Nesting House Expands to New Jersey

This story was originally featured on Collingswood Patch and was written by Matt Skoufalos.

When Mt. Airy's The Nesting House was looking for a place to expand to, it turned to the internet for possible new locations.

One of those locations was Collingswood, New Jersey.

But when natural parenting retailer The Nesting House began considering the borough as a potential site for its second location, the Mt. Airy-based shop incited an online bidding war.

"It became an unintended contest," said co-owner Chris Kinka—and Collingswood eventually won.

"It was just responded to so well," he said, noting that Collingswood Director of Community Development Cass Duffey gave him the borough sales pitch as soon as she caught wind of the contest.

The courtship even included an offer from Mayor James Maley to tour the building, which housed the recently closed Verenique's Plus Size Boutique.

That plus the surge of Facebook support made it an easy decision for the Kinka family, who "didn't even know Collingswood existed" prior to the push, Chris Kinka said.

"We fell in love with Collingswood," he said. 

The Nesting House carries an inventory of sustainably produced, green products; another reason that the Collingswood cachet, which leans environmental, was a natural fit, Kinka said.

A buy-sell-trade section allows parents to bring in their gently used clothing and swap it for store credit or merchandise. The Nesting House will also host parenting classes on things like cloth diapering and support for new mothers.

The second location was a big hit with moms from the South Jersey Babywearers group, which met up for the July 26 grand opening of the Nesting House last Friday. 

Among them was Pam Rosenberg of Williamstown, said that the shop was a great place for "natural mamas" to have a brick-and-mortar location for first-hand product reviews.

That should be music to the ears of Collingswood residents and leaders, who continue to focus on adding more of the retail mix to the food-heavy "Restaurant Row" that is Haddon Avenue.

"It seems like a great area; the right population," Chris Kinka said.