I recently found myself shopping for a baby present for a couple who just welcomed their fourth daughter. What do you buy someone who isn’t a first time mom and most likely has enough hand-me-downs and baby basics to really take care of all their day-to-day needs?
All my usual go-to presents just didn’t work, so I scoured the web and discovered the Culture Baby website. This online global children’s boutique specializes in international clothes, toys and accessories for babies and children from birth to age 6. The proprietors seek out products from around the world that are conceptualized, designed, and crafted by international entrepreneurs who offer kids the opportunity to bring the wider world into their wardrobe or toy-chest.
Recent offerings include unique muslin blankets from India, London Tea Party dresses, Peruvian Red Alpaca Leg Warmers, Kimono Playsets, Ghanaian Baby Boy shirts and Irish Hand Knit Sweaters. When I travel I love to find the types of truly special, original, high-quality items that are offered at Culture Baby. As the mom of three young kids, I’m not traveling the world much at the moment. I hope that changes soon, but in the meantime shopping on the Culture Baby boutique let’s me travel and shop for international baby items right from my sofa.
CultureBaby says they believe that it is important that children know the world they will inherit. Their mission is to offer children, and their family and friends, products that celebrate cultural heritage and a love of global diversity while maintaining a fresh, modern design aesthetic.
I loved their mission and products, and it seemed like the perfect fit for finding a ‘welcome to the world new baby’ present
I selected a beautiful pair of Moroccan Leather Baby Booties in orange suede on the website.
According to the Culture Baby website, they are handcrafted from the supplest leather available, the Moroccan baby booties from mes premiers souliers (My First Shoes) fuse the inspiration of the Moroccan medina with design talents of French expatriate Catherine Gozard. Available in five vibrant and beautiful colors and entirely hand sewn by expert leather artisans in Rabat, these booties are to be worn and then treasured alongside baby’s first curl.
Six days later the adorable booties arrived at my home. The soft orange suede leather is lined with brown with white polka dot cotton fabric. They come in one size which fits babies anywhere from 3-9 months. The booties came in a simple white gossamer drawstring bag that I will simply place within a colorful gift bag to present to our friends.
At $49.50 these are not inexpensive shoes, but they are exceptional quality and really special – fitting the gift criteria I was seeking. With shipping and taxes, all in my total was $55.49. Shopping the Culture Baby website was fun and simple, and delivery was a breeze.
My one criticism is that I think the company should include a brochure or some sort of materials with the products describing their admirable corporate mission and the fascinating product stories. Although I know all this from their web site as the purchaser, I wish that there was a colorful way for my gift recipient to read about the booties back story when she opens them.
The boutique also gives you the option of making a donation to worthy, global organization, such as Midwives for Haiti which helps new moms and babies in need. Culture Baby says that…
- $5 can buy a fetascope or sterile drapes
- $10 will buy 25 stick-on thermometers to help monitor the onset of hypothermia.
- $15 a solar headlamp to illuminate a birth in areas with no electricity
- Or your donation will be pooled with others to buy an obstetric backpack to cover dozens of births!
Happy Shopping!
That’s IT Mommy Jill
* We did not receive any items or compensation from Culture Baby to assist in this review. That’s IT Mommy Jill purchased an item and wrote from her own experience.
