The Baby Papoose (by the Good Flock)
The first line of the The Good Flock website reads: ‘The products we make can be buried in your backyard’. Which I think is such a daring first sentence, and is proof of the innovative and fun nature of Nikki and Marco, the people behind The Good Flock. Their belief is to use wholesome materials (from living sources or eco-systems that are able to regenerate themselves), work with a conscience (real craftspeople, responsible manufacturing), and design with minimal waste (use only what we need). I’ve been thinking — it sounds a bit like how I like to cook our food! But then applied to product design. An interesting slide can be found here, where the difference between the creation of a plastic iPad case is compared to the creation of a Good Flock IWooly.
Reason enough to purchase The Good Flock products, but there’s more: the products are really, really beautiful. Gorgeous vegetable tanned leather, domestic waxed canvas, patterned wool and buttons made from sustainable harvested tagua nuts are the main materials that are used to create simple but stylish bags, covers and wallets. The Good Flock has also created a Baby Papoose, a warm and wonderful baby wrap, made from their beautiful materials and just perfect to keep your baby cozy in his Bugaboo (works for the Frog, Chameleon but also very well for the Bee).
xxx Esther
Knitted Greens!
Somehow, over the course of this morning, I stumbled upon four different (!!) green knitted products. All SO cute, I just had to share…
- Green and white knitted jumper from Broer en Zus
- Green and white knitted doll from Dents de Loup
- Lucky Boy Sunday knitted tree from Thumbeline
- Green knitted teething ring from Unique Boutique
x Courtney
Mader Spinning Tops
Aren’t these spinning tops so beautiful? I just love all the different colour combinations and the many elegant shapes and sizes. These Mader Tops are handcrafted in Austria from a variety of woods native to Europe. Each top is made from a single piece of wood and is then hand painted in beautiful colour combinations. (You can read more about them here.) They’re so well made that they spin for minutes at a time. Fun! And also pretty just sitting on a shelf.
They’re available from Couverture in the UK and from Pucci Manuli in the US.
x Courtney
Big fish eats little fish
This is another art project inspired by an image I saw on Pinterest! I knew the minute I saw it that my kids would love this one. Plus, it’s so easy! All you need are some clothespins, some card stock or thicker paper, some crayons or paint to decorate your fish, and scissors and glue. A fun project for kids of all ages — even our 2-year-old enjoyed making her fish (we drew a fish template and she coloured it in).
Also, if you’re looking for more craft projects, you can take a peek at our Crafts for Kids Pinterest board for ideas!
x Courtney
Buttonbag Craft Kits
Something seems to have happend to Coco since she turned 6. It seems like she woke up one morning and her hand coordination and patience had suddenly increased. I guess she is not a little girl anymore! She cannot wait to use these new found skills and now there is a serious demand for arts and craft sessions in our house. I do try to come up with my own projects, but there are times when a craft kit is a life saver! A great example are the Buttonbag Craft Kits, which are perfectly catered toward eager 6-year-olds. The projects are simple and the results impressive. I particularly like the Winter Birds Kit and the Peg Doll Kits.
- Emilie
Davina Zagury photography
If you’re looking for something truly special for your house, take a look at Davina Zagury’s website. She has a collection of beautiful still-life images with three main concepts. The first one is about the land of lost toys. Vintage toys, found at flea markets, second hand stores or in the garbage bin (!), make us wonder about the children that once treasured these toys, their home, their story, their life. The second series is about kitchen appliances. Not only are the objects so interesting and beautiful to look at, they also hold memories of our grandmother’s kitchens; they smell of home-made biscuits, chocolate cake, and warm milk. In the animals series that Davina created, little toy animals take centre stage and tell us a special story in which they play the main part.
xxx Esther
Train Pyjamas from byGraziela
How cheerful and happy are these train pyjamas? I love the retro pattern, the snug fit and the soft & cosy material. What perfect PJs! They’re part of the vibrant byGraziela collection, a rebirth of Graziela Preiser’s award-winning brand from the 1970s.
Everything in the collection is as happy and innocent as childhood should be — defined by vibrant colours and iconic ’70s designs. (If you like the train print, you can get matching bedding, hooded towels, or this adorable crockery set!)
x Courtney
PS – Find these and other great pyjamas in this week’s Top Ten selection.
TinTin!
I read my boys (ages 6 and 4) their first Tintin book
The story behind Tintin is an interesting one. The first Tintin comic appeared in the children’s section of a Belgian newspaper in 1929. The series was so successful it was then published in Belgium’s leading newspaper, Le Soir, and then spun into its own magazine. It became one of Europe’s most popular comics and has been translated into more than 50 different languages (you can read more about the origin of Tintin here).
There is now a Tintin movie — I haven’t seen it, have you? There’s an online Tintin Shop and an actual Tintin store in Covent Garden where you can buy all sorts of Tintin goodies like posters, toys and, of course, the books
x Courtney
Image found on Pinterest
Bibu — cool pillows!
These happy pillows from Barcelona make me smile every time I see them! They’re made by Yuly from Bibu, who wanted to create something fun, modern and unusual for her son. Her pillows can be used to play with, sleep on, and make great decoration too. And I love that the ‘backside’ of each pillow is made out of a very cool, custom designed fabric!!
xxx Esther
Bensimon Hi Tops from Elias & Grace
I think I have spent the past three months admiring these Bensimon hi-tops at Elias & Grace… and just this week I finally splurged and bought them for my daughter. Don’t you just love the blue suede with the purple laces? So fun! There’s also a low-top version with green laces which are equally cute.
x Courtney
Pinatas
Seriously, is there anything better in the world than beating on a massive ball with a stick and, when you finally smash it open, being showered in bonbons? It’s no wonder kids go crazy for piñatas.
Piñatas had not really crossed my radar until I went on holiday to Mexico last year. But now we can’t possibly consider a birthday party complete without a good piñata bashing! Here in Paris I pick our piñatas up from a lovely shop called La Pinata, which is along the Canal St Martin (the photo above is of a pinata I picked up for Coco’s birthday last week). I have also found a ton of piñata DIY posts online, like these by the lovely Oh Happy Day blog, just in case you do not have a handy piñata shop around the corner!
By the way, it is hilarious watching the way kids react when they are picking the bonbons out of the broken pinata. Some just go crazy and try to grab whatever they can, others stand back observe and hone in for the choice pickings!
- Emilie
Macarons — an exciting new innovation from Germany
Yesterday I went to the Kleine Fabriek, the children’s trade fair here in Amsterdam. I love going to trade shows; it’s always fun to walk around, have chats with all of the business owners and designers and see their new collections. It was especially fun to meet Veit and Julie from the new brand Macarons — a lovely couple from Germany (sadly I didn’t meet their baby girl Cleo because she was asleep, but I heard rumours about how cute she is)!
Veit and Julie developed an innovative fabric, the IQ fabric, which is based on traditional production techniques that have been around for centuries in the South of Germany. With a soft and ‘fresh’ feeling organic cotton inside, which is woven together with a warm and water-resistant organic merino wool outside (and sometimes boiled to get a cool rippled felted effect), the IQ fabric is as warm and practical as it gets. But it doesn’t end there — the designs of the clothing line is so cute and different. Contrasting colours on the inside of the hems and collars let you play around with the shapes, sweet pompoms and prints ad lightness and fun — it is all so very, very delightful.
The Macarons collection will be in stores after summer — and we can’t wait.
xxx Esther
Custom dolls from Warm Sugar
I’ve already mentioned the Warm Sugar dolls here before, but I just had to share them again. I ordered a couple dolls for my nieces for Christmas this year and was so pleased with them. I sent an email to Shannon, the talented creator, and asked for dolls with specific traits: one blue-eyed doll and one brown, one more girlie than the other, both with light brown hair, etc (see photo). Aren’t they so cute? I just love the mix of fabrics and that each doll can be customised for the little recipient. The dolls are available to purchase from the Warm Sugar Etsy shop, and I just think they make lovely gifts.
x Courtney
Stitch ‘n kids: the knitting fork
After joining a little craft group a few months ago, I’ve been making more time for sewing, knitting and crocheting. My 6-year-old daughter Sara is entranced by the idea — she loves nothing more than sitting next to me when I’m creating and always asks me when she’ll be old enough to join my craft group. She actually already does some easy sewing herself (last year we gave her a sewing machine for Christmas), and I recently taught her how to knit (and I was surprised that she was able to do it)!
I thought it would be fun to share some fun sewing/knitting/crocheting ideas with you that are easy enough for children to enjoy. The first idea is the Lucet. Have you ever heard of it? It a very traditional and really simple wooden utensil that has been used since the Viking times to ‘knit’ cords. The process is easy enough for children about 5 years and older, and Sara loves doing it. She already made a beautiful long cord — and is of course very proud! Now we have to come up with a fun project to use the cord… Any ideas?
xxx Esther
Wooden Utensils for fun occasions
Aren’t these wooden utensils so fun? They’re perfect for school lunches, birthdays, ice cream parties… you name it. There are loads of cute designs and themes to choose from, and you can even customise your own. There’s even ice cream paddles and chopsticks! All available from the Sucre & Spice Etsy shop.
x Courtney
Petite Alma Birthday Card Packs
Petite Alma have recently launched some new birthday card packs (for grown-ups and for kids) and they’re so cheerful and happy and just the perfect thing to have on hand for all upcoming birthdays this year. I love the vibrant watercolour illustrations, the fun greetings on each card, and I’m so smitten with that adorable little mouse on the ‘You’re a Star’ card in the Furry Friends set (above). So cute!
x Courtney
Mole, from Norway
It’s always so exciting to discover a new-to-us brand that is of great quality, great design, and looks even better in reality than it does on the photo! Enter Mole, a beautiful brand from Norway that I’ve fallen in love with. How cool are the Nordic designs on the jumpers (which have a great, snug fit). The quality of the Merino wool is amazing — it’s thick, warm and soft. Patterns and colours are gorgeous — all the clothes are simple, timeless, and just perfect — look at the overalls in all the different sizes — how snug! I think Pim would love a suit like that — would your little boy??
xxx Esther
Muller Stacking Bed
I get asked all the time if I know of any good, stylish children’s beds for kids who have outgrown their cotbed but who are still young enough to need/want a child’s bed. There is such a hole in the market here because I have literally searched and searched and the pickings are slim. The one bed I love is the Müller stacking bed by Rolf Heide. I just love that the beds stack so that when needed, you always have an extra bed for sleep-overs and other guests in the house. I have several friends who have these beds either for their kids or for guests (I even have a few German friends who grew up with them!), and everyone only has good things to say.
The beds were designed in Germany in 1967, before the age of modern flat-packed furniture, and were highly innovative for the time. Inspired by smaller spatial living in the 1960s, the beds were meant to be a sofa or daybed by day and a bed(s) at night. So brilliant! For more information, you can download the catalog from here. And, if like me, you’re interested in buying them in the UK, they’re available from The Home Online shop.
And if you know of any other great single beds for kids, please share!
x Courtney
Birthday Party Paper Cut-Out
My children’s birthday parties must be the most exciting day of their lives. However, I am much more hesitant. I have no problems baking the cakes, decorating the room and getting the party favours ready. It is entertaining all the children that scares me! They are a tough audience, these 6-year-olds, so the pressure is on.
It was Coco’s birthday party this weekend, and I needed to come up with some games to play inside on a cold, winter day in a small flat in Paris! One of most successful games was a whole body paper cut-out, and hilariously enough, was also the simplest to organise. We got the kids to lie down on a big piece of paper and drew the outline of their body. We then drew on some accessories and the kids finished them off. After they were done, we cut out the faces and held the piece of paper up so that the kids could stick their face through it. (Apparently this was one of the funniest thing ever!)
After that we got them to dance, cracked open a pinata, ate cake, dressed up and suddenly it was time for all these little people to go home again, tired and happy! Phew, another birthday party successfully navigated!
- Emilie
The High Street by Alice Melvin
Mo sent me an email last week with a short message: Alice Melvin’s newest book, The High Street
‘The High Street’ tells the story of a girl named Sally who walks to the high street with a list of ten items she must buy. She visits the pet shop, the tea shop, the grocer, etc., gathering the items on her list. Each page is a lift-the-flap page and reveals an inside look into the shop, and all the lovely things Sally can buy. The charming illustrations are so detailed, each shop a true treasure… and it really does make you wish all high streets were (still) like this.
x Courtney
p.s. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from Mo in a while, it’s because she is taking a (hopefully brief) blogging break while she awaits the birth of her third baby (due in February!). xx
(Images found here)
