LITTLEBIG LOVES: Nyokki pets and friends
WHILST CHILDREN often enjoy the messier aspects of outdoor gardening, it can be difficult to get them excited about cultivation - as the process is often so slow. It’s only when those strawberries finally emerge that their interest is rekindled. And so The Balcony Gardener’s new offerings for kids are perfect for short attention spans.
The Balcony Gardener - our current favourite gardening e-shop - specialises in kits and ready made balcony gardens, and these kits for children - including the Nyokki pets, (bear, kitty or chick pots - the bear is at the right of the picture), which sprout grass ‘hair’, the i-grobot (Robot model), and Taterpots (for mint or basil, pictured middle left) - are instant gratification incarnate, and are genuinely easy for kids to do all the stages themselves: they contain peat plugs and cute little seed packets, and away they go…
The grass seeds in particular sprout within a day or two. So those mornings spent searching for signs of life aren’t for nothing. The grass then sprouts at a healthy rate so that kids can cut it with scissors just like hair. The mint and basil seeds can be grown in their cute containers until they’re ready to harvest, to be transplanted to bigger pots or the garden. All the irresistible pots are reusable as ornaments and keepsakes.
It will probably come as no surprise that these sophisticated little kits are mostly Japanese in genesis: designed as they are not just for children, but for tiny urban living spaces too. From £7.50 - £8.95.
*The Balcony Gardener: www.thebalconygardener.com
Posted 15 August 2010 in Products
HOT HEADGEAR
Photography & Styling by Gretchen Easton
THERE’S A headgear trend blowing in on the summer breeze… for play, sun protection, or keeping hair in place, hats and headgear are unavoidable seasonal essentials. So best make them cute.
Click on each of the below images for a better view and to see captions.
*Hair and Make-up, Josefine Wissenberg.
**With thanks to models Madeline & Brooklyn-Bella (www.zurimodelandtalent.com); Dominica (jetsetmodels.com); Kaija (www.fordmodels.com) and Jacob.
Stockists:
Christa Davis: www.christadavis.com; Clothkits: www.clothkits.co.uk; Ellie Bellie Kids: www.elliebelliekids.com; Franka Stockholm: www.frankastockholm.com; Frugi: www.welovefrugi.com; Gap: www.gap.com (An EU online shop is coming soon); Hucklebones: www.hucklebones.co.uk; I Love Gorgeous: www.ilovegorgeous.co.uk; JCrew: www.jcrew.com; Kids of Luxury: www.kidsofluxury.com; LittleFashionGallery: www.littlefashiongallery.com; Little Society: www.littlesociety.com; Mini Giants: www.minigiants.com; Moo G Clips: www.moogclips.com; Petit Couture: www.petitcouture.com; TopShop: www.topshop.com; Tutu Couture: www.tutucouture.com; Wovenplay: www.wovenplay.com
Posted 1 June 2010 in Textiles
HEIGHT CHARTS: Top Six
by Jenny Dalton
HEIGHT CHARTS, believe it or not, are a must-think investment. Because you are going to be stuck with one for quite a number of years.
Unfortunately I’m lumbered with a gifted Dora the Explorer version (okay, okay, I have a soft spot for Dora - the independence, the monkey best friend) because all my four year old’s measurements to date are on it, and to get rid of it would be sacrilege!
The key height chart pointers to consider, according to Caterine Hooper of LittleBabyCompany, depend on whether you want to invest in a temporary record of the child’s growth for them to see and follow, or if you want a more permanent record that can then be stored and kept in their keepsake box. “A wooden height chart looks great on the wall and is available in endless designs, but it is more difficult to store once finished with due to the size and nature of the material. If you are looking for a focal point, there are lots of funky and stylish wallsticker charts on the market which would dress a wall beautifully, but they will not last if you want to keep them as a reminder of their growth. Textile charts looks great, but would you really like safety pins on the wall amongst toddlers?”
The alternative would be a height chart made from paper/card and LittleBabyCompany stocks a height chart by Australian brand Kideko. What Caterine likes about the Kideko height charts is not only are they “vibrant and colourful in their design, but they have a much longer lifespan than most on the market in that they are not supercute or themed, or anything that an older child will refer to as ‘babyish’. The design is meant to last for a while, which is the whole point of a height chart.” And once finished with, it can be rolled up and tucked away in the cardboard tube it is supplied with, amongst the rest of your child’s memorabilia.
Posted 19 April 2010 in Decor
RUG APPEAL: Mini Moderns rug collection
By Jenny Dalton
I’D ALMOST GIVEN UP on the search for a playroom rug that’s a bit different, looks plush and comfortable rather than nylon-y, isn’t too large, or too cute, or too expensive or there again too cheap. Fortunately there’s a new rug player in town.
It’s increasingly hard to keep up with the Mini Moderns boys’ output (there’s new wallpaper, mugs, cushions) but their new hand-tufted 100% wool rug collection - in collaboration with RugDesigner - is one to spend a bit of time perusing. Each rug is made to order from info@minimoderns.com and costs £495 for a 1m x 2m rug. We particularly like the fact they’ve gone outside their core collection designs to include quirky offerings such as the Owl and Balloon (pictured above). The other nine designs are pictured below… Now, which one to choose?
Posted 1 April 2010 in Textiles
GOING GLOBAL: world decor
Illustration by Sara Barnes
DON’T BE SURPRISED if your friend’s six year old’s passport is as full of exotic stamps as your own. Our children’s generation understands travel like never before.
Whether it’s because of our own globe-trotting preferences (we are the cheap-flights, itchy feet generation), or because our families tend to be divided by thousands of miles and seas where they once were divided by mere tens or hundreds of miles, our children are au fait with, and completely at home with, the scope of the world… for them the globe holds not so much wonder but a firm belief that they will visit the locations they read about in their favourite books, or where the relatives they regularly Skype reside. None of it is out of bounds.
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