Monthly Archive for October, 2009

All Hallows Pram

Published on October 30, 2009 in Cinema. 0 Comments

It’s that time of year again, and Rosemary’s Baby is back in the blogs.  I’ve never seen the film, but, as you might suspect, know it from the trailer and stills, which happen to feature prams.  Yes, that’s right, “prams” plural.  Nothing in Hollywood is exactly what it seems.

The trailer features the silhouette of a proper, ancient, deep-bodied nanny pram for maximum Gothic effect:

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Stills, however, show a very different pram.  The body is virtually identical to The Pram Museum’s 1951 Stroll-O-Chair, but the chassis is a different one:

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Now, I’m not saying that that’s the wrong chassis on the Hollywood pram.  It could be absolutely correct for that body.  It’s a slightly older style than the one on our 1951 model, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the the steel bed wasn’t sold with either chassis, depending on where and when the pram was offered.

But it’s possible that someone in the prop department indulged in a bit of fantasy.  Cinema’s like that.

Notice the way the bed is placed on the chassis in the still?  This is not a traditional orientation for the pram body, since, generally speaking, you want to see the very small, very  new baby you’re walking.  On the other hand, should you be contemplating the horror of having given birth to the son of Satan, you’ll want that bed turned around.  That way there’s no handle between you and the incubus.

But back to the blogs.  Design*Sponge has a lovely post for those of you who might want to celebrate the holiday by recreating Rosemary’s New York flat.  They’ve got the wrong pram, of course, but, if you’re looking for something new that’s both traditional, and yet could, in some situations, look mildly sinister, the Silver Cross Kensington they recommend might do the trick.

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If what you have in mind is merely an evening outfitted as if from the film, check out An Aesthetic Feast, where you’ll find several costumes-from-video suggestions (scroll down to find the correct one):

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Click on the Rosemary’s Baby image on Hannah’s post, and you’ll see where to buy everything — including a Silver Cross Oberon pram.  That’s AAF’s recommendation for a contemporary version.  It’s a bit deeper-bodied than the Kensington, and correspondingly harder to ship across the pond.  You’ve only got a day; I suggest air freight.

(Why, thank you, Fi!)

Spotted In The Wild – Bugaboo Insect Net

Published on October 29, 2009 in Spotted In The Wild. 2 Comments

New York City; West Side:  A Bugaboo, with insect net, on the subway:

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Normally, I don’t photograph Bugaboos or Maclarens.  Hordes of them tend to exist where the stroller spotting is best, which inherently makes them  less interesting as sightings.  I mean, you wouldn’t expect your average orinthographer snap robins like a fiend, would you?

However, one doesn’t often see the more exotic accessories in use.  And, although it’s not clear why a Bugaboo-specific accessory is worth the money — you can get insect protection almost anywhere for a lot less than Bugaboo charges for theirs (at least in the US) — but this is one sleek net.  See that seam?  The day’s travel has misaligned it, but it’s meant to hug that hood perfectly.  And the fit over the seat?  No sloppy extra folds here, folks, no indeed.

The Gracoization of Europe

Published on October 28, 2009 in Pram Rants. 0 Comments

I understand that there have to be bad strollers in the world.  I really do.  The world is an imperfect place.  There are people in the world who don’t take infant transportation seriously.  They buy bad strollers.  It’s even possible that not taking prams seriously  is an acceptable stance at times.  But I shudder when I see the poorest offerings of the USA baby industrial complex flooding markets elsewhere.

Graco, in the loving hands of Rubbermaid, is now selling strollers all over Europe.   For example, you can buy this pushchair from Mothercare (it’s a Graco Mosaic):

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Not that you’d want to, if you thought about it.  Ever walk behind a used Graco in a shopping mall?  Ever looked closely at the wheels?  Check them out:  Are they a little lopsided?   What about the camber?  Are the rear wheels tipping in toward each other?  How’s the  steering?     And what about suspension?  Does that ride look comfy?  What about all the gratuitous plastic bits on the stroller itself?  Are they starting to crack and break off?

Like those handles?  I love it when stroller handles stick out at an angle that has nothing at all to do with the way I use my hands naturally.  And take a gander at that basket access!  That’s really user-friendly!

There was a time, particularly in England, but also in other parts of Europe, and in Scandinavia, too, when one saw legions of reasonably-well-crafted baby vehicles in parks and along causeways.  There was even a time  in England when a well-made pram was a source of pride and considered a household necessity, no matter how humble the abode.  But that was a long, long time ago.  Pre-Rubbermaid.  Not to mention pre-Graco.

Spotted In The Wild – Micralite Toro

Published on October 27, 2009 in Spotted In The Wild. 0 Comments

New York City, Upper East Side:  It’s unusual to see a pram-version Micralite:

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This one explodes the myth that those baskets don’t carry much.  Though the Micralite is the lightest and leanest of strollers, you can still get a bunch of stuff into that basket.  The frame looks heavy and bulky, but it’s actually light as can be.  The footprint’s about as small as you could ever imagine, especially for a stroller/carriage conversion.

Love the look of the handle “horns”, though the early model I tried was extremely uncomfortable for me to push.

Beetle Buggy

Published on October 26, 2009 in Contemporary Stuff. 0 Comments

Meet the Combi auto4cas.  It’s got everything:  reversible handle, four-wheel swivel (or not) wheels, a killer boot, a hood like a carapace:

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And even a bow on top:

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Just kidding about the bow; it’s actually a rolled-up window flap.  But doesn’t it look like something Hello Kitty would wear?

Sadly, you can’t buy this baby  in the USA.  But if you could, your kid would probably be safe in a blizzard.

More at  Combi Japan (well, if you read Japanese, that is)

Spotted In The Wild – Teutonia Fun System

Published on October 23, 2009 in Spotted In The Wild. 0 Comments

New York City:  Bryant Park.  The Teutonia Fun System.  It’s probably a 2008  model, the Fun System with Rad (wheel) 60:

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You can’t see the features very well in this shot because I was hurrying to a Japanese bookstore. (Kinokuniya, and it’s fantastic, by the way.  Directly across the street from Bryant Park.)   The unusual chassis caught my eye as I zipped past.  Speed was of the essence; naturally, quality suffered.  Here’s a better look at the Fun System  (but these are Rad 50 wheels, not Rad 60s):

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The seat is reversible, so it can face whoever is pushing the stroller.  You can’t see it easily, but the bar that supports the basket in back is sturdy metal.  The heavy-duty footrest is common in better European strollers, and that wedge-shaped seat side (kind of racy, don’t you think?) is not an uncommon motif.  A lot of 1940s USA strollers had similar, though exaggerated, swoops on either side of the seat, too.

And here’s a 2009 European version, with fancy trim:

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That’s a lift-out carrycot inside.  This image is from Baby-Shop, a German site.  That enveloping, over-sized hood is common in better European carriages.  Babies still tend to go out in all weather in Europe, and to really get walked.  These vehicles aren’t for mall-hopping.

If you want something similar in the US, you’d customize your model through the TeutoniaUSA website, and order the t-100 chassis with the metro 60 wheels and the t-stroller seat, in your choice of color.  I can’t show you what it looks like, though, because, although Teutonia’s fancy-schmancy website offers tons of choices, and a neat customization tool, it never shows you a completed picture of “your” stroller.   Go figure.

Weirdly, the German site DOES let you see the stroller you’ve designed, so here it is, in dark blue, with the Rad 60 wheels:

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A carrycot is available in the US, making the t-100 into a pram-like carriage, but it’s not as nice (or as pram-like) as the one available in Germany.

Meccano Pram

Published on October 22, 2009 in Pram Art. 0 Comments

While searching for something quite different,  I accidentally ran across this wonderful creation.  It’s a mechanical nanny, pushing a pram.  A man named Simon Johnson has written an extensive article about the design, and how to replicate it.  The original, apparently, was made by a man named Andreas Konkoly.

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The parts are largely from a Meccano set.  Johnson says that Konkoly claimed that the nurse took 80 steps (“tripping, short steps” which were “based on the mechanism of  woman’s walk”), but Johnson is dubious about that.  He offers  quite a good discussion of why the device can’t quite work that way.  And a lot of information, too, on how the bosom was created.  Modelers, take note.

Spotted In The Wild – Bebe Confort Loola

Published on October 21, 2009 in Spotted In The Wild. 0 Comments

Niagara Falls, Ontario: A Loola, which I’ve seen previously only in European baby magazines.  It’s a Maxi-Cosi in the USA, but a  Bebe-Confort in Europe.  And not, apparently, available in Canada at all.  This one came from across the pond:

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The Loola’s a little different.  The handles swivel, so that you can turn them inward, putting your hands in the same position as you would to push a stroller with a full bar across the back.  If you like having the handles facing downward, that works, too.  All of which is  pretty cool, but two other things make the Loola at least a little more interesting than the average poussette.

First, there’s a switch on each side of the chassis that lets you lock or release the front swivel wheels without touching them.  Neat, non?  Fixed wheels or swivel, and no road muck to mess with.

Second, the seat is reversible, so it can face whoever is pushing it. And you can actually fold the Loola with the seat in the infant (facing the pusher) position!  Revolutionary, just revolutionary.  Can you even imagine how many seats I’ve had to rotate before I could fold any given buggy?  I thought not.

There’s a carry cot available, too, so the Loola can be made into a small pram (but only if you’re buying in Europe).  Umbrella foldability with amazing versatility.  And a usable basket.   Does it get any better than this?

Like A Rock

Published on October 20, 2009 in Miscellany. 0 Comments

If your  transportation stocks (say, GM or Chrysler, for example) aren’t performing as well as you’d like, perhaps you’d care to take a chance on something in the way of  Swedish transport:

moto-pmThis thing’s a tank!  Get a look at those tires!  And yes, folks, this stroller runs on clean, rechargeable batteries:

A Swedish SME has developed an electrical motor drive for twin baby carriages so that the effort for the parent to move the carriage is reduced. The motor drive operates on the front wheel pairs and the speed is controlled with a handle that is conveniently placed on the carriage.

I don’t know that they’re looking for investment capital, but the page, not to mention the site name – “Invenia” (doesn’t that mean “invention” in some non-English language?) – seems to hint in that direction.  Contact information right on the page, should you require it.

Source: Motor-assisted carriage eases the parents [sic] work on Invenia.es

Spotted In The Wild – Quinny Freestyle

Published on October 19, 2009 in Spotted In The Wild. 0 Comments

Niagara Falls, Ontario. A Freestyle 4, to be precise:

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Lovely reversible seat, that.  However, the Freestyle 4’s defining feature isn’t obvious; the front wheels pivot.  They’re “freestylin’”, you might say.   Engineers and other geeky-types (like yours truly), love this kind of thing — that front piece is more than an axle! — and this vehicle probably bounds across rough terrain with abandon.  A little bit of steering goes a long way when there are small rocks and branches to dodge.

Generally speaking, though,  if you want maneuverability, you really want a nice set of swivel wheels.  The Freestyle is one of those throwback hybrids that combines a comfortable, stately ride with the ability to tackle the woods.  Manhattan?  Not so much.  The promenade at the Falls?  Bring it on, baby!