Puttin’ on the Ritzy

By Naperville Magazine
September 2025 View more Shop

By Jeff Banowetz

This Naperville company specializes in stylish products for babies and toddlers

With a worldwide financial crisis going on, 2008 probably wasn’t the best time to launch a new company. But it has worked out for Kelly and Brian Douglas, who decided that year to make the leap with their business focusing on products for babies and toddlers. The result was the creation of Itzy Ritzy, based in Naperville, which has become a leading brand for parents focused on high-quality and stylish gear.

“That was a tough time, for sure,” Kelly recalls. “But our premise was right that [the business] could be recession-proof because people still spend money on their children.”

Kelly and Brian met and were married while living in New York City and working in business. They had talked about starting a venture of their own and began exploring ideas that they could work on together around the time they were starting their own family. “We always wanted to do something entrepreneurial, but we didn’t really have that ‘big idea’ in terms of inventing a product,” Brian says. “We started a process to look for industries where we thought there was opportunity. And we liked the juvenile product space. There are a lot of things about the space that we found attractive. We liked the idea of marketing to moms and women. I think that’s something that Kelly is particularly strong at. We liked how fragmented the industry was. And it helped that we were new parents, and we noticed there seemed to be a lack of fashion when it came to these products.”

They ended up acquiring a small business in California and moving it to Naperville, where it became Itzy Ritzy. Kelly, who was raised in Naperville, decided it made sense to start the business here. “Especially with little kids, it got tricky and expensive to be in Manhattan,” Kelly says. “We still had a bunch of family in this area. So we decided to start our business here in Naperville.”

The company looked at items like diaper bags and teething rings, primarily designed for basic utility, and figured out how they could function better in a more stylish way. Kelly spends much of her time (“way too much, I have to admit,” she says) scanning social media and fashion influencers to develop a sense of what’s hip.

“I think we’re good at finding what is trending, especially in Europe, and figuring out what we can do to bring it to America and give people something they aren’t finding elsewhere,” Kelly says. “We create products that are elevated, highly functional and innovative, and give it the Itzy Ritzy feel where people are proud to use it.”

Some of their current lineup includes western-themed diaper bags (which have been hard to keep in stock for the last year), children’s backpacks, brightly colored canvas totes, and toys. They’ve been the No. 1 teething brand at Target for the last seven years, and their newest category of plush toys has been performing well, building on the recent trend of “kidulting.”

“I think with the heaviness of the world right now, people are looking for something to make them feel good and have a little glimmer of nostalgic feelings and vibes,” Kelly says. “People collect these stuffed animals as both adults and for their kids.”

While the design and function of the products are critical, Kelly says that building a strong community behind the company has been most rewarding for them. “Of all the pillars that we base our business around, my favorite one was inclusivity,” Kelly says. “We want to meet parents on their journey, and parenting can look like a lot of different things. It can be a same-sex couple; it could be a single mom; it could be a single dad; it could be an aunt that’s helping a family. There are a lot of different ways to build a village, and we just want everyone to feel welcome at Itzy Ritzy.”

Through social media, the company can hear from customers and build a large following while offering support to parents. “The parenting space can be judgmental,” Kelly says. “I was really lonely as a first-time mom in New York City, and it can be very isolating. So I think the most important thing for us was building a community where people can feel seen and hear that they’re doing a good job.”

And offering encouragement: “We have that tag on all of our diaper bags,” she adds. “There’s a little charm that says, ‘You’re doing a great job.’ ”

As the company has grown from a small to midsize, Kelly and Brian have made it a priority to preserve the company culture that made it successful. “I’m the type of person who’s worked at 150,000-employee companies and 30-employee companies,” Brian says. “I tend to gravitate toward the smaller ones as being a little more fun because, look, you only get one shot at doing things. And if you’re showing up to work and you’re just not enjoying it, what’s the point?”

That lesson translated to their own business. “I really am proud of what Kelly and I built as a culture because I think the team does really like their job,” he says. “They like to be there, like to be a part of what we’re all trying to build.”

Creating a collaborative environment was essential. “It’s certainly still intense and stressful and all of those things, but we’ve got such a great group of people together on the team,” Kelly says. High spirits help too. “It’s both in the office and with how we present our products to have some fun. We host happy hour every Friday online for our community. We do a coffee chat on Wednesdays. We like to have fun with our customers and with our products and not take ourselves too seriously.”

The company name, Itzy Ritzy, reflects their hope to convey something small (for babies) but high-end and well made. “I guess it was 18 years ago now, but we would sing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ to our middle one, Elle, when she was in her car seat at 8 months old,” Kelly says. (They have three children, now ages 20, 18, and 14.) “So much has happened since, but the name started with that song.”

Photos: Itzy Ritzy