March 3, 2005

Crate & Barrel: A Toy Store for Grown-Ups

Growing up, I thought adults were nuts for getting excited about kitchen utensils and furniture. If that stuff was the most thrilling part of getting “old,” I thought the future, which would inevitably be devoid of toy stores, seemed grim. I hated following my mother around department stores and stifled my complaints only when I thought good behavior might elicit a reward.

But this past weekend, with my fiancé at my side and a Bellini in hand, I raced from salad plates to wine goblets, feverishly scanning product barcodes for our wedding registry at Crate & Barrel on Broadway and Houston Street in New York City.

During the month of February, all of Crate & Barrel’s 150 stores are having an event for wedding and special occasion registrants. Every Sunday, from 9 to 11 a.m., stores are open only to couples who have made an appointment to start a gift registry.

When my fiancé and I tried to register for our June wedding in January, a sales associate urged us to come to the store’s special registry event. We were skeptical, but after she told us we would receive free heart-shaped champagne flutes as well as breakfast and mimosas, we signed up.

When we showed up for our appointment a few weeks later, the two-story store, which is typically filled with hundreds of shoppers, felt empty with only 25 couples wandering around. By the time we grabbed some mini muffins and traded our coats for a scanner that would add items to our registry, we knew we’d made a wise decision.

At first, we watched women survey stemware and china patterns while men, who seemed to be in charge of scanners, waited to see if they would be directed by their significant others to tag certain merchandise.

But with prices at Crate & Barrel — which has more than 100,000 couples register through their stores every year — significantly lower than most department stores, couples seemed more zap-happy than contemplative. We were quick to follow suit.

As someone who is fearful of having a pricey registry, I was pleased to find that some of the store’s most popular “toys” — glasses and kitchen gizmos — are less than $2.

When we picked out our Kate Spade fine china at Macy’s, which is $119 for a five-piece place setting, I experienced pangs of guilt. I couldn’t help but worry that my college friends would think I am expecting them to spend too much money on my wedding.

Though the most expensive item on our registry at Crate & Barrel is a $149 coffeemaker, most things are closer in price to the beautiful $1.50 everyday glasses we picked out. It was actually fun to sift through items such as wine, margarita and martini glasses, knowing that my guests will be paying less than $5 for them.

By noon, we were proud of our completed wish list and left with a gift bag that included the champagne flutes as well as thank you cards. But despite the free goodies and great selection of merchandise, I was most impressed when I accessed out registry online for the first time.

Unlike other stores that have registry services, Crate & Barrel has a picture next to every item on the list so you can see everything you’ve chosen without having to click on a separate link. This makes it especially easy to modify your registry from the comfort of your own home.

It is also convenient and fun for wedding guests because they will naturally buy the gifts that catch their eye, which makes them feel like they are picking out your gifts.

The only negative: A bride-to-be just might find it difficult to stop looking over her registry when she is supposed to be working. And if she’s anything like me, she might be coping with the fact that despite what she thought as a child, you never really grow up — you just change toy stores.