The Women & Goslings of the Goose: A Photo Review (Part I)

December 16th is the anniversary of Mama Goose! Every year, we like to pause and reflect back on all of the women who have helped envision and grow Mama Goose since its inception in 2003. Our ‘Women of the Goose” blog series shares photos and stories of the past and present. Plus, in 2018 we also unveiled a new look for the Mama Goose icon (as seen in our logo) and a new goose to keep her company!

In honor of our anniversary, we decided to give Mama Goose (the icon herself!) a stylish, new winter outfit more appropriate for 2019. And, as if that wasn’t exciting enough, a new tween girl goose will be joining the gaggle! The unveiling of Mama’s new look and the introduction of our new sassy gosling will happen in February, so stay tuned! When we do reveal the artwork, we will introduce you to the awesome artist, Alice Heise, who sketched out Mama and goslings with pencil and paper waaaay back in the day. We love our hand-drawn logos and the artist who created them! In the meantime, here’s Part I of fifteen years of Mama Goose in review…

Mama Goose started with a partnership between Kelly Moreland and Michelle Stuhr in December 2003. Both Mamas who loved reuse and their lil’ goslings!
Opening Day of the 800 sq. ft store we now affectionately call “The Little Goose”. We put flyers on doors and play spaces, and car windshields, and our first customer was Wendy Gutman!
Geneva (Kelly’s daughter) and Savanna (Michelle’s daughter) pushed each other around while their moms were hard at work. They remain friends to this day and are both juniors at Ithaca High School.

In 2006, Kelly Moreland became sole owner of Mama Goose and in 2008, she relocated the store to 430 W. State Street formerly the home to Bishops Pro Home Center. Everyone on the Mama Goose team was a part of creating the vision for the new store which hatched and grew to four times its original size.

Mama Goose has always been a project of love for the merchandise, our customers and team collaboration. Ever noticed the goose tiles on the front of our building? They were made by none other than Julia Dean of The Clay School who was then a hard-working team member!

From the beginning, even the littlest women have played a huge part in the success of Mama Goose. Whether they’re strutting their stuff on the catwalk, patiently waiting for their own Mama Goose, or starting their own entrepreneurial hustle, these goslings definitely prove that girls run the world.

The scenery and staff may have changed over the years, but one thing always remains the same – our amazing Mama Goose community. Over the last 15 years, we’ve watched our customers’ families grow, celebrated many milestones, and seen a lot of smiles along the way. Could we have done it without you? No. Would we want to? NEVER! Check out some of the great times we’ve had with you over the years in Part II of our review.

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