EAU, YEAH! There's a new boutique in town thanks to Eau Baby owner Emily Bauer (right) and it's a first for Eau Claire: a mom-and-baby specific boutique. Pictured is Bauer with her sister-in-law (left).

Emily Bauer is a mom of two – welcoming her youngest about a year ago – who moved to Eau Claire nearly 10 years ago from Indianapolis. She remembers her friends who had their own little ones in Indianapolis having fun shopping for their babies. There were plethora of places to shop for maternity clothes, too – but her experience in Eau Claire just wasn’t the same.

“There was nowhere really to go except for Target and Walmart, really,” Emily said. “The big challenge came with finding maternity clothes because you’re quite a weird size you’ve never been before, and there’s nowhere to shop.”

Emily found a store near the Twin Cities she frequented for baby and maternity clothing, but she really wanted to bring a mom-and-baby-specific shopping space to Eau Claire. Thus, Eau Baby was born. 

“I wanted to bring something to Eau Claire where past, present, and future moms can come in and find something; see it, feel the material, and walk out with it,” she explained. 

Eau Baby will also be one of the only spots in the area that will have premie baby clothes too, alongside two-years-and-under baby clothes, plus maternity and postpartum clothing. 

The boutique will also have its own specific line of onesies made from bamboo and spandex, something Emily wanted to carry in her store after falling in love with a line of baby clothing called Kyte Baby, made of similar materials. 

“Kyte Baby is super popular in the mom world, and I looked and looked and found a source for the clothes,” she said. “When babies are born they often scratch themselves and you have to put little mittens on them. These bamboo lines have built-in mittens and footies you can flip up and down, and (the Eau Baby line) has our stamp in it and everything, available in different seasonal colors.”

Since Eau Baby is a boutique each item is specially curated and ordered by Emily and will be offered in limited quantities. Once certain items are sold out, they will likely not be restocked and will then be replaced by new items, “to keep things exciting,” she said.

The exception to that will be the Eau Baby bamboo onesies, which she will do her best to always have available.

For maternity and postpartum clothing, a variety of items will be available since Emily knows how difficult it can be to find cute yet functional clothes for moms. Eau Baby will carry leggings, postpartum underwear, and nursing bras, baby-carrying tops, compression socks, and versatile pieces that can be worn from maternity through postpartum. 

Emily spent about half a year curating the clothing Eau Baby will carry, and after securing a spot on the north side of Eau Claire, she and her family have spent weekends and long nights at the shop to make it cozy ahead of its opening and for the holiday season. 

“For now, we’re just going to have the brick-and-mortar stock, but the long game is to gain an online presence. I wanted to put all my heart and soul into the brick and mortar for now and make it available for the people in this area,” Emily added. 

Ultimately, though, Eau Baby is going to be a space for more than just shopping. Emily hopes she can offer local moms a sort of haven for relaxing shopping curated specifically for the mom lifestyle, Eau Baby is set up with a children’s play area and offers hot coffee during all open hours. Eventually, Emily hopes to host mom groups, too.

I WANT TO BE THERE FOR ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY, AND I WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL LIKE THEY CAN BRING THEIR CHILDREN HERE. I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL WELCOME.

EMILY BAUER

OWNER OF EAU BABY

“I remember I was completely lost when I had our first child and nobody that I was really close with here had kids,” she recalled. “So, I want to be there for anybody and everybody, and I want people to feel like they can bring their children here. I just want everyone to feel welcome.”

Eau Baby held its grand opening Dec. 1. Moving forward, Eau Baby will be open Thursdays 3-5:30pm, Fridays 9am-5:30pm, and Saturdays 9am-noon.

Keep up with Eau Baby via Facebook (@eaubaby) and contact the shop at eaubabyec@gmail.com. Visit in person at 2741 N Clairemont Ave., Suite B, in Eau Claire.