Bree Turner is a fan of Muu!

The Ugly Truth star is mother to newborn Stella Jean and chose Muu furniture to make her daughter’s nursery stylish, eco-friendly and safe.  Thanks for choosing Muu!

When we travel the country to visit our retail partners, it’s very cool to see the unique qualities of each store –from the interior design to the window displays to the logos.  Nowhere is this more true than at Little Artika where owner Kari uses an Antarctica-in-the-desert theme to build an entire shopping experience. Situated at the CityNorth complex in the Northeast part of the city, you are greeted overhead by Perdu Penguin, one of several Little Artika characters you will find around the store.  Given our love for inventive graphic design that manages to be fun for kids without being saccharine, we loved seeing the all of the characters in large format.

Perdu Penguin

Did we mention how much we liked the dolls hanging suspended in the window?

Hanging Dolls

The entire back half of the store is shaped like the inside of a giant igloo, with a rounded top and small, curved shelves built right into the wall (we did a really poor job of photographing it.  Just close your eyes and imagine).

The Top of the Igloo

They have a fantastic collection of clothing, gear and very cool, high-concept toy cars right behind the register.

Kari helping customers with their orders

And of course, they carry the Sam and Ray Cribs on the floor at their store which are prominently displayed in their furniture section, including the Sam Crib with the Blue Whale MuuPanel (which looks quite nice below their blue polar bear).

The Sam Crib

Next time you’re in Phoenix, make sure you check out their store.  If you plan to visit in the fall, they’re opening a super-secret new location in Central Phoenix where you’ll also be able to see our furniture.

I’m sure that by the time we post this video it will have a zillion hits on youtube and the creators will have signed deals to direct a Hollywood blockbuster sequel (Transformers 5 anyone?).  We don’t care.

Growing up in New York, we were led to believe that anything was possible . . . even your childhood fantasy that you would be riding the subway next to imperial stormtroopers.  Thank you Improv Everywhere.

We feel that it’s important to travel and see our retail partners because we believe it is essential to know the many people who are involved in bringing Muu furniture to you — from the woodworkers who shape the solid maple legs to the graphic designers to the folks you meet when you shop for our cribs.  The interconnectedness underlying the concept of Mu also extends to all of the people who bring our products to you.

That said, first up is Chicago-based Grow (1943 W. Division, Chicago, IL 60622)

Located near the intersection of Division and Damen in the groovy Wicker Park neighborhood, we immediately felt right at home when we saw the Intelligentsia Coffee sign featured prominently at the neighboring restaurant as well as the beautifully renovated brownstones down the tree-lined streets.

The store owner, Deree, has designed a space that is both warm and modern and they have an extensive collection of clothing, strollers, feeding products and toys.

Ever the perfectionist, the folks at Grow like to keep the store looking neat!

While we were at Grow that morning, we also had the opportunity to talk with Sara Fisher from Chicago Parent (and the blog Self-Made Mom) about the why and how of Muu.

You can read the interview on their website as well as check out their online resources for everything from schools to traveling.

When visiting Chicago, be sure to visit Grow and see the Sam and Ray Collections in person!

Last time we checked we were preparing for Memorial Day and it’s already time to pack away our Fourth of July-themed BBQ attire!  We’ve been super busy with Muu and the challenges of raising young children– they are a joy but also have a magical ability to alter time and space.

That said, we wanted to share two recent articles that ran around Father’s Day.  As you may know, Muu was founded by parent and woodworker Robert Kwak and the idea for the collections came out of his experience as a new parent.  If you are frequent reader of modern parenting and/or design blogs such as ohdeedoh, daddytypes, or any of the number of other great resources, you know that it is an exciting time for children’s product design with so many parents creating great, functional products.  We feel that some of the best (we hope to write about our favorites soon) clearly come from a very personal experience, which for us translates into thoughtful items designed for how we really live.

At Muu that meant, for example, designing the Sam Twin Bed with storage in the headboard for your child’s favorite books–an idea that came from a brainstorming session where we shared stories about our children wanting to hear the same story over . . . and over . . . and, ahem, over . . . again, or designing the Sam Storage Unit without a lid that still hold plenty of books and toys.

When shopping for products, particularly nursery products, we always try to put them though our imaginary 2 A.M. Test: is this something that makes sense to you when you are sleep deprived and waking up for the 2 A.M. feeding?  Are the drawers (or buttons or latches or whatever you need to grab onto) in a place that makes sense in a dark room?  Are you trying to hold your child steady with one hand but forced to awkwardly feel around in two directions simultaneously for that last wipe wishing you had a third hand?  These are the kind of thoughts we ponder when designing our products.  It’s our belief that good design means safe and sensible design of quality products.  It doesn’t preclude playful warms and whimsical elements –just that those details are build on the foundation of things that just work.

With those reflections, here are several of the pieces that ran last month around father’s day –supporting the idea of parent-driven design:

The Babyzone featured us in their review of Dad-Made products they love:

Muu on Babyzone

Robert was also profiled by LilSugar.com and discussed the challenges and rewards of making Muu furniture here in the US:

There are programs for children throughout the day at different age levels from how to tell your family history through art to watercolor painting in the Korean gallery annex.   Spending an hour or so painting with our children in the annex before heading off to the new modern wing was great fun as well as a reminder of the incredible diversity of Los Angeles.  It’s always fascinating to see kids from all different cultural backgrounds wander through the galleries and notice what catches their eye –something unusual or all too familiar, perhaps in a surprising color or size.  That first reaction — “Why IS that man so big?” (to Thomas Hart Benton’s The Kentuckian) to “That’s like a ship!” (to Richard Serra’ Band) and finally “Why is that monkey gold . . . and what’s up with that man? ” (to Jeff Koons’ Michael Jackson and Bubbles) reminds us why we love the museum.

We were also pleasantly surprised when we wandered into the gift shop and saw one of our favorite books, Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu, featured prominently on its own table in the center of the store.  Tao is an incredibly talented writer and illustrator we have the pleasure on knowing here in Los Angeles.  Her tale of six white bunnies and a helpful bear should be on your must-read list!

They write:

The new MUU Ray Collection of storage units are whimsical but not overly childish — so they will transition from the nursery to an older child’s bedroom with ease. Manufactured from solid maple and recycled wood MDF, the Ray Storage Unit has turned wood legs and a gently contoured base. The storage unit’s panel designs include a choice between Vines, Butterflies, or a Rocketship blasting into outer space. Its innovative open shelving design allows you and your child to store clothing, books and changing supplies within easy reach, while using the hidden side storage to keep clutter out of sight . . . Because it is intended to evolve as functional furniture from the baby years upwards, the Ray Storage Unit reduces your need to buy new pieces — and acquiring less stuff is as green as you can get! MUU Ray Storage Unit $795.00

Muu furniture is available throughout Canada.  Stop by the following retailers to check out the collections: ella + elliot (Toronto), Princess and the Pea (Edmonton), Flo Urbain (Lemoyne), Dream a Little Dream (Markham), Tadpole (Waterloo).

The March 2010 issue of Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine is on newsstands now.