We are surrounded by amazing moms and dads doing very cool things in our Brooklyn community, besides raising their children. As a parent pulled in so many directions, the idea of starting your own business is both exciting and scary. The benefits of setting your own schedule and being your own boss usually outweigh the extra persistence it takes to make a new business successful. We are starting a monthly column exploring exciting new businesses these creative mompreneurs and dadpreneurs in Brooklyn are creating!
I recently discovered a new shopping website that lets you buy from lots of local Brooklyn boutiques all on one site– Strolby.com. The site sells a lot of products designed and created right here in Brooklyn, and has a great selection of children’s clothing and toys.
I was able to track down Strolby’s founder and CEO, Lara Fitch, who is a parent of two children ages 5 and 2. As a mom, Fitch knows the demands of a parent’s day—between dropping the kids off, picking them up, and generally keeping them alive and happy, she rarely can make time to visit the shops she loves in the borough. It’s what motivated her to start Strolby in the first place, she told me. “I love little shops, I like spending time in little shops, I like the stuff that people sell in little shops,” she says. “But I was working in Manhattan and I have two children, so it wasn’t possible for me to get to them most of the time. I was ordering everything online from big companies, and I started wondering, why doesn’t something exist where I can shop from these great stores online, all in one place?” With Strolby, she’s created a site where people can shop from local boutiques in those precious moments of downtime, whenever they may come.
Fitch had been consulting for tech companies since her children were born which gave her a lot of flexibility. Starting a business has meant longer hours and more commitments so she looked for office space close to her Park Slope home and children’s school in Brooklyn Heights. “It makes a huge difference to be 2 subway stops from home and school- I can get to pickup occasionally and am close by in case of an emergency.” And her 5 year old daughter is totally into the project. “She asks, ‘Did that store go live yet??’ She doesn’t even know what ‘go live’ means, but she’s excited with me. She knows all of the store names and is obsessed with Liza from Cute Attack! She really likes One Girl Cookies too, of course.”
I’ve been poking around the site myself, and love the kids stuff they have on offer from Williamsburg’s Cute Attack! and Park Slope’s Norman and Jules. There’s also some great maternity wear from Bump, also in Park Slope and eco-friendly clothing and accessories from Kaight in Boerum Hill.
I love the idea of being able to shop neighborhood boutiques on my own time without having to leave home – especially during the busy holiday season. And supporting local businesses is always a win win.