BAGGU

I am totally smitten by these lightweight nylon daypacks by BAGGU. They come in an array of striking colors and folds into its own pocket when you are done with them. Best thing is that they come with a reasonable prize tag as well - 24 $ US.

via momfilter

Oh Boy!

A rocking little kit for a boy from Smallable's amazing selection. Loving the red/white/blue combo and it is so easy to mix and match with all the other things in the wardrobe. The big real teddy is pretty darn awesome as well :)

1. Tee by American Outfitters
2. Shorts by Bellerose
3. Jacket by American Outfitters
4. Shoes by Spring Court

Bellissimo!

It is no secret that the Italians are world class when it comes to shoe making. The other day I was introduced to this label, Kickers and had a look at their website. So many great shoes for the little feet. Here are some of my favorites...

The Brand | Spring/Summer 12

Yep it is definitely Spring in the air over in Europe. Even The Brand who is normally quite careful with bold colors have gone all the way with their new SS12 collection. Here is a little selection that you can find over at Babyshop.com

Moments | Rain rain rain

We had an absolutely "suntastic" weekend, with the temperatures soaring over 37c, but in true Melbourne fashion we are now bogged down with loads of rain and a strange humid condition. You really can't tell what weather you are going to have here. "Layer up" is the phrase everybody live by down here, and that is what we are doing today... layering up and dreaming of the lovely times we had in the water this past weekend.

M wearing, cap by Elements, Swimsuit by Cotton on Kids.

Things to Love | Black & White trends

I don't think anyone has missed that color is in this season, so to shake things up a bit I found some very nice black n white unisex pieces for a baby girl or boy. These items would definitely end up in my basket if I had a baby to dress...

1. Baby jumpsuit by KIDSCASE
2.Baby cardigan by LE MARCHAND D'ETOILES
3. Maxence baby playsuit by STELLA MCCARTNEY

Fairtrade Footwear

Is another world possible? Veja believe it is and that's why they built their company around these three principles:

1. To use purely ecological inputs

2. To use fair trade cotton and latex

3. To respect worker's dignity

These guys feel that the era of good will and nice speeches is over and now is an era of action over intentions from which Veja has created a global chain that emphasizes solidarity and environment from the small producers in Brazil to the public.

Veja sneakers are made with organic cotton and natural latex sourced from Amazonia. The canvas used to make their sneakers is organic cotton which comes from a cooperative of small producers in the Northeast regions of Brazil where cotton and food crop is exploited without manure or pesticides. On top of this, they produce all trainer soles from wild latex produced by Amazonian Hevea trees. The Amazon Jungle is the only place on Earth where this tree grows in a totally wild state. Using this is a small step to preventing deforestation.

Above is the new collection of kids shoes from Veja. They are available at Smallable.

LABEL SPOTLIGHT | Oh My Kids

Meet Oh My Kids. A young label created by Leen Vanbroekhoven. It is literally being born as I am typing this, and that is what makes it even more exciting. I think this label has a huge potential and I wish Leen the very best on this new adventure she is taking on. I am loving this kind of gung ho approach. You get an idea and you run with it. I think this is how the best labels get made. You discover something you enjoy to do and you do it well. I asked Leen to do a short introduction of herself and her label, and here is what she wrote.

****************
I'm Leen, mother of two, Annabel (3,5) and Oscar (1).

Oh My Kids is a very young label. My first collection is being created as we speak.
8 years ago I got a college art degree as a graphic designer, but never used it professionally. After school I went straight to my current job as a Zara Home store manager. Over the years I've always dreamt of running my own business, and after lots of ideas and dreams, Oh My Kids just came along unexpected.

Last summer my daughter and I did a DIY project, printing fabric, making it into a skirt. As I have no training in sewing what so ever, and hardly knew where I could buy fabric, I just go some plain white cotton and started dyeing and printing it with handmade stamps to make for an interesting design. Peoples reactions to Annabel's new clothes were overwhelming and so I kept going, trying to come up with more interesting shapes and patterns.

Last December, when I saw an open call for designers to enter a fair I hardly hesitated…I got selected, which meant I had to have a collection ready within two months. We're half way right now!

If you'd told me a year ago I would be designing my own kids label right now I wouldn't have believed it, but looking back it actually seems quite natural to have landed in this discipline, as it combines all my creative loves such as illustrating, photography, graphic design, fashion,…
Now its just a matter of finding my way in a new world in a really short time. If all goes to plan, my first limited collection will be for sale at the end of March, through a platform for young designers www.deinvasie.be

****************

I am so looking forward to seeing this new collection soon! In the meantime you can read Oh My Kids blog and have a look behind the scenes.

Moments | Heat is on!

Another hot day in Oz, 37c in the shade, but we conquered the heat and went to one of our favorite cafes/craft places Tucci Brown, who were celebrating their 1st birthday. We had a great time with live music a bbq sizzle and some refreshing drinks. Kids had a lovely time with face painting and card making. We definitely have to sign up for some nice arts & craft there soon! Check out Tucci Brown on FB.

Bug2Hug | Brand Watch

This Lithuanian label is filled with knitted gems for both mums and kids. The team of Bug2Hug consists of 4 mums (all raising 8 sons in total!) and their joint effort shines through in this exciting knitted adventure. I am loving their hues and tones in their sweatshirts and cardigans and the fun skater beanie is such a cool accessory (you can wear it both ways). All their items is available from their online shop. Check it out!

10 minutes with...

Welcome to another 10 Minutes With interview from the land of online fashion! This time I am a bit extra excited because now I also have a chance to introduce my newest sponsor all the way from Finland. Lilla Company is run by Jenni Uusikartano, a mother with a high passion for children's fashion. In 2011 she decided to do something with this passion and in August last year she opened her virtual doors to Lilla Company - a place to find some unique sourced labels from around the world but also some fabulous Scandinavian labels as well. Tag along behind the scenes and find out what makes Lilla Company a bit different and out of the ordinary! Let's start shall we??

Can you tell us a little about how Lilla Company started? What is your inspiration, and how did you come up with the name?

It all started when I had my son. I loved to dress him up from the first day on and he surely had a lot of clothes as a baby! Love for children’s clothing kept growing and I started thinking about possibilities to open my own shop. A web shop seemed to be a good way to start up the business: since I can run it from my own home, there are no extra costs like rent.

It was obvious from the beginning that I’ll be concentrating mainly on Scandinavian labels but having something else as well. The name ‘Lilla company’ is a mixture of languages: ‘lilla’ means little in Swedish so that’s the Scandinavian part. ‘Company’ represents the rest of the world.

Lilla Company has grown quite quickly since opening its doors in 2011. Your selection of labels are a great mix between international and Scandinavian labels, like Mini Rodini, Kulör, Bobo Choses and Gro Company to just mention a few. How do you go about choosing the labels you think would suit LC? Any new labels coming up on the horizon?

Making a selection is actually easy and difficult at the same time. It is easy because I know quite well what I want to sell but what makes it difficult is that there are so many labels to choose from. I have tried to choose brands that not every other Finnish web shop sells. I’m not afraid of trying something new and bringing new brands to Finnish market. For instance Kulör, Bobo Choses and Mini Nümph are labels that you can find only at Lilla company in Finland.
This spring we will be adding Shampoodle, Popupshop, Ebbe Kids and Aarrekid to our selection. Next fall there will new labels as well when American Nununu and British-Swedish Indikidual join us.

So far LC has been mainly for Scandinavian and Finnish users, but I understand you are now also adding an international option for your online shoppers from around the world?

Yes, we are in the middle of building our web shop in English. It is not only the shop we have to translate but we have to add payment systems that suit international business. Actually we have just today received our first international order all the way from Japan. This makes me really excited about the future!

Most Finnish shops seem to focus on only local labels or mainly Scandinavian labels, but Lilla Company seem to be expanding the fashion boundaries a bit further with some very exciting international labels. What made you take that chance, and do you think Finnish customers will give more international labels a try?

I definitely hope that us Finns are ready for something new. I know for sure that there is a crowd who likes these labels, the question is, do they find us. Like I said before, there’s no point in selling the same labels that everybody else. You have to try to find your own niche in the market.

If you could pick a favorite set for a boy and a girl from Lilla Company what would that be?

Oh, there are too many favorites! I love the quality of Boys&Girls and especially their star prints are close to my heart. I like combining different brands from my shop so maybe Bobo Choses shorts and Molo Kids sleeveless top would be great for a boy. For a girl, I’d probably go with Milibe’s grey dress or jumpsuit and a coral top underneath.

What can we expect from Lilla Company in the near future, any dreams, plans?

Already this has been a dream come true to me. Lilla company has brought so much joy to my life and I hope it continues to do so. Since we only have been operating for a half a year, it’s difficult to say where we are headed. The start looks good and of course I’m making new plans for this little company of mine all the time. Maybe I’ll open a physical shop someday, but where in the world, that remains to be seen.

A big thanks to Jenni Uusikartano for taking the time and answer some questions for us. I am so happy that more Finnish webstores are taking an international approach, and making it possible for us around the world to be apart of their amazing design hub that is Finland. That was definitely one of the major reason I thought Lilla Company was a perfect choice for sponsoring Minor De:tales. Right now a new big shipment of clothes from Mini Rodini, Gro Company and H.J.O.R.T. Copenhagen has just arrived at the door step of Lilla Company so there are even more good reasons to go and check out some seriously great looking threads...

VISIT: LILLA COMPANY

Moments | End of the Week

Just as summer is officially coming to an end here in Australia ( at least according to the calendar ) it came back in style today. A whopping 36c and there was only one place to go after school pick up. We got a good chance to try out the new boogie board, and after a few tries, Miss M fell in love with the thing. I have already promised to go again tomorrow... oh dear.

Guest Blogging | Little Remix

It is always nice to wake up and realize that is Friday! Today I was doing a little close up look at Danish label Little Remix, so if you got a few minutes to spare and want to read up on a exciting label, you can do so here at the Babiekins blog. Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Moments | Skater boy

We have been enjoying the warm summer afternoons after school pick up. M runs around playing with friends that lives close to us and D is busy trying out every action based thing he can get his hands on. Yesterday it was my old skateboard that got the try. The board is almost the size of himself but that didn't faze him. I am happy he chose to ride it lying down though otherwise a big helmet had to go on. He had a good time just figuring out what to do with it and loved he could go fast on his belly. We have a hit!

D wears: Top by Rusty, Beanie by Cotton on Kids, pants by Mini Rodini, shoes by Native. You can find Native shoes over at Minibots.

COS

Two great outfits for a girl from COS. There is something so wonderful simplistic with COS's childrens range. Nice clean colours with a lot of pop and nice graphics. These two outfits are also on sale which makes it so much easier to want to click here and check it out.

indikidual | Brand Watch

The new label indikidual is a British/Swedish kidswear brand. The unisex capsule collection is for all kids aged 3 months to 4 years. The range allows for layering and encourages mixing and matching to create individual looks and styles. All garments are made using organic cotton and are designed to be practical and comfy as well as fashionable and expressive. All the pieces in the collection are nicknamed after little indikiduals that provided inspiration for the range.

Say hello to Nodgers, Minty, Wriggles, Dogga Dogga and many others. I am sure this label is going to do very well on the market. Keep an eye out for them in the near future!

Unicorn Love

When M saw this tee by Mini & Maximus she almost fell off the chair. " Wow, look unicorns, TWO unicorns and they got crowns, that is like the best t-shirt ever!!" I don't think you can get a better review than that from a kid. I guess we will have to get one :)

MILIBE COPENHAGEN | Brand Watch

Danish label Milibe Copenhagen has released their new SS12 collection. I am totally loving the two toned, soft garments. The yellow and orange goes so well with the light grey and the relaxed look of it all is so right for this summer. You can buy Milibe Copenhagen from Lilla Company who have just received some great pieces from this collection.

"Teenangel"

The other day we sat at the bus stop and there were a couple of teenagers there, laughing loudly and being typical teenagers. It must have sparked something in M because all of a sudden she said the following... I guess she got the whole teenager thing down. I love how she can't say teenager but instead has thought it has been called a teenangel.

GIVEAWAY | Ada Ada

You don't want to miss the Ada Ada giveaway they are having at the moment. When they reach 1000 likes at their Facebook page, they will randomly giveaway a 1000 € wardrobe of Ada Ada wear! Created with a lot of love from three sisters all the way from Israel, the collections are never a disappointment - this latest collection is no exception. Gorgeous hues of steel and pale pink will be a classic addition to any boy or girl wardrobe for years to come. So what is not to like? Try your luck and go and like Ada Ada today!

Moments | Going Up the Mountain

We took a trip up the mountain today with an old steam train. We have wanted to do it for awhile now but somehow it just hasn't happened until today. It was great for the kids since they got to see the beautiful surroundings up close and of course they were over the moon they got to ride with an old steam train. We had a 2 hour stop off in a little mountain village called Lakeside. We topped up with lunch and got to enjoy the lake and got to feed some amazing looking Rosella birds. Then it was time to head on back on the train. We tried the sitting in the window style on the way back, which of course made it even better! Great day...










M wears: Top by Kram Barnkläder, pants by Missy Munster, shoes by Natives, D wears: Tee by H.J.O.R.T.H Copenhagen, pants by Nununu, shoes by puma, cap by CTH Mini - You can find H.J.O.R.T.H Copenhagen over at Lilla Company.

Black & White

Simple animal beauty - by Finger in the Nose, available here.

Moments | Let's Play

Getting our kicks at a playground this weekend. Full speed ahead!






M wears: Sleeveless top by Minti, tank top by Country Road, leggings by Kapp Ahl, shoes by converse, cap by Elements, D wears: Yogi tee by Cotton on Kids, pants by Rittenhouse, cap by Country Road.