Edmonds clothing store
caters to kiddie crowd

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

Tammy Miller was a stay-at-home mom working part-time in retail when, in 1993, she decided to combine her passion for fashion and love for children and open her own business, KinderBritches, in downtown Edmonds.

The children’s apparel and accessories shop, at 422 Main St., is the site of a former children’s store where Miller herself shopped as a child with her mother.

Snohomish County Business Journal/ KIMBERLY HILDEN From hand-stitched leather baby shoes and Baby Biscotti christening gowns to apparel for the “tween” set, KinderBritches in Edmonds specializes in offering high-quality clothing and accessories for children, says shop owner Tammy Miller.

“I loved shopping local, and I (wanted to create) a store that appealed as much to moms and grandparents (as) kids themselves,” said Miller, whose store carries clothing lines for the youngest babies up to size 16 in girls and size 7 in boys.

The staff of seven part-timers helps create that appeal, Miller said. “We employ all different ages here.”

There is a high-schooler who is great with the “tween” set — pre-teens between the age of 8 and 12 — and a mother of a 1-year-old who can offer firsthand recommendations. There also is Miller’s mother, Mary Anne Kopan, who can provide a grandmother’s perspective.

And there is Miller, whose daughters are now age 17 and 20, but who remembers those younger years and makes it her job to stay on top of fashion trends by traveling to Los Angeles for fashion shows, subscribing to trade magazines and regularly meeting with manufacturers’ sales reps.

The result is a children’s store that carries a wide array of clothing lines and accessories with one thing in common: dedication to quality.

“We do the groundwork for you” in terms of researching the best product lines, Miller said.

Among the clothing racks, visitors to KinderBritches will find the one-of-a-kind prints of Baby Lulu; Zutano jumpers and bodysuits made with 100 percent cotton fabric in polka dots, stripes and other prints; and Baby Biscotti christening gowns that are as beautiful as they are wearable.

There are bibs from Seattle-based Dillyhearts and hand-stitched leather shoes from Pediped. There also are Diaper Dude diaper bags, seen carried by none other than Brad Pitt — a k a the daddy of baby Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Miller said.

KinderBritches Address: 422 Main St., Edmonds, WA 98020 Phone: 425-778-7600 Web site: www.kinderbritches.com What’s hot now? According to KinderBritches owner Tammy Miller, when it comes to baby wear, trends include: Chocolate browns mixed with pastels. Polka dots. The use of organic cotton. Lots of new soft fabrics.

Although its Web site isn’t set up for e-tailing, the store is the beneficiary of Web marketing, thanks to manufacturers’ Web sites, which often list KinderBritches as a retailer, leading customers to the Edmonds shop.

Providing merchandise that customers can’t buy just anywhere has helped KinderBritches carve a niche for itself in the local children’s wear market, but so, too, has its customer-friendly atmosphere.

The shop offers complimentary gift-wrapping and calls in specialty orders regularly, Miller said. More importantly, though, staff members take the time to help customers find just the right item for their little ones, whether it’s a stroller or a pair of Robeez soft-soled shoes.

“The philosophy that 3 percent of our customers are 90 percent of our business — I actually believe that,” Miller said, before adding, “but we’re always trying to get new customers.”

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