Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope you have a fantastic one. On this day of love…I thought it would be fitting to do a post on baby rooms…people fall in love and then have babies (usually it is in that order I think). So today we celebrate love and I’ll talk about decorating a nursery! Logical…right? So here we are…
Nestled in the north end of downtown Seattle in the South Lake Union district is the most adorable modern baby store named tottini. The store is owned by Melissa Maffei and Melissa Van Flandern. Melissa and Melissa have made the work of soon to be parents very easy by providing useful and delightful furnishings, toys, and necessities fitting for any cozy contemporary nursery.
Anyhooo…I was up in Seattle in the fall for long time college friend AG’s baby shower (she’s since had a GORGEOUS baby boy btw) with best of friend AM. We stopped into tottini for a little shopping and of course I had to snap a few photos of this cool shop.
I happen to know owner Melissa M. quite well…I watched her help AG who was nervous about having her first child. Melissa was calm, reasonable and reassuring in her advice to AG regarding her nursery. By the time we left the store, I could tell AG felt better about what she needed to get prepared for her baby. I liked what I heard…Melissa did not put AG on edge by listing a million things she needed…instead Melissa deftly guided AG through some of the essentials of what could help a new parent welcome a baby home. I liked that.
So for all you new parents or if you know new parents forward this on, I thought it would be nice to hear about tottini and some tips for designing a nursery that works for you…here’s today’s SHOP WATCH!
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| I love this little stuffed animal – a striped pink pig – cute! (above) |
COCO: How do you help soon to be or new parents sift through what is important?
Melissa and Melissa, tottini owners (tottini): We like to stress to our customer that most importantly, when the baby is born you will need to address just four main areas- a car seat and/or stroller, somewhere for the baby to sleep, somewhere to feed the baby, and somewhere to change the baby. Most of the time the parents will realize what their true needs are once the baby has arrived.
COCO: What is the biggest piece of advice you could give to someone who is designing their nursery?
tottini: Start with one piece or a couple of pieces that you love and build the nursery around your favorite pieces. We also highly recommend getting a well designed and comfortable glider or rocker since the parents will be spending a great deal of time rocking the baby. Also, the gliders and rockers that we do sell are less traditional and can be placed in any room once it’s moved out of the nursery.
COCO: What do you think is “in” for nurseries right now?
tottini: We’re seeing more customers purchasing grey and grey/white furniture and then adding splashes of color with fun textiles.
COCO: tottini is such a cute name, how did you come up with it?
tottini: Oh the name… everyone always wants to know about the name… Before we opened we wanted a name that was fun and unique. We made a list with help from family and friends, and tottini just seemed to work- it was fun, and spoke of “tiny tots”. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize it was an Italian surname and while the storefront was being built out, a few people thought we were going to be a panini shop!
COCO: How is tottini different from other baby stores in your area or in general?
tottini: We are the only modern children’s store in Seattle. tottini offers eco-friendly nursery and children’s furniture and other goods with not only great design, but great functionality.
COCO: Where do you hope tottini grows in the future?
tottini: tottini would like to become of a resource for parents in our community and online. We will be launching a parenting blog called “totstuff” with guest bloggers from around the country.
COCO: What is the best part about owning a baby store?
tottini: Meeting some great customers and being a part of an exciting time in their life
Thank you Melissa and Melissa for letting me tour your fantastic store and thank you for the tips and advice!
If you can’t get to Seattle to visit this cute store, no worries, tottini is also totally online…it is a modern baby shop indeed.
Readers, do you have any tips you might add in for designing a fabulous nursery? Please weigh in.
Happy Tuesday & Happy Valentine’s Day!
xo
Coco
P.S. Day 1 of being coy and mysterious: I mentioned yesterday that this is my month of being coy and mysterious. During the first 13 days of the month I was not too successful in this quest. Today, on this Valentine’s Day…I begin my experiment. Remember, the reason I am doing this is that I’ve noticed that those girls who are guarded and cagey and calculated seem to get ahead in life. I know I won’t be able to be calculated, cagey and guarded…but I can try being a little more mysterious and coy this month to see if anything changes. I know…this is silly…I sound like a 5th grader but you never know…I’m going to give it a try…let’s see what happens as I approach the world as a coy person…
P.P.S. Hmmm…blink, blink, blink…I don’t know what to write about unless I’m over sharing….hmmm…I hear birds chirping outside…uhmmm…it is sunny? I am frozen in front of my computer. It is like a comedy. I come up with a total and absolute blank as I try to think of coy and mysterious things to say. What do coy and mysterious people talk about? Help. Maybe that is just it…maybe they just say nothing?
P.P.P.S. I’m going to try this at work today and see how the new coy and mysterious me goes over…we’ll see…
Photos in this post by Coco of COCOCOZY
Love tottini!
Mysterious/coy girls answer “I really shouldn’t say” when asked what their plans are this weekend and send nonsensical, random quotes when texting or tweeting…
I think, ONE of the things that makes your blog so interesting is the intellectually whimsical side of you that shows in your P.S’s – P.P.P.S’s. You are gifted and have the ability to put your meandering thoughts into words at the end of each blog. You ARE coy and mysterious, so with this said, I would hope you stay just the way you are.
Gray with pops of color is the exact color scheme of my nursery!
Just be yourself! When you catch them being coy & mysterious, they will eventually realize that you are a really fun, oversharing, enjoying life kind of girl who has launched a fabulous line of textiles all the while working in a law firm, who is totally loyal to family & friends. And did I say beautiful? What more could a man possibly want in a best friend for life?
You are hilarious and I just love your post-scripts. I think going by your nickname Coco and not posting pictures of yourself all over your blog are mysterious enough….don’t you think? *smile*