Boing Boing Bye-Bye Tour Part 2

Back in December 2013 FIPS reported that the owner of Park Slope’s so-stereotypically-Park-Slope-it’s-ridiculous maternity and nursing retailer, Boing Boing, had had just about enough of your ingratitude, thank you very much, and of trying to make a brick-and-mortar store profitable in this crazy Jetsons’ age of moving sidewalks, robot-maids, and the internet. She took to Huffpo to bemoan her situation as the owner of an independent local business trying to cater to a bunch of Ritchie Riches who sashayed (presumably) into her store, suckled at her teat of free advice, then sauntered (presumably) home to order their baby slings and nursing bras online.

As a somewhat dissatisfied regular patron of Boing Boing during the infancies of both my kids (starting in 2000), I rolled my eyes and sneered a bit at what seemed to be an articulate pity party. Published right before Christmas, her piece opens with her contemplating shoplifting a cheap bracelet for her daughter, because she can barely make ends meet, let alone afford trinkets. 

But the respondents to the post were overwhelmingly non-sneerers who offered up helpful advice (hire a college kid for a few bucks to update your website) and lots of sympathy and support. Which may have motivated her to stay in business for six more months.

Now, however, I guess it’s really happening, but this time without the poor-me post; instead, FIPS received this enthusiastic email from Karen Paperno: 

“Boing Boing, the 1st breastfeeding babywearing shop in the USA, has been a Park Slope institution since 1996. I have worked hard connecting thousands of women through our free mother's groups,  and have had the honor of teaching many of you the benefits of babywearing. They say when one door closes, another opens, so it with great joy and sadness, that I am announcing the closing my shop after 18 years. 

While I have had the privilege of serving our community, there are countless others who don't have the resources we do. With your help, I can do what I do best, where it is needed most. 

I am starting with Haiti. 

I am thrilled to have been invited to go there with Rockin Baby Sling on their "Mother to Mother" mission.”

A worthy endeavor, and I sincerely wish her well.

The loss to the neighborhood – even though the staff could be disinterested and the prices high, it’s been a valuable resource for the parent community – is real. Park Slope’s lactacters are left in the lurch. What will they do? They can pick up a few pump replacement parts at Neergaard. They can gather their friends to schmooze and breastfeed among the indifferent laptoppers at the Tea Lounge. And they can spend a shitload of time on the Internet watching YouTube sling demonstrations and shopping for organic, small-batch, locally sourced sore-nipple salves.