IKEA goes cardboard

...and IKEA goes cardboard too, not at all expensive: SKYLTA market stand.

Animal coats

I am not a big fan of animal shaped clothes, hats and all, but what this lady from Texas is creating is more than amazing. Check out Little Goodall

Lion

 

with a bow for girls

Fox

Dinosaur

 

 

Teddy Bear

Wolf

Owl

 Available in Europe through Coaters.

Deskhouse by ninetonine

Have you ever noticed how kids struggle to reach the top of the paper they are drawing on, so they end up turning the paper.
Madrid based designer and architect Alberto Marcos designed this Deskhouse for ninetonine - table and a playhouse in one.

It even has a chimney to store pencils in.

This is a perfect position for drawing, reading, even playing with puzzles with some non slip mat of a sort. Many of us, including me, can not afford to have this, for both money and space reasons, but it is great design and it is on sale on fab now, so check it out if you love it and want it:)

Petit à Petit and family COLLECTION

 Dear all,

you might remember Celina from Petit à Petit and family. You also might remember how I don't understand why she is even talking to me...but this is because she is super nice. Not only her pinterest followers are counted with 6 zeroes, she is out with a totally cute and cool baby & kids collection in collaboration with Minibulles!
Collection consists of basic pieces every kid needs: t-shirts, leggings, sweatpants & sweatshirts to accessorize with hats, scarves and bibs. Each item is hand stamped with water based, safe ink, easy to wash, dry and even iron.

Minibulles ship within 72 hours & all over the world!

EFVVA - hand painted kids wear

A unique young brand of clothes and shoes, handmade in Poland and personally designed and finished by Ewa Wrobel-Hultqvist. For those wanting to explore the brand EFVVA is offering 50% discount to first time buyers in October. Even if you don't see something in the desired size in the shop, contact her - she is really nice. My heart is aching for snowflake shoes. Not your typical boy shoe, but I think P could so pull it off.

Poul Pava - a grownup painting childrens paintings

Poul Pava is a Danish artist specializing in painting like a child. I don't know how else to put it, so forgive me.


Say goodbye to ugly oilcloth...I'd use this on regular days, not just for a party.

 Porcelains are now on sale on fab. I especially like the Mega Vase.

 Killer pillow, don't you think?

My home is full of kids drawings and paintings anyway, not because I have kids, but because I LOVE them. (Not my kids, the paintings:)

mOmma - developmental feeding products

Baby I is almost 9 months old. When did that happen?

AmorAmor (interview)

AmorAmor is a beautiful kids brand from Australia and I was lucky to talk to these 3 creative and happy ladies about their passions, inspiration and friendship that is the basis of it all. Please take a moment to read this beautiful interview, I am sure both the interview and AmorAmor designs will brighten your day and have you smile several times more than you planned today:)

Baby bottles I love

I am not a huge bottle user. Baby I is already on sippy cup as far as bottles are concerned, so I will deffinitely not get to use Mimijumi with this baby. This bottle looks amazing, and we'd probably be the talk of the town if we flashed it around. I've never seen a bottle as beautiful as this one.

"The innovative nipple design replicates a mother’s breast, creating a natural feeding and latching experience for a happier and healthier bottle fed baby. Bold colors and soft textures are combined to give the Very Hungry bottle a distinctive, eye-catching appearance."

Pura however has a stainless steel bottle. Wow, right?!

 "Crafted from safe, anti-bacterial, #304 stainless steel, the same material used in milk pasteurization for years"
What is really cool with Pura bottles is that they are compatible with many types of spouts a nipples, even the sippy cup ones we are using. The newest addition to the collection are colored sylicone insulation sleeves.

I can totally see ourselves rocking orange sleeve on aqua blue bottle.

MEZOOME - interview

A little more than a month ago I posted about a play mat by Mezoome, young Israeli designer brand for children. Today I am bringing you a mini-interview with the two ladies behind Mezoome: Maayan and Anat.
(There is also a discount code for their shop in the bottom)

1. For introduction, could you first tell us a few words about yourselves? Who are the two ladies behind Mezoome Designs?


Maayan Goln Shpigel is 31 years old mother of two girls: Alona is 3.5 years old and Michaella is 1.4 years old. Maayan is a trained feldenkrais instructor specializing in babies and a fashion/children designer.

Anat Biala is 30 years old mother of two boys: Jonathan is 4.5 years old and Yoav is 1.2 years old. Anat is an interior designer specializing in kitchen design and a children designer.

2. How did it all start?



It all started when we met two years ago in our older children's kinder garden. We started talking and became very good friends (so did our kids :]). We realized we both shared a passion for design and for children's design in particular. As mothers, we were both under- whelmed by what we found in the market for kids and decided we wanted to start our own brand that would cater to mothers like us that wanted children products that were both practical but also aesthetically pleasing. This is how Mezoome was born.

3. What does the name Mezoome stand for?




The name Mezoome means "who's who" in Hebrew. When we started working we were together a lot and constantly got asked who's who. We liked the way it sounded as well as what it stood for.

4.How much do your children influence your work?

Mezoome =our kids. They were the inspiration for the brand to begin with and stay our source of inspiration till this day. As they grow we grow with them - constantly looking for new ideas and products that can grow with them. They are always in our mind's eye when we think of new ideas.

 5. Which part of the creative process do you like best?

We both work around the business but the thing we enjoy most is the design aspect as well as the product development. Seeing how a sketch on paper grows and develops into a prototype and from there into a finished product. It's like a mini- birth. We get excited every time :)

6. Do you have a 5-10-year plan, or do you just do it instinctively?


We have a 1 or 2 years plan and a 5 years vision.

7. Could you suggest some other Israeli designers we should pay attention to?


We are always happy to recommend talented Israeli designers. The ones that we most admire are:

Pockets (children), Wild Thing Studio (jewelry), Timo (hand made dolls)

8. Favourite foreign designers!

Charles and Ray Eames 

Thank you so much ladies!
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I fell in love with their Baby Sleeping Bag, but unfortunately I discovered them too late, baby I is already too big for it. If you love their products as much as I do, this is your lucky day, because Mezoome ladies are offering a 15% discount to BoP readers in their etsy shop, just use a code BAGOFPRETTY. The code will be active for the next 14 days (ending on 2nd September).

Find them on twitter and facebook too.

Bumbo baby seat - safe or sorry?

Bumbo baby seats are being recalled for safety reasons.

Personally, it never appealed to me. I love the design, it is really cute, but the idea it promotes, that you can put your baby in it when she can hold her head up is scary to me. What is even more scary is that people do it. I mean, I am no expert...but where I come from it is a common opinion that you should not sit the baby up until she can do it on her own.

Are you using one? What do you think?

Chalktrail

Chalktrail is a new and wonderful product in the see of millions of toys we see every day. And what is so wonderful about it that is so simple that it "could have been made a half-century ago but, for some inconceivable reason, wasn’t". It is an add-on to your bike (any size) or a scooter that holds a piece of chalk in the back and it draws as you ride.

In my opinion, any toy that combines outdoor play with creativity has to be wonderful. If you can attach it to your bike or a scooter...even more so. Street art with chalk, let the kids color the world.

Invented by Washington based Scott Baumann apparently came up with the idea playing with his kids and watching them hop on and off their bikes to draw on the pavement with chalk. This  is also supposed to be super-simple to use independently by kids and installing it does not require any tools. Also, the more the merrier...fun grows with number of bikes and chalk colors available.

Follow Chalktrail on facebook or get it on fab, it is on sales for the next 10 or so hours.

See Chalktrail in action

Smellies - interactive T-shirts

Ok, so I am not sure if the name Smellies is more of a head scratch or the 'interactive Ts' description. So, let me enlighten you. This Australian brand specializes in clothing you can 'experience'. There are three ranges available:

Scratch N' Smell range

Scratch the print and then smell the chocolate.

"We use the latest scent application technology for clothing, we have discovered a NEW engineered microcapsule technology that holds the scent longer. Scent has the power to evoke emotions, evoke long lost memories and change people’s moods. It has been shown in studies, that scent effects 75% of the emotions we experience everyday. Let us now experience these emotions from our clothing and have some fun with it!"







The colourchange range

T-shirts that will change colour due to changes in temperature.












The glow in the dark range

Even this one, which is pretty unexciting compared to the first two, would without a doubt become my son's favorite piece of clothing if he was to get one.












"...for the kids of noughties!"

They ship worldwide! Which one is it going to be?

Unleash the artist

Several months ago, at 3 years of age, our son decided to make his walls more pretty (as he put it) instead of having his afternoon nap. We acted angry and explained that is not a nice thing to do. A week later he was having his nap, or so we thought, until he called out from his room, that he needs more wet wipes, and we were confronted with these images:

He tried to wipe off his work of art from the week before...

I mean, it is not THAT beautiful, but it can be painted over, so not that big of a deal.

Some designer thought of a creative ways to solve this problem, so today you can buy a color in wallpaper by Jon Burgeman:

or you can have your kids customize their or their sibling clothing with this Monster Leggings Artist Kit, by a super cute new brand from Australia, AmorAmor.

I don't think any of these would have stopped P from doing what he did, but they ARE sort of cool even without this pedagogic connotation. Not only they make it possible to kids to scribble on their walls and clothes, the design is great even in monochrome. And even if they get bored and stop coloring half-way, it still looks great...but only a little better then the wet-wiped wall at our house.

If you like the idea, but are more of a DIY all the way type of person, you might like Summer Art Love and/or Boys of Summer Art free printables by Lil Blue Boo.

Happy doodling!

My Space by Liya Mairson

No time for words today, and no words to describe how much I LOOOVE this so just watch the video and sigh (when unfolded this 'play room' is bigger than my kids room...

Last minute floorbed

P is in last minute swimming camp since today morning. We weren't home for the weekend, and before we left I had no idea he will be going to the camp. One of the things kids needed to bring with them was a foam pad, for their afternoon nap. Whaaat? How is he supposed to sleep on that? Plus, I don't have one!
What I did have, was a big chunk of 3 cm thick mattress foam my brother wanted to throw away (his new sofa was packaged in it) and I, as a major hoarder of junk stuffed in my storage area.
I also had fabric..I always have fabric.

Oilcloth tablecloth on one side, Ikea Saralisa on the other. Sew 3 sides on the wrong side, turn out the fabric, stuff the foam in neatly, sew one side from the outside, not at all easy at 1 o'clock at night and with foam pulling the whole thing out. But I did it!

Morning testing...
Yes, I made one for his friend too, while I was at it.

Hm, not to happy, is he?:)

KATTUSKA (interview with Kata Toth)

Last week we had no interviews, this week we have two. Today I wand to introduce you to a fairly new brand - Kattuska. To find out how they started making their beautifully designed plywood wanders read on and enjoy.

1. For introduction, could you first tell us a few words about Kattuska and the people behind it?

KATTUSKA is a repository of stylish children’s toys, furniture for children’s room and related accessories. We offer a continuously expanding range of products, as well as exciting and practical solutions to children’s room furnishings.
There are two of us behind the brand, me and my husband. I am bringing in the ideas, building a strategy and taking care of marketing, while my husband, with long furniture designing experience behind him, helps bring those ideas to life in his own workshop.

2. You are quite a new brand on the market. How did it all start?

With the degree in economic studies I worked as product manager for years. I love marketing but I also love creative things, making ideas happen and the design itself.
Teamed with my husband, for years we've been playing with the idea of designing toys and furniture that dress the space and don't just fill it. I finally managed to start my own brand when at the beginning of the year I got a huge opportunity to exhibit Kattuska's first two toys in the Made in Hungary section of Lakástrend - the biggest Hungarian interior design exhibition.

Both Castle and Boat got their audience. Our toys didn't just get best marks on design fairs, we tested them in a private kindergarten from where we received positive feedback from dozens of children. Their joyful play is the proof for us that we are on the right track and that there is a demand for beautiful, quality toys.  

3. Your products are mainly made of plywood, are you planning to expand to something else?

Both Castle and a Boat are made of natural beech plywood. This clean, simple and yet thanks to wood pattern very versatile material gives both toys their beautiful appearance.

Since the very beginning we entertained the idea of using other materials and colors. As the result of that only a few weeks ago, out first white Castle was born, which will hopefully have its colorful followers soon.

Accessories are naturally not made only of woods. Kattuska sword, for example, is unique for  its grip made of corian.

3 types of sword grips made of corian

 

Kattuska flags are designed by us and printed by an outside company that specializes in that.

Castle roof and curtains are made by me for now, but I'd love to work with other designers, especially in line of kids furniture and textiles.

4. How much do your children influence your work?

My children are my biggest inspiration and my biggest critics. They are also the first testers of our products. For example, we had to produce 3 prototypes of the Boat to be able to say it was finished, because Soma (our son) managed to flip it over every time. But now I know that we are selling a stable and well tested rocker.

They also give great ideas.  When we made the first castle we put it in the kids room for testing. After they played for a while, our daughter Hanga asked: mom, and where is the roof?
And this is how the Castle roof was born: easy on/off and washable too! And they can play house in the dark!

5. Which part of the creative process do you like best?

 When an idea comes to the stage of a sketch, then a computer plan is made out of it, it is like a new life is born. This is a magical part of our work and we both enjoy it very much. At times like this we spend long sleepless nights discussing the plans, thinking up the form, drawing, eating and drinking, laughing and of course sometimes fighting.
KATTUSKA is like our third child, demanding a lot of attention, developing slowly and beautifully, and sometimes making parents disagree on a thing or two...

6. Do you have a 5-10-year plan, or do you just do it instinctively?

It would be an exaggeration to say we have a business plan for the next 5-10 years, but we do have our idea of where we want to take KATTUSKA and what we would like to acchieve in future.
In the short run the main goal is product development. We are continuously working on new toys and we accept special orders for kids room design. It is important that people learn about this new brand and that products are showcased in as many places possible. In the long run the goal is profit realization of course, where foreign market is also important.

7. Favourite Hungarian designers!

For kids: Pucc, Bugyola, Nyúlgyár, Man
For grownups: Sári Kele, Nóri Vidó, László Naske, Nanushka

8. Favourite foreign designers!

Magis - Me Too: Eero Aarnio, Javier Mariscal, Mark Newson; Sibis, Monstrum, Patrick Weder, Mike He – Pistacchi Design, Nika Zupanc, Marimekko

Thank you  Kata, it was nice to have you here.

You can find KATTUSKA through following links:

web page
facebook
vimeo