Store Photo

(This doesn't view well on a mobile phone!)

Here's a cool panoramic photo that was taken by Kevin Barber of Barber Photography.  In case you haven't had a chance to make it into the store, here is all the hard work put into the store by everyone that works here.

Can you see the large photos on the walls and hanging from the ceiling?  Barber Photography took the photos of local families and Little Padded Seats customers that are showing off some of our wonderful products.

We tried to categorize the store as best as possible. We have the carriers right as you walking into the store and then diaper bags and clothing along the south wall.  In the middle are mama products (pregnancy, nursing, menstrual, etc).  Towards the middle front and north wall are kid's products (toys, games, cards, Piggy Paint, Name Trains).  On the blue north wall are our teething products including amber necklaces.  Towards the back is anything cloth diaper related - diapers, covers, wetbags, laundry items, etc.

Along the back wall (with the polka dots), there is a children's play area so that you can come in and shop while your kids are entertained.  There is also a couch with a Boppy and nursing cover available to those that would like a place to sit down out of the hustle and bustle of the mall to nurse (or for dads to sit).

We've been in the new space for a little over a month and it has been awesome!  We have been seeing a lot of people coming in that have never heard of the store and making purchases, wanting more information on cloth diapering, or just enjoying seeing a new store.  I think it helps being in the location that we are in!

If you haven't had a chance, take some time to come out to visit us! 

Our Community Room & Classes

One of the greatest benefits to the new store is that it allows us to have a "community room".  What exactly is this room for?  Anything that can allow us to help out our community and its members.  So far we have been able to have our first cloth diaper garage sale (look for another one February 9th!), API meetings, and Lauri has scheduled dates for cloth diaper classes through March.

Having this room allows us to continue to keep the store open while helping educate people on cloth diapering, baby wearing, and future uses.  To date, we have been in talks with local chapters and businesses to hold their classes in the community room.

You can look forward to seeing:

Attachment Parenting International (API) meetings

My Smart Hands

Cloth Diapering Classes

Babywearing Classes

Cloth Diaper Garage Sales

Plus many more are in the works!

You can also make sure to check out our calendar on the Little Padded Seats website on what classes and events we have coming up.  Again, Bianca is working hard on making sure our calendar of event are as up to date as possible.  Check it out here: LPS Events

If you have any suggestions in which you would like to see, please feel free to comment and let us know!  Also, if you are looking to rent a space for your organization, e-mail, call, or stop in and speak with Lauri or Tommy.  They would be more than happy to speak with you and work something out.

Cloth Diaper Garage Sale

We have been having some cloth diaper garage sales and they have been a hit!  Now that we have our community room, it is going to be a great location for those that would like to sell off some of their stash or for those that would like to purchase cloth diapers second hand.

Here are a little statistics from our first garage sale (December 8th) at our new location:

19 - Sellers participated
733 - Item brought for sale
278 - Items sold through our register
That's 38% of items that went home with a new owner!
$1785.90 - Made by sellers

All in 2 hours!

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We will be hosting another garage sale on February 9th from 10am-12pm.  It is not too early to sign up to sell or to make sure you have that day off for some great steals!  Make sure you get here early to get the first pick.  

Our hope is to make this a bi-monthly event.  The goal is the 2nd Saturday of every even month from 10am-12pm.  The next garage sale is tentatively scheduled for April 13th.

Have we peaked your interest in our next garage sale?  Here is more information -

Looking to BUY

Free to attend. An inexpensive way to start or add to your cloth diaper stash. You should find a wide assortment of brands probably including some not carried at Little Padded Seats. Already have enough cloth diapers? No problem - bring a friend who may be interested in coming over to the cloth side and show them how easy and inexpensive cloth can be! And unlike traditional garage sales, in addition to cash and check, we accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, PayPal and Dwolla. (And don't forget about LPS Gift Certificates!)

Disclaimer - All transactions are between the buyer and the seller. Little Padded Seats is not warranting any items for sale at this event.

Looking to SELL

For $5 you will get as much indoor table space as you need. We will give you item labels for you to price your items. You set your own prices. Show up around 9:45am to set out your items. At this point you have a choice. You can hang around and negotiate if your prices are flexible or you can leave after setting out your items. (If you need, you can drop your pre-priced items off with us before the garage sale and we'll set them up.) After the event, pick up your unsold items and we will write you a check for the proceeds from your sales – minus the 5% surcharge. We just ask that you don't remove unsold items before the posted end time of the event.

Disclaimer – Whether you choose to stay with your items in the sale the whole time is your decision. If you do leave we will do our best to ensure that none of your items walk off without being paid for. By and large, we've observed very little of this at Little Padded Seats. None the less, the risk is yours.

Cost: $5 for table space + 5% surcharge for sales through our register
How to register for space: Call, email, or come by Little Padded Seats

Customer Rewards Program

While updating the system at the new store, Lauri flipped a magical switch that is allowing us to now track your purchases.  What does this mean?  Well, besides being able to find that pesky receipt that you may have lost or find out when you purchased Country Save soap last, we now can track your rewards!

For every $100 you spend at Little Padded Seats, you will receive $5 off your next purchase.  This $5 credit expires 30 days after you obtain it.

I (Bianca) am super excited over this program because it helps to justify all my purchases! :)

If you have shopped at Little Padded Seats before, you should already be in the system.  When you check-out, every employee should check that you are or you can mention it as well.  If you are not in our system, make sure you get in there!  We will ask you 3 easy questions: First Name, Last Name, and Zip Code.  All you need to do is mention you would like to be enrolled in the Customer Rewards Program.  Pretty simple!

Are you one of our online shoppers?  No problem!  It still works the same and you will still be eligible for our rewards program.  You may need to mention this in the comments section during check-out.

Now head off to Little Padded Seats and start earning those rewards!

(Side note: This program does not allow us to go back on your previous purchases.  It is only valid on purchases after electing to opt in to our tracking rewards program.)

Car Seat Safety

This is Bianca here.

I promise that I won't be preaching with many of my blog postings but I do find this subject to be EXTREMELY important.  It is a topic that some parents may not know much about: car seat safety & winter coats.

With the winter months already in progress in Iowa, many parents want their children to be warm in the car.  Please, please, make sure that you DO NOT buckle them into the seat with their puffy coat on.  My daughter knows the minute she gets in the seat, she is to take it off.  If you leave their coat on, it leaves a lot of wiggle room in the event of an accident.

Here is a great image to see the difference of having a coat on or off in the car seat -

We always throw her coat on backwards or she throws a blanket over her lap.  It isn't an issue (minus those times that she thinks she needs to be very independent taking off her coat when it's cold out!  Haha).  I know some parents layer on fleece long sleeve shirts, which is okay too!  We also have car seat covers that go over the infant car seat that can help protect a baby from the winter elements in the store as well.

If you have been keeping their coats on, please take them off!

Okay, my PSA is done!  :)

New Places, New Faces.

As mentioned previously, the Des Moines Register did a little mention about Little Padded Seats and their new move.

Here is a copy/paste version of the article by Patt Johnson:

Little Padded Seats, a cloth diaper and natural parenting shop, has moved to Valley West Mall in West Des Moines into a space on the lower level near the children’s play area.

Owners Lauri and Tommy Ericson sell reusable cloth diapers, diapering accessories, baby carriers, BPA-free plastic bottles, breast-feeding products, cotton clothes for infants, toys made from sustainable wood and educational products.

Lauri Ericson started Little Padded Seats as an online business in April 2008. The couple opened a tiny shop on Elm Street in Valley Junction in West Des Moines and soon outgrew that space. They located to a larger store in 2009 at 130 Fifth St. in Valley Junction.

Ericson said the move to the mall will help them reach a more mainstream audience because of the shopping center’s foot traffic.

The Ericson’s have created a community room at the back of the store where they offer classes on baby wearing (carrying a baby in a sling or other carrier), using cloth diapers, attachment parenting, baby sign language and other natural parenting techniques.

The store also has an expanded toy department and new product lines.

Call 557-0947 or see www.LittlePaddedSeats.com.

Source: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/12/10/cloth-diaper-shop-moves-to-valley-west-mall/viewart
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(From left to right: Lauri, Tommy, Pam, Stacy, Robyn, Bianca)

CHANGES!

At Little Padded Seats, there have been a lot of changes going on!

The biggest change is our LOCATION!  We have moved from the Valley Junction area and we can now be found at Valley West Mall.  We are on the lower level, right next to Younkers and the kid's play area.  The move has been super exciting and our goal is to reach a more mainstream audience.  So far, we couldn't be happier with the move.  We are seeing a lot of new faces (and old!) stopping into the store.

Here are a few pictures of the new store -

The move has also increased our business hours so we are now open 7 days a week.  That's great news in case you need that NoseFrida at the last minute or are out of Charlie's Soap on your Sunday laundry days.

Following the holidays, will we be open:

Monday-Saturday: 10am to 9pm
Sunday: 11am to 6pm

Another change brought on by the move is additional faces at the store!  In addition to Tommy, Lauri, Robyn, and Bianca; we have brought on Pam and Stacy.  Pam and Stacy are fantastic additions to the store so if you have a chance to stop by, make sure you say "Hi!"  (The Des Moines Register recently posted an article on the new move so we'll get that posted soon.)

The last major change is NEW and MORE products!  We are loving the new space at the store which is allowing us to bring in more products and new lines.  Bianca is working hard on updating the website to reflect what is in store.  Some of the recent products that have come in are beautiful nursing gowns, more baby carrier brands, new prints in wetbags and diapers, Rock-A-Bye Baby CD's, plus lots more!  We can't wait to get everything in.  Plus, if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see, leave a comment.  We'd love to know what people would like to see in the store.

Well, that's the last of the biggest news.  Our goal is to get the Blog and newsletter up and out on a regular basis so you can look forward to seeing more from us.

Welcome to Little Padded Seats!

Well, I finally did it...I started a blog. I decided this would be a nice way for us to stay in touch with everyone! I will be talking mostly about cloth diapers and other natural parenting type products. Look here for fun new products that I will be adding to the store and even products that I've tried and didn't really like. I hope I can be helpful on your cloth diapering journey!