Families searching for the best places in Chicago to find kids backpacks and lunchbags for Back to School 2011 can support several local independent toy stores and boutiques that are carrying children’s bags that are trendy, sturdy, unique, often eco-friendly, and packed full with features to make returning to class and eating meals at school as easy and stylish as possible.
Read on for some ideas for where to shop in various areas of Chicagoland and what great back to school bags and other supplies for children are available at each location.
BACK TO SCHOOL IN CHICAGO
Green Genes
WHERE: Green Genes at 5111 North Clark Avenue in Chicago.
WHAT: The best in eco-friendly kids’ school bags and lunch containers, from Fleurville preschool lunch paks and adorable animal-themed Skip Hop backpacks and lunch boxes to organic Snack Taxi sandwich sacks, compartmentalized Bright Bins, Lunch Bots stainless steel lunch and snack containers, and cool Goodbyn lunchboxes that can be customized with stickers (the newest Goodbyn colors and the new Bynto lunchbox are both currently available).
EXTRA CREDIT: Stock up on eco-friendly school art supplies, such as soy Crayon Rocks, Eco-tree colored pencils, and Reused News pencils.
Twinkle Twinkle Little One
WHERE: Twinkle Twinkle Little One at 3224 North Damen Avenue in Chicago.
WHAT: L’Artiste The New Generation Lunch Bag (that kids can personalize with wash-off markers), You Rock laminated canvas lunch sacks, and cool MadPax toddler backpacks.
Urba Baby
WHERE: Urba Baby at 1117 West Armitage Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
WHAT: Crocodile Creek back packs, sandwich keepers, food jars, backpack organizers, lunchboxes, and stainless steel drinking bottles.
EXTRA CREDIT: Itzy Ritzy Snack Happened reusable and washable fabric snack bags store food on the go for the youngest nursery schoolers and preschoolers.
Hi Urba Fans!!
We would really appreciate your support if you NOMINATED & VOTED for URBA BABY for the Red Tricycle Totally Awesome Awards presented by Giggle! Vote for Baby Boutique, Mom Run Business, Kids Clothing Retail Stores & more!!
Nominate your favorite LOCAL baby & kid products, stores, resources & sites at Red Tricycle’s Most Awesome Awards!
CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE: http://www.redtri.com/awards/local/
Thank you for Nominating and VOTING for Urba Baby!
Terms: Nominations will take place August 1, 2011 to September 9, 2011 (11.59pm PST). Finalists will be announced September 12, 2011. Public voting will be conducted from September 12 to October 14, 2011 (11:59 PST). All winners will be announced October 17, 2011.
Chicago Family Health Examiner
June 15, 2011
Meet mompreneur Marti Goyal, owner of Aniko Salon and Spa in the South Loop and now owner of Urbababy. She’s a new mom on a mission helping moms not only feel beautiful, but offering a one stop shop that has everything your “Urbababy” will ever need and more! She’s not only been featured in Crave Chicago, an urban gal’s guide to the sassiest, gutsiest, most inspiring people you need to know in Chicago, but she’s fun, down-to-Earth, eager to learn and willing to share all that she knows, mistakes and all. From new mom mishaps and her Urbababy’s favorite foods (which is winter squash and sweet potatoes) Marti is one mom that makes time to be healthy with her family. I sat down with Marti to get the scoop…
How do you organize your time between healthy living and your growing business?
Well, I believe family is first and therefore, being healthy is important for your family to grow. We focus on making sure we better ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually. We make the effort to fit in a weekly trip to the grocery store at Whole Foods Market and find healthy snacks. We also plan our dinner meals for the week. This way, we stick to our plan. I also put healthy snacks in bags so when I am on the go from one store to the other, I can snack on something that is good for me rather than grabbing McD’s on the way!
What is your best, simple advice you can give to someone who is trying to make changes?
I think for any mom this is a challenge. I am known to be a clean and control freak, so when I had the baby, I had to let go a little and reallize my house doesn’t have to look like the Martha Steward catalog. With that said, I focus on what is important and that makes my family happy. My motto is, “happy wife, happy life!” For me, I have to have time to myself so I can give 100% when I am with my family. Whether that is doing pilates at Soulistic Studio and Spa, or getting a pedicure, this is something just for me and that makes me feel good while my husband bonds with the baby. In turn, my husband gets his “guy time” as that is who we are in order to give the best to each other as a couple.
I also spend my time wisely. I get up before the baby wakes up to clean the house, check my emails, finish up work and yes, shower. I always say, if you don’t shower before the baby wakes up, you are probably going to be in your PJ’s all day along. (Isn’t that the truth?)
Will there be “healthy” products offered at Urbababy?
We do like organic products in our home, therefore we offer them in our store. We have plenty of “green” products such as Green Sprouts, Kicky Pants, Bamboobies, Hot Mama Gowns to name a few. Many of these products are made from bamboo and are BPA-free. We plan on having an annual “green” promotion for our customers. In addition, Urbababy will be offering a wide variety of health classes from baby massage to Raising Healthy Eaters.
Are there any mottos you live by?
“You only get the best from others, when you give the best of yourself.”
Thank you Marti for sharing your tips on what it takes to make you and your family healthy and happy! You are a true inspiration!
Urbababy is located on 1117 W. Armitage and is open Tuesday – Sundays.
You can “like” Urbababy on Facebook and sign up for their newsletter for the latest updates.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Meet UrbaMama, the mastermind behind the new Urba Baby Boutique – Chicago family health | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/family-health-in-chicago/meet-urbamama-the-mastermind-behind-the-new-urba-baby-boutique?CID=examiner_alerts_article#ixzz1SUspFAgK
One of the most important things in a new mom’s world is to feel good – great, rather – about herself, both on the inside and out. From one new UrbaMama to the next, here are a few products that I have personally tested and swear by for feeling fab during and after pregnancy:
Boring Hospital Sleepwear Be Gone with the Hot Mama Gown
That’s right, UrbaMamas-To-Be, you too can feel hot, hot, hot with a Hot Mama Gown! Breastfeed your baby at ease and look gorgeous in your first pictures with the little one in this stylish hospital maternity gown made of 100% organic cotton. Urba Baby has gowns ranging from $59 – $99, with different prints to fit your style.
And if you’re looking for fun and fashionable maternity wear, pick up an UrbaBaby “UrbaBump” shirt at Urba Baby, too!
Banish the bulge with the Belly Bandit
Say goodbye to your post-pregnancy belly with the Belly Bandit! This wrap, worn by celebrity moms such as Jewel, Kourtney Kardashian, Natalie Portman, Kate Hudson, and Pink, helps shrink your belly back to its original shape in no time.
Soothe and look chic with Chewbeads
Have a cranky, teething baby? Urba Baby has the solution! Get yourself a stylish and colorful Chewbeads necklace or bracelet. It’s mommy chic and safe for babies.
Protect your UrbaTot with iPlay Swimwear and Episencial
Be sure your UrbaBaby is safe to swim, play and stroll in the sun with the iPlay swimwear line. It includes sun hats, swimwear, swim shoes, and more! And don’t forget the Episencial, an organic skincare line just for kids. Our favorites are the Protective Face Balm SPF 6, Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35, and Soothing Cream.
And a few extra summer faves…
The JJ Cole Collections Water Proof Picnic Blanket, Itzy Ritzy Wet Happened?® zippered wet bag for damp swimsuits and clothes and, for an extra-special UrbaMama treat, a Ju-Ju-Be BFF Diaper Bag to hold all of your goodies.
All of these items can be found at Urba Baby, located at 1117 W. Armitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60614. For more information, call us at 773.472.BABY (2229) or visit our website at http://www.urbababy.com/. Our online store will be coming soon!
Mention “FAMILIES10” and this Families in the Loop article when you go to Urba Baby and get a 10% discount off the brands mentioned in this article!
Terms: Offers cannot be combined. 10% Discount only applies to Ju-Ju-Be, JJ Cole Collections, Hot Mama Gowns, iPlay, Episencial, Itzy Ritzy, Belly Bandit and Chewbeads. This offer expires 8/31/11.
The Urba Baby Community
Urba Baby has a dual mission, to offer the best and most innovative products and to serve as a vibrant community resource for local moms and dads. Want to connect with other parents and get fit? Join us for yoga or Pilates with your baby in one of our complimentary monthly Mom & Baby Yoga classes, hosted by Soulistic Studio & Spa. Get your post-pregnancy body back and feel hot, hot, hot! Please be sure to check our events calendar with a listing of all of our workshops, classes and events. For more information, please visit urbababy.com.
Yours Truly,
Marti Goyal, “UrbaMama”, and owner of Urba Baby
What is Urba Baby?
Urba Baby is a new community baby store that opened its doors in June 2011. We are located in the heart of Lincoln Park and ready to help you feel fantastic all year long and especially during FITL’s Summer 2011!
Where the lovely photos came from… http://www.hotmamagowns.com/, http://www.bellybandit.com/, http://www.chewbeads.com/, http://iplaybabywear.com/.
To read this article: CLICK HERE
Renee Caver – Chicago Children’s Toys Examiner
June 16, 2011
Examiner.com
Urban Chicago parents can shop for great baby toys and products at Urba Baby in Lincoln Park.
Urban Chicago parents looking for the best products to help them get through a baby’s busy day without having to trek out to the suburbs to shop at a big box store can visit the newly opened Lincoln Park community baby store Urba Baby. This charming family-owned local business plans to serve the needs of downtown parents through classes, events, and a selection of merchandise that has been carefully tested and chosen by owner Marti Goyal.
About Urba Baby
A thoughtful new parent, Marti Goyal has spent tons of time since becoming a mother nine months ago researching the best products to provide solutions to any problems she encountered as a new parent. Urba Baby is her way of sharing what she has learned with other Chicago moms and dads. Her store is stocked with baby items that she has personally and successfully used with her son, many of which are not available anywhere else in Chicago (or even the Midwest).
To make the process of shopping at Urba Baby easier, Marti has organized the store into areas themed around a baby’s daily schedule. Each area is clearly labeled: eat, sleep, play, learn, clean, apparel, and on-the-go. For mothers, there are also maternity and nursing areas full of products designed to help moms experience successful breastfeeding and eventual weaning.
To create a community of city parents, the store will also be scheduling many classes, events, and workshops, including storytimes courtesy of Nili Yelin (The Storybook Mom).
Toys at Urba Baby
As for toys, the selection is small but all top-drawer. The main bulk of playthings in stock now come from Manhattan Toy and are consistently designed to promote educational and developmental skills. Shoppers can also find the famous natural Vulli Sophie the Giraffe teether, as well newer Vulli products like the water-squirting Sophie bath toy, key chain, and So’PURE vanilla teether.
Along with a selection of baby and child books, great playsilks from Sarah’s Silks, and baby-appropriate educational flash cards, parents can also shop for fun and eco-friendly cornstarch teething toys from green sprouts, as well as stylish Chewbeads nontoxic teething jewelry and Io?Ion! silicon watches that babies can chew on and play with while parents wear them.
Urba Baby store review
Both Marti and her store staff are extremely knowledgeable about the items they carry, but they will not hover over customers or try to hard-sell them on anything. Instead, they can act as a resource for both new parents and moms and dads dealing with growing broods. As Marti notes, the merchandise they carry is hand-picked to solve real problems encountered by actual parents (particularly Marti!), and Urba Baby’s ultimate mission is to become a true community baby store that brings together urban mothers and fathers to learn about parenting and to share what they have learned through their own experiences with each other.
The selection of board books in the “learn” section illustrates well the level of care that Marti has taken in selecting products to carry. Many have been chosen because they partner well with upcoming activities, such as the baby yoga and sign language books readily available for parents who have just participated in baby yoga and sign language classes at the store.
Overall, the selection of toys and other baby items will help parents solve problems they may not even anticipate having. How do you carry snacks around without going through 10,000 plastic bags? How do you feed baby on the go without having to cook and mash up food ahead of time? How do you keep baby safe and warm in a carseat when out in the harsh Chicago winter wind?
Standout practical, stylish, and often green products currently in stock to solve these and other parenting problems include:
Other great products for sale include Ju Ju Be diaper bags, baby-safe and non-toxic cleaning supplies from Dapple (including their toy cleaner), aden and anais muslin swaddling clothes and sleeping bags, and baby carriers by Baby K’tan and ERGObaby (Marti picked the brands she feels works best for a mom and for a dad).
Along with the Westcoast Baby bamboo collection clothing (hats and booties that stay on, infant kimono wraps), which is only carried at Urba Baby in the entire Midwest region, and an area of the apparel section that will be filled with fun and seasonally appropriate items from a series of rotating high-end brands, the store has also created its own line of signature urbagear clothing printed with titles tailor-made for the urban family. Options for parents include urbamama, urbadada, and three urbabump variations (blue, pink, and green for neutral). Once baby arrives, he or she can join in the fun with clothing for urbababy, urbadiva, and urbastud.
Credits: © Renée Carver
The thought and care Marti has put into designing her store is reflected in everything from its high-level childproofing to make it safe for little visitors (rubber guards on all sharp corners, baby cabinet locks on all accessible doors) to the way one section leads logically into another. She plans to tailor the items her store carries to fit the changing needs of the urban parents it will serve. In fact, she invites all visiting mamas and papas to suggest products they would like the store to carry or come to her and her store’s staff with problems for which she can research new kinds of merchandise that will provide perfect solutions.
Parents who cannot make it into the store in person will be able to purchase its offerings online at the Urba Baby website. Moms and dads will also be able to create online wishlists and registries.
Visit Urba Baby at 1117 West Armitage Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Urba Baby community baby store review – Chicago Children’s Toys | Examiner.com
Renee Carver - Chicago Children’s Toys Examiner
June 16, 2011
Examiner.com
Urban Chicago parents can visit Urba Baby in Lincoln Park for many fun free events during their Grand Opening Weekend Celebration.
To celebrate their grand opening this week, Urba Baby in Lincoln Park is hosting many fun celebration events this weekend for urban Chicago kids and their parents. A new baby boutique that is designed to become a community store where local parents can meet to learn and share information about parenting and great baby products, Urba Baby is stocked with merchandise that has been hand-selected and tested by owner Marti Goyal with her own baby son.
Read our review and visit the store at 1117 W. Armitage Avenue in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Grand opening weekend events at Urba Baby
The events and deals scheduled to take place during this grand opening celebration are all fun and family-friendly ones offered by local people and businesses in partnership with the store.
Local artist Trish Page will be offering free creative facepainting between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and between noon and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Sweet Ride Chicago will be providing a delicious free cupcake to accompany any store purchase made between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday or between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Additional treats will be available for hungry families to buy.
Nili Yelin (The Storybook Mom) will be hosting one of her famous storytimes on Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Nili will also be appearing at the store for regular story times in the coming months.
Balloon twister Balloon Bob will be stopping by on Sunday (Father’s Day) from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to make creative free air-filled creations for kids.
Grand opening deals at Urba Baby
From Friday, June 17 to Sunday, June 19, any customer that spends at least $40 at the store will receive a $40 gift certificate from K. Grace Childcare, Inc.
Dads will receive 10% off purchases on Sunday, Father’s Day. All purchases will automatically enter Dad in a fun raffle.
Visitors this weekend can also receive free gift bags full of items donated by neighborhood Chicago businesses.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Grand opening weekend celebration events at Urba Baby – Chicago Children’s Toys | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/children-s-toys-in-chicago/grand-opening-weekend-celebration-events-at-urba-baby#ixzz1PVERuIWo
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We can’t thank everyone enough for all of your support today and for all of our friends and family that stopped by.We had so much fun meeting our new neighbors, talking to expecting moms, our mom customers, customers with expecting mom friends and visiting with our family & friends.
A special thanks to Rebecca and Bryce, our awesome Urba Team members! Of course every opening will have a few kinks to work out but we did it and couldn’t have pulled this off without you both. You both have given Urba your own personal touches and we appreciate all that you have done for us and making our vision come to life. Cheers!
Some of the HOT products today where; ERGObaby, Kula Klips, Kicky Pants, Westcoast Baby, Ju-Ju-Be, Elegant Baby, Chewbeads, PaigeLauren Baby, Burpn’ Baby and more!
Thank you to the following friends & family for stopping by on our opening day! Thanks to; The Singer Family “Sam is an Urba Baby model”, The Goyal/Patel family, The Lowry Family “Olivia is an Urba Baby model”, Harry Mueller our sales rep for many of our awesome product lines, Erica Smith & Hunter, Sarah Davis owner of Olive You Nanny “Her 3 adorable kids are Urba Baby models – Maeve, Remy & Davis”, The Goddard school families, Salon 1800 team members, Julia Franzosa, and all of our awesome customers!
Thank you to my Little E for being my inspiration for opening Urba Baby, you are my heart beat. Thanks for helping out on our first day!
We have an exciting weekend of events planned for our customers.
Friday, June 17th
Face Painting with Chicago Artist Trish Page: 1pm – 4pm
Saturday, June 18th
Story Time with Nili Yelin “The Storybook Mom” at 3:30pm
Sweet Ride Chicago: 2pm – 4pm
Sunday, June 19th – Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day – All dads receive 10% OFF their entire purchase & they also get entered into a raffle to WIN prizes!
Sweet Ride Chicago: 1pm – 3pm
Face Painting with Chicago Artist Trish Page: 12pm – 3pm
We also have a few more fun things planned … stay tuned for details!
Our Store Hours:
M: Closed
T – F: 11am – 7pm
S: 10am – 6pm
Sun: 11am – 6pm
Thank you! 
We are proud to announce the launch of our Urba Baby website. We hope you find this website to be a great resource for city families. We will continue to update our site with new classes, events and workshops for our customers. Our on-line store will be coming soon!
Thank you to Blue Print Design Studio for your awesome creative website design expertise. Especially to Andrew, Eric and Tim and all the behind the scenes developers for all your help. Thank you to Classic Kids Photography for providing all of our awesome Urba Baby photos.
The Bump is an excellent resource for expecting and new moms around Chicago. We will be featured in the new edition of the Bump coming out next month.
About Urba from The Bump: “Apparel. Maternity. Feeding. Toys. Books. Accessories…and more! Urba Baby is Lincoln Park’s newest community baby store, where families can learn and grow. A one-stop resource for everything baby, Urba Baby offers shopping, classes, events, and story-time, all tailored to city families.”
Make sure you check out www.thebump.com for an exclusive offer from Urba Baby to redeem at our store. Thank you to The Bump for all of your support!
That’s right we are only a few weeks from our opening day and we couldn’t be more excited to see our vision come to life.
We have awesome vendor partners and amazing products, classes, events & workshops coming your way!
We’d like to thank a few of our partners for all their help with our opening Soulistic Studio & Spa, Classic Kids Photography and Nili Yelin “The Storybook Mom”.
Our website designed by Blueprint Design Studio will launch next weekwww.urbababy.com (All photography is compliments of Classic Kids Photography) You can also follow us on facebook and twitter.
We look forward to joining the Lincoln Park neighborhood and thank you for your support.
Soulistic Studio and Spa is a green mind/body studio & spa offering innovative fitness programming and holistic spa treatments that focus on mind/body harmony, flexibility and core conditioning.
A nationally distinguished photography studio company specializing in black & white, handmade portraits of children and their families.
Nili Yelin "The Storybook Mom"
