Posts | The Baby Spot

*Jen Bobby interviews Baby Avenue, an adorable baby boutique in Vancouver, Canada. Find out what the 2015 baby trends are and what Baby Avenue has been up to!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing boutique manager Claudia Demcak at Baby Avenue in Vancouver B.C. If your shopping for a new arrival or a fashionable toddler, Baby Avenue is the place to purchase that sweet item. From the moment you walk in the door you are in baby heaven, the soft colour scheme and whimsical decor set the mood for a relaxed shopping experience. You are instantly welcomed by a knowledgeable shop associate who will assist you with finding the perfect item. The merchandise at Baby Avenue is so adorable, it almost makes me want another wee one. Make sure to visit Baby Avenue at 3318 Cambie Street in Vancouver!

When did baby Avenue open and why did owner Lisa Yu decide to open a baby focused store?

Lisa opened Baby Avenue in the early fall of 2012. She was inspired by her daughter, Avva, who was born in July of 2011. Lisa researched and planned for a year and chose white and pink as the colours of her logo and store because they symbolize peace, purity and maternal love. Since then Lisa also had a baby boy named Marcus, in October 2013.

What brands does Baby Avenue carry and which items are best sellers?

We carry so many brands! There are a few French brands like Coccoli, Catimini, 3 Pommes, Kaloo and Petit Bateau, American brands Trumpette, Biscotti & Kate Mack, Aden + Anais, TOMS, Andy & Evan and Liv & Lily. Also Canadian and local brands such as Mackage, Parade, Beba Bean, Sweet Peanut and Redfish Kids. There are many more!
I think our most popular products are the Beba Bean cotton sweaters with wooden toggle buttons, soft and machine washable plush toys from Kaloo, Andy & Evan suspenders, Trumpette socks and Biscotti dresses!

What are fashion trends for baby for the fall and winter 2014/2015 season‎?

For fall and winter 2014/2015 woodland animal themes are in style for babies, like our Parade rompers (more coming soon!) and Aden + Anais swaddles.

Black, white and grey street style is super trending for babies! For street style clothing we have two great local brands, Yves & Leigh and Whistle & Flute.

We also have cool shirts from Brian Lichtenberg’s children collection and adorably chic black and dark grey printed circle scarves by My Mila, an independent designer from the States.

Another trend that has recently started is tiny tutus for little babies! They are so much fun. We have a gorgeous selection in store by Chic & Cheeky Accessories, a new and very local brand by an independent designer who is also a mother. We find that our customers like to get the tutus for photoshoots and weddings. Chic & Cheeky also does a wonderful selection of soft elastic and adjustable baby headbands, which are great to use for a series of photoshoots documenting the growth of a baby girl. The comparison of the headband and baby would show how much she grew!

What kind of events does Baby Avenue host and how are you connected to the Vancouver community?

We love Vancouver! There are so many interesting people to meet and collaborate with. Even meeting customers on a day-to-day basis is so interesting because we are always learning about parenting and products for babies and parents, and we learn a lot from our customers’ opinions and techniques.

Most recently we hosted an event called The Sound of Sleep: Workshop for Parents, which was presented by Annette Baisi, New Life Essentials Maternity Concierge. We have been friends with Annette for a while now and are so impressed with her work. She is such an expert in the baby field!

She gave our guests at the workshop an amazing presentation, booklets with lots of information to refer to at home and one-on-one advice. Her enthusiasm is so entertaining!

We also had the most scrumptious deserts from Baguette & Co. and blogger Katherine from The Pampered Baby was in attendance. Everyone loved the workshop so we started planning another one! Like our Facebook page to help us by voting for the topic of the next one and to learn about the date and details as we plan!

In the past we have had a very fun and successful Baby Avenue’s 1st Birthday Bash with lots of food, giveaways and swag bags. We plan to do it every five years. This summer we also hosted a series of Summer Camp events for the kids. They included crafting with Madelyn from The Luminous Elephant, face painting and a reading of Our Canadian Love Story by author Linnie Von Sky! The children’s book is a beautiful immigration story, written, illustrated and published locally in Vancouver. The book is available at our store!

More ways that we are connected to the Vancouver community include our website work with Gogiro, carrying locally handmade bibs and greeting cards by independent sellers, and shopping at other local stores! We definitely know how important it is to support local and to keep some of our hard earned dollars in the community.