simple blessings. See the final transformation in the below pics and read some recent press with more details and pics of the grand opening itself…

A much anticipated event (albeit just days before we open), a hole gets blown through the wall to make way for a new door to the backyard garden from the event space.

The old concertina storefront gates still lay on the floor of the event space, being prepped for installation.

Covered in blood, sweat and tears, Kristin and Adriane (designer and owner) take a load off in the nursing lounge and enjoy the fruits of their labor late at night before opening day.

Inventory Set up after a long night, and the morning before we open.

Recent Press:

A cute blog post from Greenpointer and neighbor, Brittany, warms our hearts with rave reviews and pics featuring some Caribou products. And amazing write-up by Treehugger.com talks about our sustainable store design and captures the energy of the opening weekend events (not to mention all the pregnant bellies on the scene!)

Please come come visit us!!! Weekend Raffle Winners are being drawn and posted later today!

March 09, 2011
16 notes

Grand Opening - THIS WEEKEND!!

Alright, IT’S ON!!!! Our grand opening is this weekend!! Stop by and check out our baby carriers, cloth diapers, baby supplies, spacious play area with natural and wooden toys for kids, a free mug of herbal tea, with Caribou’s own collection of vintage LPs spinning all day long -  We’re kicking it off with an awesome line-up of events:


Saturday March 5th

  • 10am: Morning Tea and Treats
  • 11am-12pm: Babywearing Basics  - get the run-down on basic babywearing techniques, carriers and safety from certified Babywearing educator and store owner, Adriane Stare. Bring carriers that you already own for tips on how to use them!
  • 1pm: Introduction to Cloth Diapering
  • 2pm: Storytime for Babies
  • 3pm: Little Movers Class Demo - a movement class with a yoga base for children 12-36 months and their caregivers. Wear clothing that is comfortable to jump, dance and turn upside-down in. Space is limited for this demo, please email me (adriane@cariboubaby.com)  if you’d like to reserve a spot
  • 4pm: Storytime: Toddlers
  • 5-7pm: Cut loose to the DJ stylings of Green Mist at Caribou Baby’s first dance party!

Sunday March 6th

  • 11am: Morning Tea and Treats
  • 12pm: Beyond the BabyBjorn: Babywearing for Dads
  • 1pm: What’s a Doula? Come find out if you need one and learn some simple pain relief techniques for Labor, presented by Birth Day Presence 
  • 2pm: Infant Massage and Gogo Babies Class Demo - caregivers welcome babies (pre-crawling) into the physical world of their body and spine with massage, music, exercises and play. Space is limited for this demo, please email me (adriane@cariboubaby.com)  if you’d like to reserve a spot
  • 2-4pm: Free 15 minute massages! The Village Wellness Project will be setting up wo massage chairs and therapists to help you de-stress and work out all your kinks
  • 3-4:30pm: The Ina May Pre-party. WORD bookstore is presenting a free speaking event and book signing with renowned midwife and activist Ina May Gaskin at the Warsaw at 5pm, directly across the street from our store! Meet and mingle at at Caribou before Ina May goes on. Refreshments and snacks by Halcyon Gourmet, music (and free massage) will be on hand.

Our address is 272 Driggs Avenue in Greenpoint, between Eckford and Leonard Streets.We will be raffling off a cloth diapering kit, summer swim kit, wooden toy set, an interior design consultation with Caribou’s designer Kristen Reifsteck, and our grand prize winners will receive an amazing Ellevill woven baby wrap and a Mountain Mama Pregnancy Jacket! Sign our mailing list in-store this weekend to be entered, and we will announce winners on our Facebook, Twiiter and Blog next week. As a special thank you, you’ll receive a free Caribou Baby onesie with any purchase of $40 or more this Saturday and Sunday.

LOVE!!!

March 03, 2011
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Sneak Peak at Store…and Grand Opening Dates!

Out with the old… (storefront and glass)

In with the new (everything else)

For several weeks, ordering inventory for Caribou Baby has been in full-swing in anticipation of our Grand Opening weekend on March 5th and 6th last week’s spring-like weather, everyone is growing eager for the store to reach completion, and we’re working like mad to put all the finishing touches so that we can start placing the furniture and stocking the shelves. To give you an idea of what’s awaiting you, our basement is bursting at the seams with natural pacifiers, glass baby bottles, eco-friendly breast pumps, organic kimono onesies and bloomers, natural wooden blocks, trucks and teethers, body oils and healing salves for pregnant bellies and baby bums, eco-friendly DIY cleaning products, teas for health, homeopathic remedies, baby swim diapers, maternity basics, gorgeous crib quilts and upcycled wool shorties… and of course, hundreds of baby carriers and cloth diapers!

We’re excited to share with you some recent press about Caribou Baby. A few weeks ago A Child Grows In Brooklyn spilled the beans to Brooklyn parents of our impending opening. What’s best, is that the photo used in this article is old news – we’re near finished with the installation of a brand new store front, and little construction remains to be done throughout the rest of the space. A great article in Brooklyn Based was released shortly afterward, which talks about how Greenpoint is quickly becoming one of the best neighborhoods to raise a family, and how Caribou Baby and owner Adriane Stare are gearing up to be a central part of it. Finally, check out the cover story of this week’s L Magazine. Caribou friend and local Doula, Domino Kirke talks about her experience supporting women through pregnancy and labor, and gives a shout out to the soon-to-be Caribou Baby Childbirth Education studio and Babywearing Boutique.
 
Can’t wait to see you on March 5th & 6th!
 
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or sign up for our newsletter to stay tuned as we release the details of the Grand Opening weekend. Also, throughout March we will be using these social networking sites to announce special offers and classes. Help usbuild our networks, be sure to tell your friends and families about Caribou Baby!

February 25, 2011
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Meet Kristen, Caribou’s Green Designer

       

Hi everyone!  This is Kristen, Adriane’s designer, some of you may know me through my son Bowie, or my other design work in family homes around Greenpoint and Williamsburg.  I asked Adriane if I could say a few words about the construction of Caribou Baby and the philosophy behind it. Adriane has already talked a little about the majestic Caribou and the relationship the Inuit people have with them and how that came to be the name of the store. In thinking about the space, I thought about how the Inuit use every part of the animal, so that nothing goes to waste.  I wanted to express that idea through the design. The scrap wood wall in the photo above is just one iteration of this. All of the wood you see was part of the deconstruction process.  Instead of sending it to a landfill we saved it all and made it into a beautiful feature of the space.

Many of the other items you will see in the space have come from thrift stores and Build it Green, and have been given a fresh lease on life with some adaptation, some paint stripping and a little fresh paint, plus a lot of elbow grease! Almost all of the paints and finishes we are using are VOC free, and natural as we can make them.  

I can’t wait for the store to open so you can see it all completed. You can look for me around the space while you hang out in the nursing lounge or browse Adriane’s selection of diapers, carriers, clothes, toys and so much more - I couldn’t even begin to list it all!  And if anyone has any questions about any of the amazing natural products and finishes we have used in the store, I would love to answer them.

I have to get back to work because the Grand Opening on March 5th and 6th is coming up fast!  Looking forward to seeing you all there.

              

February 15, 2011

Classes coming to Caribou

Jackhammers continue breaking walls and ground at 272 Driggs Ave as Caribou Baby prepares to open its doors in late February. Yikes! In the meantime, I’ve been busy ordering inventory and booking classes for March. Here’s the lineup so far:

If you are pregnant and haven’t booked your childbirth education classes yet, look no further! Caribou Baby has teamed up with the reputable Birth Day Presence Childbirth Studio of Park Slope and Soho to offer a complete birth prep series, including newborn care and breastfeeding classes. Whether you’re planning to deliver in a hospital, birthing center or at home, these comprehensive classes address the needs of all types of families and empower couples to choose a birth plan that’s right for them. Birth Day Presence is not affiliated with any doctor, midwife, pediatrician or hospital, so they can inform you fully without restriction. Contact me at adriane@cariboubaby.com with any questions!

If you have been thinking of starting a family, but not the old-fashioned way, don’t miss our seminar on Adoption and Assisted Reproduction on Sunday, March 20th. Local mom and family lawyer, Liz Mandarano will discuss the how-tos, costs, pros and cons of adoption, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and pregnancy by donor.

Although covered in dust and debris at the moment, our future classroom will be a comfy, skylit, 20x20 ft. space complete with kitchen and access to our backyard garden. A generous-sized treatment room will also be available for pre- and post-natal practitioners to book appointments with clients one-on-one. Seriously? It’s gonna be sweet.

January 20, 2011

Caribou Baby, Coming Soon to Greenpoint!

I’m Adriane Stare and I’m opening a baby store and class space for expectant and new families in Greenpoint, Brooklyn!

Despite enduring five long, excruciating months of mercury retrogrades and other cosmic disasters that set out to destroy my efforts to secure a space for Caribou Baby, I finally signed a lease last week on a beautiful, old storefront at 272 Driggs Avenue, a block and half from the McCarren Park Playground. Rumor has it, the storefront was used as a bar/restaurant in Scorcese’s new HBO series, Boardwalk Empire. Fancy! 

Paper is up in the windows, walls have been erected, it’s all happening! Stay tuned for updates as the store comes together and details on the grand opening slated for early 2011.

Here is a glimpse of the store from the inside. Salvaged doors, windows and a 100 yr old piece of a bowling lane line the wall and await to be repurposed as fixtures throughout the space.

A vintage chalkboard adorns the future classroom/event space.

December 19, 2010
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The Art of Babywearing

I’ll never forget schlepping my two-week old son on three different subway lines and across multiple boroughs to find a place to buy and learn how to use a comfortable baby carrier! Wearing my baby was the single most important thing I learned as a new mom, and over the course of my son’s first year, I’ve strapped him on my front, back, side and stomach in all types of weather, and in more styles of slings, packs and fabrics than one can count.
 
I am inspired by the simplicity and beauty of traditional babywearing practices in other cultures around the world.  Eskimo families, for example, sew gorgeous parkas made of caribou-skin with built-in pouches in the back for carrying their babies.  The Caribou is a majestic creature that has served as a source of food and raw material for clothing, tools and shelter for Inuit tribes for millennia. It’s a symbol of sustenance, strength, and respect for our environment - all values with which I aspire to raise my family. These sentiments, compounded by my desire to bring to my neighborhood a resource for birth education, natural pregnancy and postpartum supplies and quality parenting products under one roof, is how Caribou Baby was born.


Inuit woman carrying her baby in her "amauti"

December 19, 2010