Luxury Baby Linens Attract Shoppers to New Belle + Beau Baby Boutique, Park Ridge
New and expecting parents are seeking out Belle + Beau (www.bellebeaubaby.com) in downtown Park Ridge to buy a line of high-end custom baby linens popular among celebrities, royalty and other high-profile couples.
The specialty store and baby boutique, which opened last fall at 40 Northwest Hwy. in the Shops of Uptown, is one of only two Chicago area retailers selling Lulla Smith products (www.lullasmithbaby.com). Maine-based Lulla Smith makes couture baby linens from luxury fabrics such as dupioni silk, Swiss batiste, organic cotton and linen. Dozens of hand-cut, hand-stitched custom styles are available for bassinets, cradles, cribs, Moses baskets and nursery accessories. The Lulla Smith web site describes its customers as including celebrities Courtney Cox and David Arquette, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, as well as some princes and princesses.
“Lulla Smith products have helped make us a shopping destination for parents throughout Chicagoland who are seeking high-end, quality custom bedding for their newborns,” said Mina Biggs, Belle + Beau owner. “Grandparents also have purchased items from the line to outfit nurseries in their own homes as a special way to welcome a new grandchild.
“Gift purchases, especially for newborns, have become a big part of our business,” she added. To that end, the store offers a gift registry for newborns, complimentary gift wrapping, monogramming and a staff that is fully trained in both the products and lifestyle needs of new and expecting parents.
Biggs recently added a line of heirloom cribs (www.Corsican.com) with sizes to accommodate Lulla Smith linens.
Belle + Beau also sells apparel, strollers, bath products, lighting, wall art and toys representing current trends for the nursery and playroom. Other featured lines include 4Moms, Biscotti/Kate Mack, Little Giraffe, Phil & Teds and Stokke.
Biggs plans to offer a nursery design and décor consulting service by mid-2014.
Belle + Beau is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays; and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Guests can park free on the street outside the store or in the Shops of Uptown’s two-level parking lot. For more information, visit www.bellebeaubaby.com or call 847.696.7684.