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Happy Mango eco-friendly baby store opening in Kirkwood

Business Kirkwood and East Lake

Happy Mango eco-friendly baby store opening in Kirkwood

Happy Mango opens in Kirkwood on March 9, 2016. Photo by Dena Mellick
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Happy Mango opens in Kirkwood on March 9, 2016. Photo by Dena Mellick

Happy Mango opens in Kirkwood on March 9, 2016.
Photo by Dena Mellick

By Dena Mellick, Associate editor

An eco-friendly baby store that offers lactation support to nursing mothers is opening in Kirkwood this month.

Happy Mango will open its doors Wednesday, March 9 at 1996 Hosea L. Williams Dr. NE in Atlanta in the space formerly occupied by Takai Hair Salon.

Owner Phnewfula Frederiksen said the Kirkwood store will be the flagship shop, though she did temporarily have a pop-up retail shop in the Krog Street Market.

“We are an eco-friendly kids, baby, and pregnancy store,” Frederiksen said. “We service moms from the minute they find out they are pregnant until about the age of 7. We support breastfeeding moms because breastfeeding is very difficult so we’ll have lots of products for moms. We’ll have some lactation consultants come in and help.”

Frederiksen said the store will also offer environmentally-friendly options during the holidays, including Easter.

“Our objective is to make things that we do all of the time a little easier and better for the environment,” she said. “Our Easter baskets are reusable. The grass that we’ll be putting in them is biodegradable. The eggs are made out of recycled plastic. The dye for the eggs is non-toxic – it’s made out of vegetable dye.”

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Frederiksen said Happy Mango will have events and classes. “We like to party,” she said.

Frederiksen is a mom to a 7-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. She spent 20 years in the music business at both Interscope Records and Atlantic Records. She started Happy Mango as an online business, and after her daughter was born, decided to leave the music industry and focus on the eco-friendly retail shop.

Frederiksen said one thing she wants is for shoppers to feel comfortable at her store no matter their knowledge of environmental issues. She said when she lived in Los Angeles, she found the stores there could be “very intimidating” and “pretentious.”

“Everyone has different shades of green,” Frederiksen said. “I wanted to make something that was approachable for everyone.” She said some people think being green is more expensive, but that’s not always the case since being environmentally-friendly often means products have multiple purposes and can last many years.

The Happy Mango owner believes it’s a good time to open the store because parents are more knowledgeable about chemical and toxicity issues.

“I think that people are definitely more aware now of the effects of their choices on the environment and the environment on their children,” she said. “I think parents are more aware of what BPA is and what is leeching into my child’s food. And just being careful of the things their children play with.”

Frederiksen said the store will carry non-toxic paints and toys in addition to strollers, cribs, and car seats. Expecting parents can also register there.

The store will open on March 9 with an open house from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. The first full day of business will be March 10. Hours are 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. with the exception of Mondays when it is closed.

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Dena Mellick

Dena Mellick is the Associate Editor of Decaturish.com.

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