Mother and Earth Kids is parents’ one-stop shop

Lynn Ross was laid off from her hospitality job four months into her first pregnancy in 2010. The 42-year-old described the experience as “one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

“To save money, I started cloth-diapering my son from birth,” she said. “As I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the next phase of my life, I decided I wanted to start a cloth diaper store.”

She founded Mother and Earth Kids in a Delta Township office space in 2011. Since then, she’s moved to three different brick-and-mortar storefronts: one in Old Town, another at 100 E. César E. Chávez Ave. and, most recently, a 3,000-square-foot space closer to her home in Delta Township. The new shop opened Aug. 3. 

Ross said over the years, Mother and Earth has grown into “a full-blown toy store.”

“As far as toys go, everything in the store is hand-picked by my team or me,” she said. “When somebody tells us about their child, niece or nephew, we can use what we already know to derive how that kiddo likes to play. People will walk out feeling like they’ve really done a good thing for their loved one while also supporting a local business.”

The most popular products at the moment are Jellycat plush toys, which are collectible, similar to Beanie Babies.

“Kids, parents and grandparents love them, and even some Michigan State University students love them,” Ross said. “If we get something nobody else in the area has, it sells fast. So, there’s major crossover appeal there.”

Ross said about 80% of the store’s inventory is toys, but it also carries baby supplies like diapers, clothing, strollers, car seats and more. Her staff includes certified child passenger safety technicians who can help parents pick the safest car seat for their individual child and vehicle, which she said has been effective in helping Mother and Earth differentiate itself from big-box retailers and online shops.

“Aside from going to Walmart or Meijer or Target and seeing the limited baby gear that’s bolted down to the shelves, there’s not really a place to get hands-on expertise,” Ross said. “The next closest used to be buybuy Baby in Grand Rapids, but it closed about a year ago.”

Ross also recently implemented a new universal gift registry service. Instead of establishing multiple registries at different stores, customers can add items from other stores to their list at Mother and Earth and have everything in one place.

Ross said she’s proud to be able to continue providing baby and children’s items in the new space, adding that these types of shops are fewer and further between these days.

“There’s such a lack of those resources here in Lansing, and we really didn’t want to take that away from the community,” she said. “So, people are really excited. Right now, we’re just getting our feet wet here and seeing what else this area wants and needs from us.”

Mother and Earth Kids

5437 W. Saginaw Hwy, Lansing

10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday

10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday

Noon-5 p.m. Sunday

(517) 721-1868

www.motherandearth.com