Full of Beans - A children's shop

I love clothes, shoes, accessories. Love them to distraction. When I was pregnant, a friend told me that I'd lose interest in dressing myself and spend all my dollars on my child. Clearly they weren't aware of my love affair with myself.

Well, knock me down with a vintage peacock feather. As soon as the boy arrived, I didn't buy a thing for my vain self for over a year. Not a thing. Having a baby was a lifechanger in more ways than I’d ever imagined. My husband breathed a sigh of relief, until he saw I’d merely diverted my sartorial selection to the baby department. Oh, online shopping in Europe…how I loved you.

So, my friend was right. It all went to the baby. Now, I didn't (as some mean folk might summise) look upon my son as a doll to dress up. It was more a chance to bring back the classic baby clothing that seemed to have disappeared after 1990. I didn't want onesies with cartoons or cutesy sayings. I wanted beautiful, classic and if possible, handmade pieces of gorgeousness. It was hard to find them unless I went to Europe or New York. Etsy was a find and I love that they have an abundance of handmade jumpers, leggings and one of a kind pieces. Pieces to keep for number 2 or to pass to nephews and nieces. Good quality and lovely things.

I discovered Full of Beans in my vicinity - think tracker dog skills - when we moved to our current house almost three years ago. Mateo was 6/7 months old and a delightful sumo baby. I spent many an hour with Mare at her gorgeous shop. Chatting, browsing, more chatting. Think Salon hour with a bit of shopping at the end. Over time, Mare became a close friend. She kindly took me with her to Playtime New York—a children's clothing expo TO DIE FOR. Vendors from all over the globe—clothing, shoes, and everything one can imagine for a child. Heaven.

I was bitten by the bug.

Mare has had her shop for 28 years. Anyone in retail can tell you how impressive that is. To put it bluntly, Mare is the Grande Dame of all things children. She knows her customers and has seen it all.

I had a rough patch a year ago. I needed a distraction. A BIG one. I’d sit in Mare’s shop almost daily, in “my chair” and over numerous coffees, I’d pour my heart out (ie bore her to tears). Mare, being the angel that she is, saw an opportunity for me to put my love of children's stuff and my love of art into practice. With the toddleboy now in school, I had time on my hands. As we all know, having too much time on one’s hands is never a good thing. If one is an overthinker like me…it’s disastrous.

So that is how my journey into Full of Beans began.

It's a lovely store with a well established reputation. Everyone stops for a chat in addition to buying something. It's almost unheard of to walk in and out without at least a quick hug or catch up. I'm learning everyday from Mare. She has the patience of a saint (28 years in retail—she deserves a sainthood) and a genuine love for what she does. If something arrives and it’s not perfect, it goes back. No umming and ahhing, no wondering if it’s sellable at a discount…it gets returned. Mare has high standards and it shows in what she carries in the shop through to the love and special touches in how the purchases are wrapped. Mare used to live in Japan, so wrapping is extremely important to her. I love that. It took me almost forever to wrap something that I felt comfortable passing to the customer. “Thanks for your patience” became my mantra. Seventeen minutes to wrap a few clothes. Oh dear god.

Full of Beans is in Chevy Chase DC so the clientele can be described as preppy and conservative. I can't go all Bobo Choses or Album di Famiglia, else I'd scare all the customers away. Some are now grandparents who shopped at Full of Beans for their children. This area is not a wannabe Soho or Thompson St—it has its own style and sass. I’ve seen how one, as a buyer, needs to hone one’s eye and learn what the customers want, not necessarily what I think would look great in the store. It’s been difficult, I have to admit.

We carry clothing, some shoes and of course, toys and books. The toys and books err towards the old fashioned sort. Think marbles, wooden building blocks and tiddlywinks. The books are carefully curated and lovingly chosen.

I've learnt so much about how owning a store is hard, bloody and sometimes downright scary. I've also learnt about manufacturing, production and other behind the scenes factors that never occurred to me when I was the customer. The weather isn't always kind, and can shut one down in the blink of an eye. One cannot take a bad mood into work and hope the customers don’t notice. When a customer is having a shitty day and is downright rude, they’re still “right”. The key is to keep on going. Sometimes the key is valium. Whatever floats your boat.

Then there's the accounting and numbers. I stay well away from that. In fact, I run. A good accountant is worth their weight in gold x 100. I stick to the marketing side of things. My role is to increase the shop’s visibility and not ruin Mare’s excellent reputation in the process…

The clothes range from newborn through teens. Boys and girls. Our biggest customer appears to be the doting grandparent. Never again will I look at a gift from a granny as anything less than a treasure. The time and love they put into choosing things is heart-melting. It’s also hilarious to see the grandmother and grandfather choosing clothing for their beloved grandchildren – the bickering, the passive-aggressive remarks, yet they’re still together some 50 years on. One also witnesses the relationships between parents and their in-laws, in this case daughters. It’s one thing to see a mother and her daughter buying for the grandchild. It’s quite another to see a mother buying clothing for her grandchild when she has a daughter-in-law. A whole other world, my friends. A whole other world. I pay attention because that will be me. Will I like my daughter in law?! I know. He’s 3 years old, but I think about these things. Idiot, that I am.

Full of Beans is a true neighbourhood store. We don’t do online sales, in fact we chose Facebook over a regular website. It’s more friendly and we’ve found it reaches our customers in the most perfect way. These days, everyone from young ‘uns to grandparents are Facebook-savvy. (I do not include my own parents in this—see last post).

So there we go. I love my job. I love being part of a real community, where everyone knows your name (literally) – it’s like an extended family. Most of all, I’m proud to be associated with Mare and her beautiful shop.

Find us on facebook.com/dcfob and on twitter @fullofbeansdc

Elaine