About
Who Am I? (not an existential question)
This site started as a different site, called architectbabies. As soon to be first-time parents we had no idea what to buy before we had Finn, except that we knew we needed a carseat in order to take her home from the hospital. What sort of carseat was another matter, so we bought the one that got the best reviews on Consumer Reports.
I was disappointed in how ugly it was, but at that point I was a new parent and figured we had no choice.
As we made more purchases, it became clear that baby related gear was designed (or rather over-designed) to offend creative parents, and appeal to people who think “more is more” - more colors, more detail, more pattern - you get the idea.
And because I’m an architect, I have more taste than money. It was a chore to find things that were safe, and practical, and affordable and NOT UGLY.
Or as my friend Rebecca put it:
“It’s rather shocking to realize that one of the principle adjustments I’m making with parenthood is aesthetic. It seems like baby world comes in: a) proprietary characters b) primary colors in clunky ugly designs c) naff pastels. Where is the bold and colorful yet stylish? Mike’s cousin lives in Kenya and sent us a great wall hanging - bright bold colors, but with lots of panache. Maybe we should go to Nairobi for our baby gear.”
The aim of architectbabies was to share with people the baby gear I found that was functional, affordable and pretty cool, so you didn’t have to go to Nairobi.
As my daughter grows up, finding cool and affordable baby gear is less of an issue. But the things that surround us in our daily lives - food, clothes, furniture, household objects - seem to be either cool (and expensive; think Dwell Magazine) or inexpensive (and un-cool; think Oak Express). Not that there’s anything wrong with Oak Express (I’m just trying to be nice - of course there’s something wrong with Oak Express!).
If you disagree with me about these products, or have found others, or you just have something to say, please post a comment!
Who Am I? (not an existential question)
I’m Marci, a licensed architect (in New Mexico, California and Texas) with a Bachelor’s of Architecture (1989) from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a Master’s of Architecture (1994) from UCLA. I have my own firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
We specialize in public projects.
Disclaimer
Don’t sue me if you don’t like the products I like. And don’t sue me if you manufacture/represent/sell the products I don’t like. This website is only a reflection of my personal opinions; I’m sure someone else likes what you’re selling.
