"When almost every one of her friends got pregnant last year, lawyer Jessica Troiano found herself spending a lot of time looking for baby gifts. "But I don't like cutesy," she says. What she wanted was nursery gear sans ruffles, with clean lines and a contemporary edge.
"I found all this cool modern stuff online," Troiano says. "Then I found out that no stores in the area carried it. But... I don't want to spend money on a crib unless I can touch it and know it's sturdy." Wagering there were others out there like her, Troiano launched her own store, Piccolini, last month in Bryn Mawr.
The sunny Lancaster Avenue shop carries abstract-print crib bedding by Nurseryworks and Gus & Max in shades of canary, grasshopper, mulberry, tangerine and chocolate. There are streamlined changing stations, toddler beds, and cribs from Oeuf and Offi ($199 to $825), and convertible ultra-high-end nursery furniture from Duc Duc ($995 to $6,000).
A business litigator for a Center City firm, Troiano learned the ins and outs of retail from her mother, who once owned two stores in Suburban Square. "I grew up working in them from the time I was 10," she says. That experience and the wonders of the World Wide Web helped her put Piccolini together in just two months. "I found so many great companies through Web searching," she says. "All the people who make this furniture are like this little community, and they all have great things to say about each other."
Among the unusual items she discovered are the Bumbo ($49.95), a supportive plastic seat that can help infants as young as three months sit up, and the Billibo ($29.95), a bowl-like contraption toddlers can use to sit on, rock in, or spin across the floor. Also in stock is Argington's sleek kids' furniture, including the clover-leaf-shaped "Giza" play table ($179) and the whimsical "Zeus" high chair ($349). Says Troiano, "I don't think people should have to compromise their own sense of style just because they have kids."
Piccolini is at 932 W. Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr; 610-527-4505, www.piccolinionline.com."
