Thursday, September 13, 2012

Small Concept Shop Spotlight

As soon as my husband and I were expecting our first child, I simply fell in love with baby boutiques, little shops lovingly curated to bring together only the most adorable and classic baby items.  What a refreshing change from the big box stores with rows and rows of nothing but cheap plastic.  Once Lucia was born though, I found myself turning to online shopping because getting out of the house with a little one is much easier said than done!  I lamented the loss of boutique shopping, until I discovered that boutiques existed online as well.  

Small Concept is one of those sweet online baby and child boutiques.  It's run by Julie, a woman with a great love for little ones and a bittersweet background behind her business.  Here is her story in her own words:
Last year, I made the monumental decision to leave my salaried position of 12 years and venture into the entrepreneurial world. I also lost my husband of 30 years to a long battle with cancer. I suppose you could say that now, more than ever, I understand the importance of pursuing a career path that you’re passionate about-- and I’m very passionate about children, especially my own children and grandchildren. I’ve learned that life is short and precious, which is why I chose to devote my time to a business that revolves around my love for children.

The Small Concept mission is simple: to provide quality products and deliver only the best in customer service. We offer great brands like Tea Collection, Appaman, Deux Par Deux, Magnificent Baby, Wonder Boy, and much more. In addition, we recently introduced maternity wear to our collection-- specifically, Lilac Clothing and Olian Maternity.

What an amazing foundation to build a company upon!  A love of children and a desire to follow her passions!  Check out Small Concept's adorable online boutique to see how Julie has brought her vision to fruition.  Some of my favorite items are the P'kolino Puzzle Stacker (oh, how I adore wooden baby toys!), the Tea Collection Hanji Floral Wrap Dress, and the Ah Goo Baby wipes case.  They also have some sweet and stylish maternity clothes, but since we aren't planning any new little ones soon, I won't let myself browse those pages too much!  As a cloth diapering mama, I also appreciate that Small Concept carries cloth diapers.  It's so convenient to shop for cloth diapers while shopping for other adorable items for my little one.

Small Concept gave me the opportunity to select a few items for review.  I chose the Itzy Ritzy Wet Happened?™ Zippered Wet Bag (in avocado damask - so cute!), the Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted diaper, and the Thirsties Duo Wrap.  I believe that you can tell the quality of a shop by the quality of products they carry, and was so excited to try these out.



in her Thirsties Duo Wrap
I've previously mentioned that I'm a huge fan of Thirsties for several reasons: the company is from my hometown, their diapers are made in the USA, and  they have a strong commitment to be environmentally friendly.  Their Duo products are "two-sized" meaning that there are only two sizes  that together should serve baby throughout diapering.  I prefer this sizing to one-size diapers because the fits is so much better (meaning more comfort and less leaks!), but I don't have to buy four or five different "sized" diapers (expensive!) Lucia has been fitting the the larger Duos since she was five or six months, and they look like they will fit her through potty training.  We are huge fans of fitted diapers, so we've had many to compare them to, and these truly stack up with the best of them.  They feel soft for her delicate skin and are absorbent enough for overnight (Lucia, however, is not a heavy wetter, so we don't even put doublers in it).

The Duo Wrap is fabulous.  We've used it with a variety of fitted diapers and with prefolds, and it works great.  No notable leaks to report.  One of our biggest issues is that we bought some rather bulky fitted diapers of a different brand (the Thirsties ones are fairly trim) and many of our diaper covers won't fit over them.  The Duo Wrap does, however, so it's used constantly in our cloth diaper rotation.


so cute!
Of the three items Small Concept sent me, the Itzy Ritzy Wet Happened?™ Zippered Wet Bag is definitely my favorite.  Unlike the diaper and cover, which is part of a larger rotation, this wet bag is used on almost a daily basis.  Aside from the adorable pattern, I love the size of this wet bag.  My other wet bag barely fits two diapers so it only can be used for a short outing.  Until recently, we used disposable diapers when we went out, but I really can't justify paying the money for them anymore.  Since we are using cloth diapers out of the house, we need a wet bag that can handle multiple diapers when we are gone for the day visiting family or running errands.  This one is up to the task.  We took it to Lucia's swim lessons on Tuesday and when we came home it contained: a cloth diaper, her wet swimsuit, my wet swimsuit (NOT a little bikini - a one-piece with a skirt, so quite a bit of material), and her wet towel.  I think wet bags are an essential for every mom with little ones, not just those who cloth diaper, for wet cloth, spit up messes, etc.  It's one of my favorite items to give as a baby shower gift, and this will be my go-to wet bag to gift for the future.

I was so pleased with these products, and in turn, Small Concept.  Julie selects only the best baby and children's products and it's so refreshing knowing that you can buy anything in a shop and it will be high quality.  I highly suggest Small Concept for the next time you need a baby gift or for your own online baby boutique shopping needs. 



I received the cloth diapering products mentioned in this post to facilitate my review.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions are 100% mine.  Please see Disclosure Policy.

3 comments:

  1. We used to have some Itzy Ritzy Wet Happened?™ Zippered Wet Bags and loved them! Great shop!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this company they have the most adorable things for the little ones!!

    ReplyDelete

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