Two couples walking in a park pushing large strollers loaded with children and various parenting gear, with text overlay reading 'GET YOUR PARENTING IN gear'.
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Austlen Baby Co.

Shelf transformed a Swiss-Army-knife stroller into a stylish, go-everywhere family essential.

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Austlen Kids Expo booth

Where The Work Pays Off

The initial brand launch at the ABC Kids Expo brought the full experience to life. Buyers described the booth as "fashion accessory meets stroller"—a clean, elevated presence that felt nothing like the typical toy-industry aesthetic. Retail buyers were immediately drawn in, and thanks to the strong brand positioning,Austlen was quickly accepted into major retailers. The founders saw firsthand how every touchpoint, from product to booth props, shapes perception and drives differentiation.
Two young children with a collection of travel and outdoor items including an orange suitcase, a green folding chair, a yellow toy truck, pool noodles, an inflatable raft, and a tote bag filled with snacks and supplies, promoting a stroller that can carry all this stuff and kids.

How Shelf strategically positioned the product to match the brand:

By expanding our role into product design, we influenced everything from color and material choices to the overall aesthetic direction. To ground these decisions, we studied lifestyle brands that resonated with modern parents and discovered that Warby Parker was the top style reference among their audience.

From there, we developed three stroller concepts inspired by three Warby Parker frames: one rooted in workwear and denim, one sleek and automotive, and one with a refined color story. This shift honored the customer’s taste and lifestyle—elevating the stroller from a functional item to a design statement.
Design and fabric samples spread on a white surface, featuring a stroller design labeled 'Austlen Modifications 6.5.2015' with detailed notes, fabric swatches in various colors including striped blue, gray, red, green, and yellow, and clothing tags with the brand name 'Austlen' in orange. One design sheet also shows 'Americana V2 - Workman' with denim fabric details and images of a stroller.
decorative quotation marks
Best in show award graphic
Alison and her team worked on the development of the Austlen brand from the ground up. They cleverly explored every aspect of our how our brand could be experienced, from more typical brand development (packaging, web, collateral), to even the finer details of styling our product design (materials, fabrics, colors) to best convey the Austlen feel. Their holistic approach resulted in a solid foundation of our brand from the very beginning. 



Our product launch took place at the largest baby products trade show in North America. The lifestyle video and trade show booth design were instrumental in securing “Best in Show,” our industry’s highest award. The strength of the brand presence drove immediate retailer confidence and resulted in orders from nearly every specialty retailer in the U.S. during the event.We are continually complimented on how well thought out and mature our brand feels. We couldn’t ask for a better creative partner. 



‍Leslie Stiba, Austlen CEO
Two product boxes on an orange background: one box labeled Austlen Baby Co. The Entourage Stroller with a stroller illustration, and a smaller box labeled Second Seat showing a child seated in a stroller with two adults nearby.
A family outdoors with a man crouching to interact with a child seated in a black stroller, a woman smiling nearby, and an older girl standing behind them in a park setting with green grass, trees, and colorful shade structures.Two bright orange suitcases stacked on a dark blue stroller placed near a baggage carousel in an airport terminal.
A man and woman walking down a grocery store aisle pushing a stroller with a baby covered by a blanket, shelves stocked with various products on both sides.A smiling woman kneeling on grass in a sunny park raising her arms, with a happy toddler jumping next to her, a stroller, a golden retriever, and outdoor toys including a soccer ball and an orange ball nearby.
A two-page brochure for Austlen Baby Co.'s Entourage stroller catalogue 2016 on a green background with white outlined cityscape and trees. The brochure front shows the stroller product; the inside left page displays photos of parents and children, product benefits, and slogans about parenting ease. The right page shows three configurations of the stroller—retracted, intermediate, and expanded—with black stroller images and descriptions for each setup.Text about welcoming a baby into the world with more noise, laughter, love, and stuff, introducing Austlen Baby Co.'s mission to make parenting easier with intuitive, purpose-driven products designed by engineers who are parents, aiming to help parents enjoy family life without being overwhelmed, and encouraging hands to be used for pinching cheeks and tickling bellies with a promise to lighten the load. Austlen logo is at the bottom right in orange within a dashed border.Austlen stationary
Two children in Austlen strollers face to face - Cheers to a happy new yearAustlen cozy
Austlen social media posts displayed on smartphones
decorative quotation marks
We are continually complimented on how thoughtful and mature our brand feels. We couldn’t ask for a better creative partner.

Alison and her team developed the Austlen brand from the ground up. They explored how our brand could be experienced, from traditional brand development (packaging, web, collateral) to product styling details (materials, fabrics, colors) that convey the Austlen feel.

Their holistic approach created a strong brand foundation that’s lasted a decade. Our product launch took place in 2014 at the largest baby products trade show in North America.

The lifestyle video and trade show booth design were instrumental in securing “Best in Show,” our industry’s highest award.

The brand presence drove immediate retailer confidence and resulted in orders from nearly every specialty retailer in the U.S. during the event!

Leslie Stiba, CEO Austlen