The world is getting smaller by the minute, and by smaller I mean it's shrinking due to the carbon footprint we have all left behind. Happy Mango (1996 Hosea L. Williams Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30317; 888.254.0611. Hours: Tues.-Friday 11-6 p.m. Sat. 10-6 p.m.) is a solution to this global issue that parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and big brothers and big sisters can use to provide the children in their lives with ecofriendly items.
Officially opened on March 9, Happy Mango is an all-purpose ecofriendly store located in the heart of Kirkwood and its owner Phnewfula (pronounced Nu-Fala) Frederiksen is providing East Atlanta with everything babies need to live a green lifestyle.
Happy Mango's shelves are covered with items you will be hard pressed to find in your local big box store - items such as pacifiers that are 100 percent natural rubber and bisphenol A-free and have no allergens or swaddles made from rayon and bamboo fiber muslin. Frederiksen's goal was to take care of the kids (she has two of her own) while being smart about the types of products moms and dads use for the everyday life of parenting. "We want to present people with the best options for their families," said the Japan-born Clark-Atlanta University graduate. "Most of the things we have at Happy Mango you are going to use; allow me to sell you the biodegradable toxin-free version," she said.
As we sat on rubber birthing balls in the rear of the store (think large rubber exercise balls at your gym but for expecting mothers), Frederiksen explained where the idea came to her to bring what is readily available in Buckhead and north Atlanta but not necessarily in Kirkwood. "The idea came out of necessity," said Frederiksen, as she balanced our interview and her 15-month-old daughter in her arms while breastfeeding. "I started this business online seven years ago in L.A. I wanted to have something that was approachable for everyone. If you didn't know anything about a green lifestyle but you just wanted to do a little better by your children then you could come in here for a great shopping experience."
Happy Mango gives visiting children room to roam and sample toys to play with while parents and guardians look over the snap-in-one cloth diapers (available in Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman themes); ecofriendly family board games and flashcards, ecofriendly art pads and, for the upcoming holiday, eco-Easter egg grass and eco-eggs for Easter basket making. Happy Mango is the only store of its kind on one of Atlanta's main drags, and that was the plan. "I live in the area; as a mom I noticed a lack of things like this in the area," said Frederiksen. "Kirkwood is very supportive of the businesses here and is just an awesome place that connects so many of Atlanta's best neighborhoods." Those neighborhoods - Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Decatur, Elmhurst and Grant Park - are all easily accessible to potential customers, another plus for Happy Mango.
From her iPhone Frederiksen played a version of Bob Marley and the Wailers' "No Woman, No Cry" that I hadn't heard. The song was in the form of a lullaby and along with similar lullaby cds from such artists as Maroon 5, Kanye West, Pink and Aerosmith, to name a few, is available at Happy Mango. Even legendary country musician Patsy Cline has some of her greatest hits available. If music isn't your thing, the kid-friendly versions of Don Quixote, Sense and Sensibility, Anna Karenina, Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice and, of course, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, are within an arm's reach. Frederiksen's book "Conversations Between Me and the Kid," co-written with her 7-year-old son Agya (pronounced like Asia) is also available.
Whether it's for green environmentally-responsible diapers or music that will soothe the savage beast that our kids can sometimes become in between naps, Happy Mango has the answer for an ever changing multicultural Atlanta.
"Once you start living green and stay committed to an ecofriendly lifestyle, it becomes a way of life," said Frederiksen. The goal is for Happy Mango to be the go-to place for moms, dads and kids. "I just want to help everyone, we only have one Earth." And for the moment, thankfully, there is one Happy Mango not too far away no matter what area of metro Atlanta your family calls home.
