Stroller Mama Blog

It is about time!  Many of you know that StrollerMama is close to turning three this fall.  Amy and I have grown our little seed of an idea into a blossoming stroller boutique.  We’ve added products that we use and love: diaper bags, baby products and car seats.  The funny thing was that all of these years, Amy and I have been driving around minivans of our own jam-packed with Britax car seats (that we didn’t sell at StrollerMama until now!).  Britax is very picky about their retailers (which is the way it should be), and we finally passed the test and are now an authorized Britax retailer! 

Amy and I have always told our parents how much we love our Britax car seats, even when we didn’t sell them ourselves.  We are thrilled to add their quality lines of car seats to our store.

The most popular convertible seat is still the Marathon which can hold a child up to 65 lbs.  The Roundabout is like the Marathon but for cars with less space in the back seat.  Other models offer True Side Impact Protection and an easy turnable knob for adjusting the height of the straps (rather than uninstalling and rethreading).  The Boulevard (similar in size to the Marathon) and the Diplomat (smaller in size- similar to the Roundabout) are two such models.

The most exciting thing from Britax is the release of their new “Harness-2-Booster” seat known as the Frontier.  The Frontier can keep a child harnessed from two years old and 25 lbs. up to 80 lbs.!  Then it converts to a booster seat that can hold a child to approximately 100 lbs.  According to safety experts, keeping a child in a five point harness as long as possible is the safest way to ride. 

My four and a half year old son was starting to feel “peer pressured” from his friends after riding carpool that he didn’t want to sit in his “baby seat” anymore.  This is pretty common around this age.  I actually had him in a regular booster but never felt great about it because he is pretty small.  So, the Frontier was the perfect solution for me. I told him he was getting a new big boy booster and it had cup holders (that basically sealed the deal….)  We went back to the five point harness (which was also better for me anyway because he can do the buckles himself but he could never master the seat belt) and he loves his new booster (and has no idea he went back to being harnessed!)  Brilliant!

If you’re in the Cleveland area, come on by the store and check out all of the models- we have them all on display so you can compare them to one another.  If you don’t live here, give us a call or shoot us an email and we can talk Britax and what is best for your family! 

Yes, you heard that right!  Amy and I just got back from a two day trip to Atlanta to attend Phil & Teds University.  Select retailers were invited by Regal Lager to attend “PTU”.  We were a small group of fifteen: other retailers, reps and Regal Lager staff.  It was an amazing experience. 

After getting a tour of their beautiful offices, we got to tour the warehouse and see how all of the orders get processed (Amy and I were hoping to see our backordered Black Sport Buggies to no avail….)   We then headed right to the Phil & Teds University classroom itself which was loaded with every single product.  We spent a day and a half going over the ins and outs of pretty much every stroller, accessory and anything else that leaves the Regal Lager warehouse.  We got demonstrations by professors Jeff Durkie (Director of Sales) and Dave Milligan (Sales Development Manager) while being thoroughly entertainted by their quick wit.  We couldn’t have asked for better professors! 

In between presentations, we had “hot time” where we broke up into four small groups to get our hands on the strollers and products.  We folded Vibes with doubles kits on.  We set up Travellers.  We packed and unpacked travel bags.  We finally got our hands on the long awaited Dash.  We saw and played with everything Regal Lager has to offer and it was amazing and educational (and fun!)

I should also mention that the folks at Regal Lager know how to have a good time!  After a long day of school, everyone got to wind down with a rockin’ night of pizza and bowling (where yours truly bowled her first 125, thank you very much!)

And this morning, we concluded by finishing up our lessons, taking our second test (I kid you not!) and then graduating!  I now hold a degree from Phil & Teds University and have been awarded the honorary title of “Phil & Teds Head”!  So, all of you parents out there- if you have any questions about your Phil & Teds, shoot it my way!  I know the history, the ins and outs and the quick fixes.  Phil & Teds strollers questions?  Easy: One buggy, two kids, four positions, six years.  Which inline is right for you?  How about Phil & Teds beyond the buggies?  Easy: Push, Sleep, Feed, Carry, Drive, Adapt.  Phil & Teds has grown so much beyond just the buggies (Push) and we are excited to be adding some new Phil & Teds products to StrollerMama.  Coming soon look for Me Too highchairs (Feed), Traveller travel cots (Sleep), Mini Dittie diaper bags (Carry), infant car seats (Drive) and new stroller accessories (Adapt). 

Probably the biggest news is that we have decided to carry the entire line of Phil & Teds inline buggies at StrollerMama.  We can help you decide which inline is right for you.  Whether it is the Classic (thrifty inline) for its simplicity and value, the Sport (sporty inline) for its ruggedness and proven function, the Dash (urban active inline) for its form and function or the Vibe (uptown inline) for its ultimate style and function, we can help find the right inline for you.  We thought we knew our stuff before, just try us now!

Phil & Teds University was an amazing experience and we are so thankful to the Regal Lager crew for letting us participate!  Our seven kids are happy to have their moms back home but we had a wonderful time in Atlanta!

Any of our loyal followers out there should know by now that PURPLE is the official StrollerMama color.  We love purple and from the day we opened (almost three years ago now!), I have dreamed of having an exclusive StollerMama Special Edition Purple Valco stroller.  Well, my dream has come true and it is here!   Exclusively at StrollerMama, the 2008 Trimode Single in Purple is available for $550.  It comes loaded with a matching footmuff and mama bag as well as a cup holder.  It was made in a limited quantity so it won’t be around long! The color on the website is very true to life- brilliant and bold- perfect for a boy or a girl.  It is all the same quality of the classic Trimode, just with an extra dab of StrollerMama style!