Courtesy of City Foundry STL
The Polished Prints store
In just four years, Polished Prints owner Leah Longueville went from designing onesies in her guest bedroom to having her wares sold through Nordstrom to, most recently, opening a store at City Foundry STL. At the new shop (3730 Foundry Way), which opened December 10, moms and dads can find fun and gender-neutral clothing with typographic designs for babies and toddlers, the most darling little cardigans, coordinating mommy-and-me outfits, women’s apparel, accessories including sunglasses and beanies, and objects for the home such as mugs and prints. Everything is made ethically and using sustainable materials.
Popular items at Polished Prints include women’s T-shirts with “Badass Babes” printed on the front, and a matching toddler tee and onesie that say “Brave Girls Club.” Other much-loved onesies include the “Babe” and “Hi, I’m New Here” styles. “We have [them in] a lot of gender neutral colors,” Longueville says. “I know so many people choose to not find out the gender of their baby these days, so it's a great option for them.”
Opening a store was part of Longueville's five-year plan, and now that the box has been checked, where does she see herself going? She says the plan is to expand the brand beyond graphic designs. In the spring, she wants to launch a collection of smock dresses, and the brand already makes baby rompers. “It's expanding in a direction that is outside of the graphic tee realm but aligns with what women and kids are looking for: clothing that fits well, is flexible, is realistic to your lifestyle, but is still really, really cute,” she says.
As Longueville thinks about moving forward, she also hopes to create more jobs for women and mothers who are looking for flexible work environments. “This store is really the one thing that we have that has very set hours,” Longueville says, “but the other women who we've hired or worked with, we're able to create jobs and create community while contributing to that work-life balance, which as a mom I find so important.”
Polished Prints is open at City Foundry STL Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
