KidsHaus

Animal Door Mats

Wipe your muddy shoes on these fun Pictogram Doormats in the shape of a jack rabbit or hippo!

Glass is Back (yay!)

There's been a huge demand to bring glass bottles back with the heightened awareness of bisphenol A, phthalate, PVC and polycarbonates as toxic materials. When I laid my eyes on these Babylife Wee-go glass and plastic-free bottles, I almost broke into a dance. With their playfully beautiful design and attention to details -- I have a feeling these are going to fly off the shelves! The colorful sleeves are free of plastics and are 100% non-toxic. The silicone nipple is also latex-free and non-toxic. The plastic ring, plug and cap contain no polycarbonates and are food grade, FDA approved and recyclable. Smart, smart, smart! I just wish they'd been around a year ago. By the way, you'll have to wait until mid-November to pre-order these little lovelies...

Babylife Comfort+Joy Teether

Babylife has quickly become one of my favorites! Check out their Comfort+Joy Teether that is phthalates, PVC, bisphenol A and latex-free. The design is simple and easy for tiny hands to clutch. Lucky for me, I can still take advantage of this product since the Mini is still working on those teeth...

Again, sorry to get you all excited but these aren't for sale just yet. They're coming soon though...

Etsy Find: Le Bouton

I'm in the midst of getting ready for a little vacation and changing jobs, so I've been a bit behind on posting beautiful things; however, a friend forwarded Le Bouton's Etsy site to me. I couldn't imagine any little girl who wouldn't want to wear one these lovely, flowy blouses everyday -- they look so comfortable and easy.

Introducing: Hazel Wood Children

Today was one of those days where I was a little uncertain of what I was going to write about. I had a few things up my sleeve but nothing that felt very compelling. That was, until I checked my inbox and found a lovely email from Jennifer of Hazel Wood Children, a new online children's store that's quite compelling and worth celebrating. Jennifer has pooled together a unique range of designers, small businesses, artists and craftsmen with an overarching philosophy of environmental consciousness (yes, including lots of organic products!). You will discover things that you have probably never seen before (I certainly did) and find items exclusively made for Hazel Wood -- note the adorable coats pictured below. Great products and great philosophy, this is my kind of store! Thanks Jennifer.

Baby Books

So, I'm in a position where I desperately need to buy a baby book for Mini or I will lead a life of regret. Okay, it's not all doomed but she's already had her first birthday and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. How will I ever remember the date when she first crawled? Her first giggle? Panic is starting to set in! I have a baby book for Ms. Bean that is probably half full and I don't have anything to show for the Mini as of yet! So, I managed to drum up a couple of lovely choices, plus stumbled upon a gorgeous book especially for adopted babies.

First off, there's Binth! Need I say more? Everything they do is absolutely beautiful. It's just a bit pricier than I was intending to spend but I may end up springing for it (as the guilt settles in)...

May Papers created this lovely baby book with photographs that tug at the heart strings. Seeing some of the photos brought many of those fleeting baby memories back. Love it...

boygirlparty illustrated an utterly gorgeous baby book for an adopted child. The pictures speak for themselves (shhhh...)

Then there's Nikki McClure's "Baby's First 1000 Days" baby journal which might be a good idea for me since I'm already behind on baby's first 365 days!

Art sale: Trish Grantham

Trish Grantham is on a roll. She's having another art sale today and it's a stellar collection of work! Don't hesitate...

Mikodesign

Mikodesign wrote a comment on my post about Keet in Huis one day so, naturally, I checked out her lovely blog and found that she is one of those admirable women who gushes with creativity. Mikodesign is based in the Netherlands and makes fantastic bags, clothes, dress-up clothes (hint* Halloween), aprons, decorative items, toys and more.  Her beautifully crafted things are found on etsy or poppytalk handmade.  The owl underwear set is irresistable! Time to do some shopping...

Sandra Isaksson

British designer and illustrator Sandra Isaksson started ISAK in 2006 which is "all about beautiful happy things!" and has already created a phenomenal range of trays, dishes, greeting cards and wallpaper. To top it all off, she created utterly charming kids counting posters! I had so much fun perusing her website and was in awe of how talented one person can be! I particularly enjoyed her description for the 123 Counting Poster: "They can be called a "flock", when there are so many. I have counted them using all my fingers, and all my toes. I see them all when I play in the woods after dinner, they tell me their names but all I can hear is tweet." She also created equally adorable 123 Counting Poster 1-10 and the ABC Alphabet poster.

   

Opus Shelf

I absolutely love this Opus Shelving, designed by Sean Yoo. How fun would it be filled with a bunch of kids' books and accoutrements? It's unconventionally shaped cubbies add so much character to what would otherwise be a basic shelving unit. Apparently, Yoo was inspired by a Roman wall technique called "opus incertum" and then found the same pattern repeated in dried lake beds and broken sidewalks. You wouldn't think that this shelf is super lightweight, made from 100% recyclable polypropylene, and can be stacked or set side-by-side using a strong tape.

Petra Bose

A friend from London sent me a link to her friend's site, Petra Bose. Petra is one busy lady and mother of 2 making everything from wrapping paper, lampshades, clothes and more. She uses a lot of vintage prints and patterns to create these wonderful things for the home.

Via Toy Boxes

Being from Seattle, we like to take mini-road trips to Portland for that sense of escape. Portland is hopping with amazing restaurants, smart city planning and a wave of incredibly creative artists and craftspeople. So, not surprisingly, I discovered Via Toy Boxes out of Portland. Inspired by his daughter, Jon Spencer began building open toy boxes because he found toys were always getting buried in their cavernous toy chest. Via Toy Boxes is a ready-to-assemble modular storage system that allows you to customize any set-up that fits your needs -- check out their website to see the endless variations. Great stuff...

 

Etsy find: Baby Leila

Ms. Bean is in need of some new duds this Fall and I figured I would rather spend my money on things that are unique and handmade than go to the huge retailers. I love argyle prints and found this Sweet Little Dress from Baby Leila with a bird stitched to the front pocket. While I'm in the purchasing-mood, I think the Mod Headband is coming home with me too.

Art sale: Trish Grantham

Über talented Trish Grantham is having another online art sale today. Don't miss this one! There are some truly adorable pieces...

Denyse Schmidt Crib Bedding

Denyse Schmidt is someone I would love to meet someday. Her quilts are beautiful and timeless. If I lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut I would have to attend  her workshops -- even though I haven't a clue about sewing. All of that aside, check out Denyse's crib bedding that has been scaled-down and recolored from some of her most popular designs. I'm absolutely infatuated with all of them! You can purchase all of her styles at Seattle's own Velocity Art & Design.

Art find: PCP

If you're looking for inexpensive art to decorate your walls with, Los Angeles/Japanese based illustrator PCP has reproduced his beautiful work in poster format -- and they're only $20! Very dreamy and ethereal imagery, his illustrations of forests and animals make you feel calm and happy. With a little luck, maybe some of that calmness will infiltrate into your child's bloodstream.

K Studio Pillows

K Studios is a mother and daughter team that creates quirky and endearing pillows made from sustainable materials such as hemp, organic cotton and recycled wool. The production is made in-house and managed by Mary and Shelly Klein. It's hard to resist buying a couple of these pillows especially knowing who's behind each creation and knowing that they're supporting sustainable living. Their range of pillows can be found at Design Public.

Pakhuis Oost

Back in 2003, my husband, Ms. Bean and I took a 10 day holiday to Amsterdam and it instantly became our favorite destination. So much so that we went back in 2005 for seconds! Amsterdam is bursting with great design (bursting!), friendly people and a unique culture. While riding bikes and exploring small shops along the way, we stumbled into a fantastic kids' store called Keet in Huis and it was close to a spiritual experience for me. My husband considered dragging me out of there but, bless his heart, instead allowed me wander for nearly an hour while I gasped and touched everything. Because we had to travel light, we were limited to buying something small. Ms. Bean's item-of-choice was a sparkly little crown made of plastic and sequins (shown below) -- it was a fine choice! So, why do I reminisce? Well, I stumbled upon that sparkly crown over the weekend -- now with a broken arm after being stepped on. On a mission to find a replacement for the magical little crown somewhere in the US,  I was elated to find that Rose & Radish not only carries Pakhuis Oost's crown but also the best squirrel and bird bookends and deer coat hanger. For your pleasure, I'm also showing a few photos from Keet in Huis's website so you can see why I was so enchanted!

 
 

The Bird Has Landed

I ordered a few wall decals from Vinyl Wall Art after writing a recent post about their adorable designs. I couldn't be happier with the outcome after applying one of the birds above a piece of artwork in Ms. Bean's room. She loved it so much that she crafted the bird a train engineer's hat out of construction paper. I'm still working on finding a home for a couple of birds and an owl...

Lighting I Love

A room without good lighting is like a bird without feathers! I love nearly everything Anthropologie is doing these days and their lighting simply makes me swoon. Here are a couple of creations that could easily translate into a child's room.