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An ingenious design feature helped 7 AM Enfant sell 1 million stroller gloves

The brand’s brilliant ‘warmmuffs’ look like disembodied ghost gloves pushing a stroller.

An ingenious design feature helped 7 AM Enfant sell 1 million stroller gloves

[Photos: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

BY Elizabeth Segran4 minute read

When my daughter was born a year ago, in the depths of the Boston winter, I began to notice strollers in my neighborhood with odd-looking disembodied gloves on the handle, as if they were being pushed around by ghosts. I wasn’t the only one seeing them. They’re ubiquitous in New York, London, Chicago, and other cold parts of the world during the winter months. They’re the brainchild of Rebecca Campora, who founded the kid’s gear brand 7AM Enfant in 2004.

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

Campora designed and launched these “warmmuffs” in 2008, and since they’re patented, they are still the only one of their kind on the market. They’re one of the brand’s top-selling products. Every year, more than 60,000 pairs are snapped up, and the brand has now sold more than a million pairs, each priced between $45 and $55.

When I started taking walks with my baby, I instantly understood the value of the muffs, which might seem at first glance like overpriced puffy mittens. It can be very hard to manipulate the handle of a stroller with gloves. I live on a very steep hill and I would often take off my gloves to get a better grasp, even though my fingers would be blue from the frigid weather. The genius of 7AM’s muff is that it allows your bare fingers to make contact with the stroller handle, all while keeping your entire hand and wrist cozily wrapped in plush lining. “It also means you’ll never lose another pair of mittens again,” Campora says. “And if you’re a busy new parent, mittens always seem to be getting lost.”

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

Campora, who is originally from France, launched 7AM Enfant when her three children were small. She wanted to design products that would allow her—and her kids—to spend as much time outside as possible, even during inclement weather. But at the time, there weren’t many options available. “I was wrapping my babies in layers of blankets, which would always come off halfway through the walk,” she recalls.

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

As a trained fashion designer, Campora started sketching out designs for 7 AM Enfant’s first product—a line of $200 blankets that fit snugly into strollers and car seats. They’re basically water proof duvets that are machine washable, and thanks to a clever design, the base can be extended to three different lengths to grow with your child from the age of zero to four years. She’s also made an $85 poncho that clips onto baby carriers like Babybjorn and wraps children in a warm cocoon.

In many ways, Campora was an early pioneer in this movement to innovate in a sleepy industry. While the muffs look streamlined and simple, they rely on a clever system of straps to work. On the finger side of the muff, there’s a velcro strap to fasten it tightly to the stroller bar handle; the opening on the other side must be large enough to accommodate hands of many sizes, but also keep the cold air out. The velcro straps on the muffs essentially create a handshake between glove and stroller, which means whoever is pushing the stroller can simply slip their hands in and out of the muff. Campora has smartly introduced pockets into some muff styles so parents can store phones, pacifiers, snacks, and other necessities on the go.

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

Campora’s products are part of a broader movement in the baby industry to create objects that are sleek, well-designed, and address the everyday needs of people who take care of babies. For decades, the $30 billion sector was dominated by big companies like Fisher-Price and Chicco, partly because baby products are subject to intense scrutiny and regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure babies don’t get hurt, and larger companies have the infrastructure to put products through rigorous testing. In recent years, there’s been a spate of new startups like Lalo and DockATot that have brought safe, creative new products to design-forward millennial parents, from elegant baby bathtubs to loungers with attractive prints.

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

The products in 7AM Enfant’s line are chic, designed to appeal to the parent’s aesthetic. They’re in sleek colors like black, gray, and sage, unlike many products by traditional baby brands that usually come in oversaturated primary colors and are full of cartoon characters. And importantly, the products are designed to minimize the number of products you need to tote around with your baby. The blankets mean you don’t have to layer your child in covers and outerwear to keep her warm; the muffs serve as a mini-bag, even as they keep your fingers warm.

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

As the brand’s fan base has grown, Campora has focused on expanding the product range to include items for older kids. There are snowsuits and mini muffs for kids to use on their scooters that have the same design as the stroller muffs. These are much more tailored to the tastes of a child, with rainbow and unicorn designs galore, and a popular line of backpacks with dinosaur spikes along the back.

[Photo: courtesy 7AM Enfant]

Since she launched 7 Am Enfant, Campora has sold products through retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, and specialty children’s boutiques like Maisonette and Magic Beans. But over the past few years, more and more consumers have become familiar with the brand and visit it directly on its website. Campora acknowledges that 7AM Enfant products are pricey, but she says she’s been heartened by the fact that many products are now showing up on secondhand websites like Poshmark and Ebay, so more people can access them.

Ultimately, however, 7AM Enfant is part of a wave of companies making modern parenting easier and more beautiful. “Sometimes, good design isn’t about developing new products from the ground up,” says Campora. “Sometimes, it’s just about making small, thoughtful updates to everyday products because they can make a big difference to the customer’s life.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Segran, Ph.D., is a senior staff writer at Fast Company. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts More


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