hipbaby History

www.hipbaby.com

You might have heard of Absolutely Diapers™ - well that's what we started out as and like every new baby we have grown and changed with time and a few years ago we decided to change our name to hipbaby™ to reflect all the fun and functional baby gear that all of our customers have grown to know and love.

Absolutely Diapers™ was originated in Toronto in the 1980's by Cheryl May, a young mother who felt that a real gap existed in the city for affordable, environmentally responsible, kid friendly, parenting products. Cheryl managed to build up a chain that gathered a fiercely loyal clientele who loved the products that Cheryl and her friends developed, and loved Cheryl's urban parenting philosophy. Cheryl also managed to ride a strong wave in consumer interest in cloth diapers, breast-feeding, and all things natural and eco-friendly, and to add to those strengths a distinctive sense of humour and fun. When Carla Van Messel and Ari Shiff had their first child, Allie, in March of 1994, they too were downtown types on the fringes of the arts community, working in architecture and fashion design. Like so many of our customers who are new parents, they were pretty clueless about babies and their needs, but felt equal to the challenge.

But there was no way either of them were going to ask their parents for advice! So instead they turned to their local AD™ store, and found incredibly helpful people who were just like them, and who understood that with a 2-day-old baby, no sleep, and no real idea of what kind of parenting experience they were in for, they needed clear concise advice from people who weren't going to waste their time suggesting cheap quality products or pink and blue ribbons. Though they went in with a one-page list of what they thought they needed, Carla and Ari went out with far more than that, including things that they hadn't even previously known existed. And everything they bought, they used and used, and found that they really did need. That first experience of Absolutely Diapers™ was so positive, that they kept going back as they quickly picked up everything they needed to raise Allie. And if they were ever in doubt as to how to use a product, or solve a parenting problem, AD™'s knowledgeable staff had all of the answers at their fingertips and were happy to help.

Six months later, when Carla and Ari decided to move their family to Vancouver, they quickly realized that they couldn't possibly survive parenthood without an Absolutely Diapers™ store close by. So with Cheryl's assistance they opened an AD™ in Vancouver.  Their store was an instant success. No one in Vancouver had ever before seen a parenting store that treated the customer with sufficient respect to make the shopping experience fun, informative, and intelligent.  Instead of boxes piled high and narrow aisles, they offered the customers sleek cabinetry with selected merchandise, and aisles wide enough for strollers and playful toddlers to pass easily. And of course they offered all of the great choices in diapers, breast-feeding supplies, and layette, that people wanted but didn't know where to find. Vancouver responded quickly and eagerly, and they were fortunate to have a team who themselves appreciated that they were at the forefront of a new and exciting concept.

The success of our Vancouver store, convinced us that parents everywhere needed access to hipbaby™, so we have launched this website to serve those who can't get to our stores.  As we have grown, we have listened to our customers and expanded with far more selection in each of the core categories, and filled out areas like books and toys with products that we felt properly completed the concept. When customers described products they couldn't find anywhere, we responded by making them ourselves, so that today the hipbaby™ brand appears on hundreds of great products.

We also streamlined the shopping experience for busy shoppers, and divided our stores and website into 6 distinct zones that take parents through baby's day in a logical order: Change, Feed, Go, Play, Clean, and Sleep. Now, parents can come in and quickly and efficiently pick up exactly what they need and then get on with their busy lives. And our expert staff is right there to help, whether it is with finding out about cloth diapers, picking a gift for a new baby, or wanting to know really what you need to start out with your first little one.

Carla is now on baby number five and as her family has grown and changed so has hipbaby™ and in time they have built a strong team in the store and behind the scenes to research and deliver the best  selection of baby products that you will find anywhere and believe me, we've looked everywhere to find the most unique and fun, hip and functional baby gear.  The response has been great...and hipbaby™ customers have told their friends, who in turn have told their friends, and hipbaby™ has been covered extensively on TV, radio, and in newspapers and magazines across the country.

And now we are ready to bring hipbaby™ to you. Enjoy our site. You can place orders by calling toll-free 1-888-HIP-BABY (1-888-447-2229) or just let us know what you think by e-mailing Customer Service at info@hipbaby.com.

We look forward to introducing more babies and parents to the hipbaby™ concept of parenting that combines what is best for both baby and parent, with humour and delight. Throughout baby's day, hipbaby™ provides useful equipment for intelligent parenting.