Meet Mary Lauer!
Like many modern day moms, Mary Lauer is an exceptionally talented juggler. With two sons in college and one active high schooler, one perfectly groomed Yorkie named Annie, three successful retail shops in the Twin Cities and her own line of children’s clothing and bed linens, Mary and her husband Tom are always busy. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. For Mary, creativity comes as naturally as breathing, or water skiing, which she does as often as possible on the lake outside her back door. Ever since she was a little girl, Mary has always had a paintbrush, a sewing needle, a wooden spoon, a gardening trowel or a magic wand in her hand. For her, life is a beautiful blank canvas to be imagined, painted, planted, decorated and sprinkled with sparkling fairy dust. “We all have the power to create a fantastical life for ourselves and our families,’’ Mary says. “Yes, it takes hard work but the results make it all worthwhile.’'
For more about Mary’s fantastical life, read her Happy Blog.
The story of Oh Baby!
If necessity is the mother of invention, Oh Baby! is definitely my love child!
Twenty years ago, my twin boys were born with incredibly sensitive skin. Back then, it was impossible to find soft, 100 percent cotton clothes and bed linens without dyes or sizing – so I began to make them myself. When other moms started asking about my hand-painted clothes and bedding, my husband Tom and I began selling my designs at art fairs in and around the Twin Cities.
In 1993, baby Ethan joined our family. One year later we opened a store at the Mall of America called Cuddle Duds. As is true of everything we do, it was a family affair! I created a collection of handmade clothing, accessories and one-of-a-kind armoires, cribs and other furniture, my mom heat-set the stencils and attached sales tags and my sister managed the store.
In the next seven years, in addition to raising our three boys, Tom and I opened Oh Baby! and Que Sera, a home furnishings shop in the Galleria in Edina, and Oh Baby! on the Lake in Wayzata, just across Lake Minnetonka from our home.
As the original Oh Baby! had been bursting at the seams, we recently moved to a much bigger location in the Galleria. Now we have much more room to showcase our colorful clothing, bed linens, furnishings and accessories, most which are made right here in Minnesota by our extraordinarily talented team of artisans and sewers.
If I do say so myself, the new shop is really fantastical – my made up word that combines magical and fantastic. Oh Baby! now captures what we’re all about, whether it’s a window full of handmade mittens, a table sliced perfectly to show the textures of the tree it came from, irresistible tutus in the colors of the rainbow, whimsical mushrooms and trees – all combine to make kids and adults feel like they’re in a fairy tale. And in my book, that’s a fantastical place to be!
Now we’re sharing the wonder of Oh Baby! on our brand new website. We hope you can share the magic with friends and family, near and far. We’re looking forward to making and meeting new friends through this exciting new venture.
Love, Mary