This month, we’re taking you to the east coast, where Sheri Gurock and husband Eli, founders of Magic Beans, carry clek products in their three greater Boston retail locations: Brookline, Hingham, and Wellesley, Mass. 

Peddlers of toys, gear and modern nursery furniture, the couple offers a selection of products that reflects both on their own experiences as parents, as well as those of the parents they interact with. The end goal is to help customers understand their best options—and in the process, Sheri has become an expert on child gear, serving as a go-to source for anyone in need of smart safety advice. She also runs the blog, Spilling the Beans. 

During our recent stop in Boston, we sat down with Sheri to get the scoop on all things “cool” in Boston: 

clek: Magic Beans was founded in 2004. What inspired you to launch the stores, Web site and blog?

Sheri: I was inspired to open Magic Beans mostly because I love to shop, and I wanted to create the kind of shopping experience for parents (and kids) that I could not find when I had my first child. That’s why we do things a little differently. Not sure which stroller to buy? Take it out for a walk. Even borrow it for a day or two. Not sure if that booster seat will fit in your car? Let’s take it out to the parking lot and check. Need a place to come and play with your toddler on a rainy day? We’ve got a Playscape in each store that’s all yours – and you can sit there for hours and no one will ever pressure you to buy anything.

clek: Speaking of booster seats, what is it that makes clek olli a standout?

Sheri: There are so many things I love about olli, it is hard to choose just one. But the thing I can say that most encompasses it is the ease of use. Everything about it is easy. It is easy to put into the car and easy to remove. It requires no adjustments, and both my 5 and 7 year olds can buckle themselves in easily, with no parental assistance – especially nice in my minivan, where my clek olli is in the third row. 

clek: Ease of use is definitely an important factor in all clek products. What other child gear trends are you finding grab parent’s attention today?

Sheri: Hot trends right now are customization—adapting your gear to reflect your lifestyle and your personality. clek is right on top of that trend, with lots of colors to choose from. Parents like to have a stroller in their favorite color, but kids LOVE it. It’s especially important to have buy-in from kids with booster seats – it’s the reason why a 7 or 8 year old is still willing to sit in a car seat!