Savvy Shopper: Bella Baby
A variety of baby furniture and gift items make Bella Baby the ultimate destination for moms and moms-to-be or even baby shower guests.
 Jim Carlstrom opened Springfield’s former Baby News store 10 years ago. Last March, the store moved to a new location and changed its name to Bella Baby. |
The Shop: Bella Baby, 900 E. Battlefield Ste. 152, Springfield, 417-889-4449, bellababyspringfield.com, open Mon.–Thurs., 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Fri.–Sat., 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Atmosphere: If you’ve lived in 417-land awhile, you may remember Baby News, which used to be located in the same shopping center as Food 4 Less on Springfield’s East Battlefield Road. Last March, all of the store’s gorgeous baby furniture, accessories and gifts moved into a newer storefront down the road, and the store’s name was changed to Bella Baby. The store is a dream world for mommies-to-be. It’s filled with cribs topped with brightly colored bedding, one-of-a-kind diaper bags, baby-appropriate toys and even some adorable clothing. Letters spell “DREAM” on a shelf near the door, and shoppers can customize the letters to be in different fonts, patterns and shades and to spell anything they want. There’s even a huge variety of car seats and strollers.
Key People: Jim and Vickie Carlstrom own Bella Baby. “When we started the store, it was an investment, and it wasn’t going to be full-time,” Jim says. But that was 10 years ago. Now Jim’s working hours are all committed to Bella Baby, and he’s always searching for the newest in baby furniture and accessories to sell to 417-land shoppers. Jim and Vickie have two kids of their own, 6-year-old Chandler and 2-year-old Maddie, so they’ve been through the having-a-baby process a couple times. And so have many of the store’s employees, most of whom are mothers themselves, which makes them perfect at assisting shoppers. “This is a special time in a couple’s life, and we want their experience here to be special,” Jim says.
What You’ll Find: Jim says that baby furniture has always been the store’s biggest draw. You’ll find conversion cribs, dressers and custom gliders, for which customers can pick out their own fabrics. You’ll also find a nice variety of car seats, including Britax car seats, and plenty of strollers and diaper bags. Bella Baby offers gift registry, and everyone who registers there is given a shelf customized with their name, the baby’s due date and gender. A handful of registry items are displayed on this shelf, making it super-easy for gift shoppers. There’s free gift-wrapping, too, and the store has a huge variety of gift-appropriate items. Bella Baby also sells hair bows, and a couple of the employees make custom hair bows upon request.
417 Verdict: No one likes shuffling through those many pages of baby registry lists, and Bella Baby’s custom gift shelves help eliminate this problem. And the store’s furniture selection is incredible. You can customize everything from glider bedding to your nursery’s chair fabric. Expectant parents and baby shower guests will love this place.
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