CULT ITEM: Updated. The BabyBjorn Carrier
By Jenny Dalton
THERE AREN’T MANY BABY ITEMS I’d buy again with hindsight. But one of them would definitely be the Swedish BabyBjörn Carrier - which coincidentally was designed in the year of MY birth: 1973, by the original founders of BabyBjörn AB, Björn and Lillemor Jakobson. The design was based on the premise only ‘discovered’ in the late 1960s by paediatricians that babies (and parents) benefitted from close physical contact.
The design, meanwhile, was aimed in particular at fathers - a poignant reminder that 35 years ago it was practically unheard of for a dad to carry his baby around as nonchalently as most fathers do today. ”Both parents should feel comfortable carrying their babies,” says Lillemor Jakobson. “It feels good to have contributed so that fathers today are more involved with their baby.”
Why is the BabyBjörn still the baby carrier leader? It works (carries baby comfortably forwards and backwards, though it’s up front carrying position works best for out and about rather than pottering at home), and it’s good looking. It’s easily stashed away, it’s unisex, it’s hardwearing and washable, and… now it’s available in lots of colours (actually, 8, including bright pink and orange) for those who are a bit less-than-in-love with the ‘Classic’ model’s limited colour choices.
Our favourites in the new Spirit range are the ‘Red Heart’ (above) and the all-black shown here right, but it would be tempting to buy the full range of colours (click here for more), to match all your outfits…
*RRP £54.99, stockist number 0844 8154813, or see www.thebabycatalogue.com
**See www.babybjorn.com for international stockists.
Posted 15 January 2009 in Textiles
LITTLEBIG LOVES… ferm LIVING Kids
THERE’S NO GREATER recommendation for a new design company than when the owners use the designs themselves. Trine Andersen, 30, the Danish mum and graphic designer behind ferm LIVING, the graphic design company founded in 2005, added a children’s range of wallpapers and more to her collection of “modern with a retro touch, graphic, and Scandinavian” feel products (papers, wall stickers, pillows, tea towels and bedding) back in 2007. “I realized there was so much cute fashion for kids, a range of cute interior products was called for,” she says, of the growing collection that includes Butterflies, pictured left.
In the meantime, however, Trine gave birth to her first son, and has decorated his room at her 1960s-build leafy home in Aarhus, Denmark with her Rush Hour traffic-themed wallpaper. “Having him is making it much easier to get inspiration for and to understand the children’s universe,” she says. Luckily you can now share in the inspiration in the UK at 95%Danish, as the online store stocks ferm LIVING’S entire range, both for kids and adults.
*In the US, buy at www.fermlivingshop.us **For international stockists, see www.ferm-living.com
Posted 7 January 2009 in Decor
FOCUS: Esthex Soft Toys
ESTHER SCHUIVENS (LEFT) IS just 30, and yet has a fully fledged family (3-year-old twins, Hannah and Moos), under her belt as well as her sweet and quirky handmade soft toys collection, Esthex.
The company sounds as unplanned and fortuitous as the arrival of her twins. In her last year of art school in Maastricht, The Netherlands, the Dutch art textiles student participated in a contest at Hema, a large department store, to design a soft toy. Esther didn’t win. But, “It was SO much fun to do,” she says from her Belgian home. More importantly, she sold some of the toys and discovered the selling bug: “I discovered I loved the idea of people buying your product and taking it home.”
Esther went back to the drawing board (her original design was a long-armed monster), and came up with the first Esthex dolls - pretty, endearing, kooky, infinitely original. A local shopkeeper loved them, and, encouraged, a few months later she had an order for 300, and had to seek out help from her current (and socially responsible) makers in Bangkok. “I’m not the best sewer at all,” she admits.
Posted 20 November 2008 in Toys
FOCUS: ARCHITECTMADE
MORTEN T JENSEN, director of ARCHITECTMADE, the Copenhagen-based manufacturer specialising in classic product and tabletop designs by Denmark’s leading historic architects, admits he’s no creative. What Jensen is especially good at is recognising a product that will have serious legs. Many of the designs under the ARCHITECTMADE portfolio - established four years ago and growing - were never ever put into production, but rather were discovered by Jensen in the homes and archives of the likes of Finn Juhl, Poul Kjaerholm and Peter Karpf.
Being architects, these great men never specialised in product design, but, says Jensen, this is their appeal. “Because there was no pressure for any of their products to work commercially, they really come from the heart. You can tell they are things that have been thought about and thought about, often over a number of years.”
Posted 13 November 2008 in Products
TOP SIX: Children’s Cushions
KAREN HILTON’S CUSHIONS (left and below right) aren’t meant for kids. “I’m sure they would rather be playing than thinking about home furnishings!” says she, making a very good point. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t perfect for children’s rooms. Their combination of quirky and humorous (plus quintessentially English - all those super bright hues and British motifs are inspired by pop art and punk), with simple cut out shapes and brilliant colours, means they will bring any rather dull child’s room to life.
Younger ones may or may not get the slightly subversive air of the Queen’s profile or the Union Jack in anti-establishment colours (”I hate red and royal blue together, which is why I changed its colours,” explains Karen, who originally studied model making at Bournemouth. “When I did I realised I liked the flag design as a pattern on its own merit.”), but they’re likely to appreciate the joie de vivre of Karen’s handmade cotton and felt designs. Pictured cost from US$68 at Karen’s Etsy store.
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