Small Business Profile: Tullamore's first dedicated nursery store is open for business

Baby Moon Baby Shop is Tullamore's first dedicated nursery store. Located at 18 Cloncollig Industrial estate, the shop, which opened on June 9, is packed full of great merchandise for your baby.

With stroller prices ranging from €500 to €1,500, other items in the store include,cots, buggies, child car seats, clothing and a fabulous range of stylish bags for holding nappies, bottles, wipes etc and lots more.

Owners Barry and Grace Mooney first got the idea for the shop when they were expecting their first child Kate who is now six.

''I passed a comment, we have to travel to Dublin and Galway to get bits and pieces for the baby. It would be great if Tullamore had a baby shop dedicated to baby products,'' says Barry.

But life intervened and the Offaly natives went to the UK for five years – Grace to work as a primary school teacher and Barry to start work in the pram company iCandy, which is one of the brands they now stock in their store. It was while he was working there that he got to know the ins and outs of the industry. Meanwhile Grace and Barry added to their family while there with the birth of Anna.

In November 2019 the couple returned to Ireland. ''We made a decision then to come home to Offaly. I'm from Mucklagh and Grace is from Kinnitty. We discussed how Tullamore would be the location for our new venture. I had been back and forth for a number of months looking at premises and we did a lot of work setting up the business from the UK,'' adds Barry.

''The key brands we stock include, iCandy, Uppababy, Bugaboo, Cybex and Silver Cross . Car seat brands include Maxi, Cosi and Cybex. Cots are from Gaia baby and Silver Cross. ''We know these brands will stand the test of time,'' he says.

The shop opened at the height of the pandemic, but fortunately customers were still eager to visit the store by appointment and with all safety precautions in place Barry and Grace began trading on the June 9.

''The second lockdown in Offaly, Laois and Kildare impacted us in the store and footfall was down, but since it has been lifted we are busy again, which is great.''

One of the reasons Barry and Grace chose their present location was because once the Covid pandemic is over they have plans to open a fitting service for child car seats.

''People will be able to drive around the back, the doors will open and they can drive their car right in and we can fit car seats and bases for our customers. Our dedicated team are fully trained across all our brands, so if it's raining or snowing outside, they can come in here, they will be nice and dry and we will look after them. But that won't be until post Covid as we are not allowed into cars at the moment,'' says Barry.

The shop also offers dedicated customer parking outside the front door which makes it very convenient, especially for pregnant women.

Another service you can avail of at Baby Moon Baby Shop is the assembly of prams.

''If people buy products from us we will build the pram free of charge. We take that stress away from parents who have enough on their plate as expecting a baby, especially in the current climate can be stressful enough.''

In addition, customers can pay a deposit and pay off instalments as they wish. This can even be done from the comfort of their own home as payments can be taken over the phone.

The name Baby Moon Baby Shop comes from the newest trend among expectant mothers-to-be who often go on a pamper day prior to the birth of their baby, in other words a Babymoon. Moon is also a play on Barry's surname Mooney.

Grace and Barry now have three little girls Kate, Anna and finally Lily who was born during the lock down, so they have plenty of experience in the wants and needs of parents.

If you want to find out more about Baby Moon Baby Shop then log onto their website www.babymoonbabyshop.ie. You can also find them on Instagram and Facebook. They reach out to parents through social media and one of the recent features was a Parent & Toddler First Aid Course which was a warmly received by parent and parents to be.Grace and Barry have plans to hold similar training sessions in the future.

Baby Moon Baby Shop is located at Unit 18 Cloncollig Industrial Estate, past the King Oak shop, continue on around the corner and the store is on your right. (Opposite Midland Veterinary)

You can find them at their Eircode location: R35 XE03.