One easy way to personalise the nursery or kids room is to use wall decals. They are easy to put up as well as to remove. And you can find them in all kinds of sizes, designs and colours these days.
When I stumbled upon Mej Mej I was instantly smitten with their happy colours and how these stickers* will turn every room into a sun filled space.
These lovely watercolour designs that come in rainbow shades are adorable. (in case you are not so much into rainbows, the team is happy to accommodate special colour requests!)
Talking about the team, Mej Mej is a husband and wife artist duo, who are making and creating art for the last 30 years. Ten years ago, their first daughter, Ellen, joined their team. Then Julianna, and then Margaret. And Mej is an acronym for the three daughters. It is all a family affair…
Every item is lovingly created from their studio in Austin, Texas. They print and die-cut the reposition-able fabric decals making sure colors remain true and accurate.
Like I said, those rainbow decals* are really fun and add a great dose of happiness to a room. And you can really have some fun and play around with those dots and letters…
Will Mej Mej decals damage your walls?
Not at all! They are made from woven fabric with a self-adhesive backing. The decals are reusable, removable, and reposition-able! Additionally, they are thin which allows them to sit flat on walls. And they have a matte finish and are not shiny like vinyl.
Of course there are not only rainbows and especially for the nursery* you may like those woodland characters and designs. How about a flying fox, a whale or a little landscape?
And like I said, these are easy to remove. Once your child grows up and is interested in specific characters or themes you can change…
Talking about nurseries, a mobile is a ‘must’ and I have the best nursery mobiles for you.
This time I will not let you wait as long as I did for the Winter edition and share my finds, experience, and news from Pitti Bimbo that took place mid-June today.
Based in Florence, Italy keeps its spot to be the best trade show in the kids’ fashion universe. To sum up, the headquarters of kids’ fashion and lifestyle attracted approximately 10,000 visitors – again!
And this summer edition was packed with events, shows, and special projects as never before. From innovative projects on research to the latest ideas from the big brands, smaller independent designers or parties. So a lot was going on (and I have to admit that it was not always easy to keep track for me) but everything I saw was also of really high quality. Altogether, the special projects are supporting the whole event, the collections and definitely my experience as a press visitor.
Overall, my favourite project was the newly added Upper Level of the Main Pavilion. The great innovation of Pitti Bimbo 89 and it is called The Kid’s Lab! In short – younger, more experimental brands from the parts of Kids Fizz, The Nest, EcoEthic, ActiveLab, and Kids Evolution have separate but joined together areas here. Which makes it much easier to navigate and to enjoy. In essence, there is light, there is a red line and there is a lot of inspiration up there!
Pitti Bimbo 89 in numbers:
+ 603 collections, 399 of which from abroad
+ 5,100 buyers, 2.400 of which from abroad
+ a total of 10,000 visitors
Generally speaking, the industry is not very dynamic at the moment. And we have a lot of ‘the same’, no ‘risk-taking’ collections and a shift is slowly coming in the wholesale process too. But the brands are committed and they try to be innovative as much as they can and allow themselves in this economic situation. And the general feedback from brands was that the quality of visitors was very good. Good orders, serious interest, and inspiring conversations are essential. And in the end, it is all that matters, isn’t?
Also, my trend report for Summer 2020 will follow shortly!
More highlights:
Meeting the famous French designer and illustrator, Nathalie Lété. She came with her first book in English, that is filled with 200 pages of illustrations and instructions dedicated to arts and crafts.
Australian brand Banabae who showed in The Nest. An ethical and contemporary baby brand, with a big dose of Woodstock and 70’s vibes. Really cool designs for nursery beddings, rompers, and baby accessories. Loved it!
The shows – see below for more!
Manuela, from Hungary, had a lovely collection. Cool earthy tones, beautiful silhouettes, and interesting textures. My favourite collection from the brand to date.
Not to miss, Miss L. Ray came with a lovely collection that is great for tweens. Lots of easy to wear yet chic styles with a sporty influence. Cool mix of fabrics and fluid shapes.
Kid’s runway shows:
Il Gufo presented in a very romantic setting in the Torrigiani Gardens in Florence. They built a secret garden in a greenhouse and the show was vibrant and just wonderful.
In brief, the Summer 2020 collection originates from two ideas: a dichotomy between urban and natural elements. And in that sweet garden, we saw children playing, having picnics, and jumping in puddles. Personally, it was refreshing to create a collection with endless possibilities that, most of all, allows children to be children.
The Moda Portugal Show. For the first time, a multi-brand show with Portuguese brands took place, founded by CENIT, a branch of the Portuguese Association of Clothing and Apparel Industry, Kids. Six designers showed: Cherry Papaya, Knot, Laranjinha, Patachou, Phi Clothing, and Play Up.
All in all, it was a very cheerful, happy and colourful show that had the real summer feeling and lots of joy. Especially Cherry Papaya showed a cool and fresh collection that appeals to both, boys and girls. And Spoiler alert: Watch out for something special happening between Cherry Papaya X Paul & Paula next year.
The Apartment Show. Always a beautiful show with a great set design. And a great start into the Friday since the show is held in the morning. We saw Pero, Michaela Buerger, Velveteen, Amelie et Sophie, and Piccola Ludo and the theme was “con la testa fra le nuvole”, meaning “head in the clouds”.
Pero was fantastic as usual. Beautiful garments with lots of details, flowers galore and magnificent hats to make it perfect. (they are from Lorna Murray by the way)
Furthermore, The Apartment celebrated its 10th anniversary as well. Focusing on elegant and original brands destined for high-end boutiques, it is always a feast for the eye to walk in here.
And the final click? The Pitti Special Click Party!
Filled with great music, entertainment, food (Italy!!!) and, most of all, great company. I always feel that this is such a good way to let business be business and to enjoy. Not to mention that having fun together is a good base for working together. Coupled with the stunning Villa Le Corti, the place to be that evening, a synchronized swimming performance, yummy food… we all danced into the night!
In a word: Grazie!
Backstage images: Eeva Suutari / Runway photos: Giovanni Giannoni / Party photo: AKAstudio – collective
Today we are talking about a topic that is more and more present in my own life as well – where to shop cool tween styles? Especially online?
Truth is that most children’s fashion designers stop at age 10 (on average), some may go up a bit more but the French or Belgium brands, for example, size so small that a size 16 just about fits my 12-year-old.
The industry caught up and there are indeed more teen or tween brands around, but the shopping part stays tricky. Why? Because a lot of shops stop at around age 10 as well…
And then I got an email from Jessica who is the owner of online kids boutique Little Skye who asked me if we can collaborate. A quick look at her shop and I said yes. Because she has a whole category dedicated to tweens!
So if you are the same as me, with a tween at home, and you are not inspired by the high street you have to check this out. Kids trendy clothing, a great mix of easy to wear as well as fashion brands, from urban wear to boho chic. And every piece is age appropriate, cute, and tween-approved. Think crop tops that aren’t too cropped, cool shorts, fun sweaters and more staples to wear again and again…
Do you wonder how everything can be tween approved and selected? Jessica and her colleagues are always double checking with their own tweens. They even take them to fashion shows to get immediate feedback and selections.
So what is currently the hit in tween clothing?
Denim shorts – basically never out of style and choosing a high waisted version makes the crop top easier too. (as a tip!)
Yellow – the colour of this summer and it will stay a bit from what I saw at the fairs over the last weeks. (trend report following)
Athleisure – athletic leisure wear is still in vogue. Sporty, casual, stylish and cool. T H E look.
Anything tropical, like pineapple prints or palm appliques. Flamingos, toucans, coconuts… you name it!
Playsuits – tweens are loving these easy pieces and you can find them in many variations.
Cropped tops!
From my own tween I can confirm the above trends. And also that dresses are not an element anymore, or at least only very rarely. And she loves hip accessories like cute hair ties, fun socks, or a quirky backpack.
I find this phase very interesting and also like to discover what my daughter enjoys and what she is drawn to. For now it is all shorts, fun t shirt, sandals or sneakers and a casual jumper. Life can be so easy… and I definitively enjoy the athleisure wave. Chic but comfortable!
No tween yet? Little Skye has plenty of trendy girls clothes for other ages too!
Hello Hello!
I am here with another cool family interior. Times three. Three kids rooms, one as fun as the other plus one fantastic ‘sleepover’ fortress to host little guests.
This modern farmhouse is situated in upstate New York and full of unexpected pops of colour and patterns. And it is really great to see how each kids room has its own personality and colour scheme. Lets open the door to some punchy colours, bold, funky wallpapers as well as traditional elements.
A very charming mishmash of styles:
I assume that we are looking at a family with 2 boys and one girl. The boys’ rooms are very geographic and the little girl is living a pink dream with one striking wallpaper. (from Pierre Frey called Otomi)
And because of the three little ones, everything in the home has a very practical component too. Each surface was protected with hard-to-damage natural materials or coated in exterior-grade fabrics to avoid stress about spills or messes. So clever and really something to keep in mind for future projects!
And they seem to have many sleepovers too…
At least this is how I see this room. To host little friends. Because I am counting 6 beds in here. And since each child has a bed in their own room this must be the sleepover haven. So cool! Each guest gets a little built-in shelf too to put down their important belongings.
And those bathrooms. That shower (which seems to be the size of our family bathroom here) is so fun. With a ‘real’ door and a bench inside. I am sold.
Talk about an entrance…
What do you think about this place? Nice place to spend weekends and holidays isn’t?
Are you watching the Women Football World Cup? We do and I am so happy and proud that my kids follow it with the same enthusiasm as they watched last years Men’s World Cup. And I have to say that I so impressed on how these teams have progressed…
But of course, women football is light years away from the men and when you read this article about their earnings and sacrifices. It makes you cringe. A lot!
On the other hand, I hope that you all manage to stay cool! And hydrated…
I gathered, picked, selected and curated (ah, one of those overused words from 2018) my favourites for a very happy month of July for you! Enjoy:
And we are starting with this print! I shared this on my FB page a while back and it went viral. Not just somehow viral, but huge… it was crazy. And I love it because the message is important and the more it gets out, the better. From Atelier Mave!
Often people that I just met ask if I have kids. So I tell them yes and some ask how many. So I say four. Ha… the reactions are usually quite funny and interesting. So how about this t shirt* when I am out with my complete crew…
