By Eva Weaver
Binx is a baby boutique and more.
Ilissa Goman,owner and resident baby guru, found the inspiration to start her business when she visited New York City in December 2009. During her trip, she discovered several boutique type baby stores.
“I couldn’t believe the products they had. Nothing like what they had was sold here in upstate New York,” said Gorman.
She started Binx in June of 2010 with the initial goal of having a baby gear retail store. However, having limited start-up funds, she decided to begin much smaller. After holding a focus group in January 2011, she formulated a plan. In March of that same year she began offering services such as baby proofing assessments, in-home baby food making classes and parties, car seat inspections, gift registry consultations, and new parent prep boot-camp.
In October of 2012, Gorman was invited by Tiny Tots Tea Room to open a pop-up shop inside of their indoor play center, allowing her to sell actual products.
“Our sales were great over the holiday season of 2012, and we are now in the process of opening our own retail location in Saratoga,” she said.
Binx announced the opening of its shop this month in 74 Beekman St. in the city’s Arts District. The retail location will offer the same products and services that found on the website www.binxbaby.com, including a gift registry.
Many of the products sold at Binx are made by smaller “mom and pop” companies that don’t have the resources to fill a big box order, yet they are still great products. Today’s busy, modern parents benefit from products and services that Binx has to offer. It can be time consuming to research every car seat or how to baby proof a home for a child. Parents are able to save time and money by utilizing the services that Binx offers.
Binx newly re-launched website includes a resource list for new parents, newborn care videos, and a blog complete with a review of new products from manufacturers across the country.
Gorman has been a babysitter and nanny for 13 years. In 2011, she received her child passenger safety technician certification from Safe Kids Worldwide, which certifies her to inspect car seat installations, a free service that Binx offers.
She recently completed training to be a child sleep consultant from the Family Sleep Institute and offers sleep training services to families so their children can get the healthy sleep they need.
For more information contact Binx at 339-8786 or visit the website.