We're always excited to be highlighting the beautiful retailers that we partner with that help make Rylee & Cru what it is. Each one all over the world has it's own look, feel, and story so this is where we get to share that local feeling with all of you and the inspiration behind the store.
For our next installment, we are introducing Row10! Baby located in Mississippi! We love working with Katie and visiting with her every time we are in New York showing our collections! She approached us last year about creating a hooded towel together since she could not find a new seamstress. Towels had been on our minds for a few seasons but we never pulled the trigger... until now. We created a super soft, GOTS certified organic towel perfect for home or play.
We are so excited to have collaborated with Katie on three designs from our SS20 collection. This collaboration will be exclusive to Row 10 and ryleeandcru.com!
Tell us about Row 10 Baby! What made you decide to open up your retail space?
Row 10 is Mississippi’s only (primarily) organic kids’ boutique. We bring a curated selection of clothing, toys, and accessories from all over the world to the South.
Row 10 was born as an Instagram shop in early 2015 when I had a new baby and saw the need for updated children’s style that was held to a higher quality standard in our area. As a mom who values style as well as quality, I was looking for brands that were non-existent locally. We quickly grew and opened our brick and mortar in Ridgeland, MS later that year. Previous experience with building a successful retail store from the ground up was extremely helpful in Row 10’s growth and development. I opened my footwear boutique, Arco Avenue, in 2011, so starting a small business was familiar territory.
What is your favorite thing about running your store?
I love the marketing! Organizing the photoshoots, editing, creating graphics, designing emails, and social media makes me so happy. :-) My second favorite thing is probably the challenge of buying — trying to predict what and how much of it will sell.
Let chat about our hooded towel collab! When did you originally start creating these towels and what made you reach out to us to bring them back?
I designed these towels in 2015, when after tons of research, I could not find anything that fit the specifications of what I was looking for on the market. I wanted a towel that would grow with kids from newborn to 6Y+. It had to be organic, absorbent, and of course, aesthetically pleasing. :-) We started having them made locally (selling them in the store and on Amazon), but when the cost of the material we were using doubled, we stopped production. Life happened, I had another baby girl, and the towels got pushed further down the priority list. I had the thought to reach out to Rylee + Cru about a towel collaboration last spring. They had never produced a towel before, had the perfect prints, and I had the perfect design!
Tell us everything we need to know about them + what makes these towels so perfect?
They have Rylee and Cru prints! What else needs to be said?! ;-)
They are the perfect size to grow with your kids at 36x36in. These make amazing baby gifts (or really for any age), are a bath time essential, and the only beach towel you’ll ever want to use. They are light weight, made of organic cotton, 100% absorbent, and feature a hood and hand mits for easy wear. All three prints are gender neutral and it’s useful year-round!
What does a typical day look like for you?
I really don’t have a set routine! I’m alll over the place. Ha! I get up and get my kids off to school. Throughout the day I’m in and out of the stores — emails, phone calls, inventory, display, sales, buying, marketing, etc. I’m running errands, going to meetings, getting in a workout, or have the occasional lunch with a friend in between. I pick my kids up mid afternoon some days and 6pm others. We eat dinner and hang out as a family until their bedtime. I’m a night owl, so I’m in work mode again for a while, maybe watch something on Netflix, and then get some zzzzs.
We love that you're a mom-owned shop supporting other small shops. What do you look for when deciding to bring a new brand into the shop?
First, I want to make sure the brand has product that my customer will relate to. Then, I make sure the quality, style and integrity of the brand is there. Third, I want to make sure that the brand is unique to my store in my area.
If we had one day in your hometown, where should we visit?
Oh, this is a hard one! Of course, my shops would be high on the list. :-) There is so much culture to experience here, it’d be hard to do in just one day. The food is so good, we could literally eat our way through the day! The people you’d meet along the way would make your day complete. There’s a reason we’re called the Hospitality State.
Where can our audience connect with you?
In store in Ridgeland, MS
Instagram: @row10baby
Facebook: /row10baby
Website: row10baby.com