Archive for February 24, 2012

24 Feb 2012
Deco

Bunting flags in the room: Not just parties

In deco, sometimes the little touches are the ones that make the difference. I think that there’s no need to overdo a room to make it special, you only have to find an element that adds a little bit of personality and fun.

(seen on decopeques)

To me, bunting flags have been a real revelation, I have rediscovered them as decorative elements, not only to be used in birthday or new year’s eve parties.

That’s why I would like to share with you my latest obsession and show you some beautiful examples of bunting flags I’ve found on the internet.

These rounded-shaped are from Lemon Tree Studio and you can buy them on Etsy.

Also from Etsy you can find these super coloured ones from boobahblue and these vintage fabric ones from pillowfactory.

These from HeidiAdnum also can be a more discrete option with its solid colours.

(HeidiAdnum, Sweetncozy, Theoldpinkporch)

I love these birdies ones from Livvylousboutique and these softies from Oeufnyc.

And a little more autum-like, these pom, available on the on-line shop monjolishop.

Finally I couldn’t resist but to show you some objects that also have bunting flags, so you can check how trendy are bunting flags…This necklace from Anthropologie (that is no longer available but in this tutorial you can learn how to do a DIY one), this super cute body from Gap and this pillow from freshly picked.

What do you think? Do you like bunting flags? Will you consider them as a deco element of your minimoi’s room?

cuski | 5 comments | Tags: , ,
20 Feb 2012
Gifts & Gadgets

Sunglasses for babies

Baby Banz gafas de sol bebe - minimoi

Last year, when my minimoi was 5 months old we had the great idea of going to the snow with her. We were looking forward to walk through a beautiful snowed forest with her sitting comfy on the baby wrap and try snow rackets for the first time. We had her baby snowsuit with detachable mittens and shoes, wooden hat, sunscreen… and all of a sudden I realized: she would need sunglasses as well!


Photo by Maggie Pakulska-Kubiszewski

After so many times listening to people say that “sun reflects on snow are very dangerous for eyes and skin” I almost forgot! Luckily I realized on time to postpone the trip until we were fully equipped.

So I started my research once again and YES, babies do need to protect their eyes from the sun more than anyone. In fact only 27% of the parents take into consideration the importance of babies’ sunglasses.


Vintage pic from http://www.flickr.com/photos/barbaresco/

Which means that sunglasses are a perfect gift for babies! For sure anyone will have thought of it before (neither the parents). You’ll become the baby guru (or freak if you don’t explain their use well).

But don’t freak out! This doesn’t mean that babies should be wearing sunglasses every time they get out of the house (they could become photophobic). Sunglasses are intended for extreme conditions such as snow, the sea or swimming pools.

Top 5 features baby sunglasses should have:

  1. Certification from official organisms
  2. 100% UV protection
  3. Category 3 or 4
  4. Full coverage of their eyes
  5. Unbreakable or highly resistant

I checked in several optical stores and pharmacies but I wasn’t convinced so once again I found the solution on the net.

Baby Banz

This Australian brand is the worldwide leader on baby and kid’s sunglasses. Their sunglasses have 100% UV protection and are ranked as category 3. Glasses and frame are made of polycarbonate so they’re resistant but lightweight.

I finally bought this brand because I found them safe and comfortable at the same time. I was looking for sunglasses without temple arms and these have a neoprene elastic strap and an embedded silicone nose and brow piece for added comfort. They cost me around 17 euros.

KI ET LA

We discovered this brand two weeks ago at Little Barcelona. Their designs are cool and practical. Each sunny has a rounded and enveloping reversible frame that results in 2 sizes in 1 sunglass, depending on nose development.

They’re produced in hypoallergenic elastomer (no joint frame = 0 pinching and 0 movable part) for an optimal comfort.

These sunnies provide with maximum protection since their lenses are anti scratch and unbreakable of category 4 (100% UVA and UVB filter). When I decide to buy some sunglasses with temple arms I will be taking them into account. They cost around 23 euros.

Julbo

Julbo is a known ski sunglasses manufacturer. For babies they have the “Looping” model which can be worn on both sides.

Biboo de Imaginarium

They’re a copy from Baby Banz (category 3 as well) although they’re only available in blue and red and are more expensive (around 20 euros).

Béaba

This French brand has always very well designed and practical things. However their sunglasses don’t convince me 100%. But since variety is the spice of life I enclose some pictures so that you can judge for yourself.

Decathlon

They manufacture shades for kids from 2 years on. They’re category 4 and the cheapest: 9 to 11 €.

Well, I think that now with this selection you have a good “vision” of the different sunglasses for babies. The second part is how to convince your kid to keep them on for a reasonable period of time! From my experience when the sun is strong enough they will leave them on naturally but if not these are my tricks:

  1. Positive reinforcement: Oh! You look so gorgeous! You look like your daddies…
  2. If he takes them off, you put them on over and over again… You have to repeat this operation till he understands that parents always win.

Good luck and enjoy your outdoor activities!

minimoi | 4 comments | Tags: , , , , ,
17 Feb 2012
Party ideas

Original disguises: Nor princesses neither superheroes

For those parents who resist to dress up their minimoi as princesses or superheroes, we bring you these fun alternatives that we found on the internet. We warn you that some of them are a complete madness and can be misunderstood amongst the children’s target, but at least we will laugh a little bit.

(Photo via sarahillenberger)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

You can’t be more glamorous tan this little girl who is the live image of Audrey at Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This is a real princess not like the Disney ones.

Ewok

This disguise is great for Star Wars freaks, and also helps your minimoi to keep very warm during carnival time.

Edward Scissorhands

For those parents who have a Tim Burton’s dark side.

Dalai Lama

How to take advantage of your baby’s bald head? Well, dressing him up like Dalai Lama…hahaha!

I could eat them…

Have you ever said: this little child is so adorable that I could eat him? These parents have made this sentence come true by disguising their minimoi into delicious dishes: a spaghetti plate, some sushi nigiris, a Frapuccino from Starbucks and even a lobster!! For those who have liked the nigiri choice you can buy the disguise in this Etsy store.

Not reccomended options

And if what you want is to humiliate your little minimoi and make them hate you for your whole life when they see their baby pictures…We present you the “car air freshener disguise”…Please don’t do this to them.

Or this one as Mr.T from the A. Team or like Clockwork Orange…speechless.

Cute disguises

Some other cute and more socially accepted options are these disguises from pottery barn or this fun owl disguise that you can do yourself buy following some easy steps at alphamom blog.

And as I’m a big fan of the retro style I also would like to show you this vintage look disguises: a balloon traveler, space rocket and strong circus man.

Finally this cool disguises so that you and your child can disguise following the same theme: one can be a white shark victim and the other can be a little white shark… Ok, I admit I have watched too much “Shark week”.

cuski | 2 comments
13 Feb 2012
Gifts & Gadgets • Party ideas

Sweet Valentine’s day

I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, the truth is that I’m more into Sant Jordi, but anyway I do like the idea of celebrating a special day with your couple, preparing something unexpected and romantic…

The other day I bumped into a very curious book called “Love Injections” and I loved it because it wasn’t the typical cheesy thing since it showed original ideas to surprise your couple. Here come some nice examples that illustrate that love can also be creative.

And, if you have a minimoi in the house, why don’t you just involve them in the preparation of a detail for dad or mum? One of the ideas that I love are the customizable cookies from Kukis which come with some markers or these candies that you can personalize with loving messages. Click here to see how to do the lollipops and the candy bag.

If you prefer to buy a small present, here you have some ideas that can be inspiring… I love the “amor de padre” dress from Noñoño (it’s on sale right now). There are also presents for the babies: check this hearted diaper changer from Zara Home… so beautiful!

Regarding sweet presents, we have these marvelous cakes from Florentinecupcakes and some hearted chocolates from Hoffmann’s bakery.

You can also order this beautiful and customizable hearts frame on etsy, and the loving cookies from Mr. Wonderful or yummy cupcakes from Ilovemuffins.

And finally to end with something even sweeter, I leave you with this beautiful ad… Sweet Valentine’s day!

Field Notes: Red Blooded from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.

cuski | 3 comments
09 Feb 2012
Deco • Fashion

The best of Little Barcelona (Part Two)

As promised, here is the second part of our special “Little Barcelona” summary.

EMILE ET IDA
This brand captivated us for its elegance and their french “charme”. We would like to highlight their printed Peter Pan collar necklaces for kids. These accessories have become very popular among adults but it was the first time we saw them in its minimoi version. It’s incredible to see how such a simple accessory can dramatically change a look.



BIBU
We love these pillows not only because of their fun and colourful animal shapes but also because of their original and exclusive back-side prints designed by Yuly. Ah! And they’re printed in non-toxic water-based inks and extremely soft!

VISUAL POETRY BARCELONA
The guys from Visual Poetry design conceptual t-shirts that represent poems with drawings. One can find the same design in adult and kid’s size (very minimoi). We specially liked a t-shirt with ants on it (even on the inside). It’s ideal to play tickles with your kid!

LE VENT ATELIER
Regarding fashion accessories we can’t miss out this brand. They design cute and customized diadems and headbands on demand.

I LOVE GORGEOUS
It was one of our discoveries in Little Barcelona. For a moment we wished we were little girls again only to be able to fit in those embroidered, tulled and paillette dresses. Their collection is a mix of romantic-vintage dresses with the most actual trends. No surprise that Kate Moss and Stella McCartney are vip customers of their flagship store in London. But, hey we don’t need to go that far because at ,248 store in Barcelona they also sell some items.

NADADELAZOS
Far-west Indian style is one of this season’s must and with Nadadelazos we found the minimoi version. Look these tees with apache drawings, western trousers and jeans with fringes. So trendy!

VIOLETA E FEDERICO
We were fans of it before so we were delighted to get to know one of its founders better. She told us plenty of interesting things about the brand as that they create two versions of the same collection (classic and modern) and it’s up to the shop to decide which items to buy. So if you think is too classical, you are in the wrong shop ;)

MICUMACU
Roser became enlightened when she saw Micumacu’s stand! No wonder that her daughter has been playing compulsively with the paper crown she got on King’s day (5th of January) and even wants to sleep with it on.

So these special crowns are the perfect gift! They sell them in their shop in Manresa and online at tutete although in a near future we hope to find them in other shops. They can be customized with numbers and they’re adaptable to different sizes. Perfect for your little majesties.

BOBO CHOSES
This brand has such a genuine style that unfortunately some desperate international manufacturers have decided to copy the most minimal detail… That’s why we can’t show you the pictures of some of their must-haves (as the trench coat with eyes at the back and the star sweaters) but only a general view of their stand…

And here ends our quick review on what we’ve liked the most at Little Barcelona. However, we’ve got pictures and plenty of information of other brands that also deserve to be mentioned in future posts.

Many thanks to Little Barcelona for inviting us and to all the friendly exhibitors that devoted some of their time to explain us more things about their brands. It was a pleasure meeting you and we hope to see you again in July!

minimoi | No comments | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
06 Feb 2012
Events

The best of Little Barcelona (part one)

As we already told you a few days ago, yesterday we finally went to Little Barcelona. The objective: to discover the new trends in children’s fashion and get to know better the designers who are behind the brands we love.

We will try to sum up all that impressed us the most, although it’s quite difficult to choose among all the nice and varied stands that we’ve found… We must admit we came back home really excited but exhausted at the same time.

That’s why the heading says “part one” because it will take more than one entry to sum up all that we saw in Little Barcelona.

The place

First we would like to mention where Little Barcelona took place, the FAD. This building is right in Barcelona’s city center and it’s not the usual fair premise. It has a special charm that worked very well with the look&feel of the exhibitors and turned the fair into something unique.

”yporqué” Fashion show

We loved the fashion show of the little superheroes from the brand called yporqué. The children looked awesome and we specially liked the hooded jumpers with two holes for the eyes… great for true superheroes!

They also gave us a nice solidary cloth bag with some great presents inside… There was a wall sticker from Chispum, a beautiful cookie from Mr. Wonderful (I’m an absolut fan of these designers) and a CD with stories from Lali Rondalla. Ah! And the cupcakes were yummy!

Our favorite brands

BEEE TÚ

Bee tú stand immediately caught our eye thanks to their bright colored t-shirts and their original concept. With beee tú t-shirts there’s no place for boredome because they include a little toy that your kid can stick to his tee or use for other less decorative purposes.

Anita, the friendly designer from Bee tú told us that she got inspired by her little child, who always wanted to take his toys everyhere with him so she had to invent something to make it possible.

We’ll keep you posted with their progresses!

BÚHO

In Búho we can find delicate cotton outfits in elegant colors. We specially liked the washed effect in some clothes, an effect that Inés (the designer) achieves by doing her own ink process. We also liked the original vintage touch of the stand with these beautfil old suitcases, and the pretty single piece dresses that look like separate t-shirt+skirt. The designer also told us that she sells some outfits at IVO&CO, an exquisite shop of the Born in Barcelona that we strongly recommend.

TOCOTÓ VINTAGE

Tocotó Vintage‘s designer (Marta), told us that her son inspired her when choosing the brand name. When her little boy played with cars he repeated the words “tocotó, tocotó”. The vintage part of the name comes from her obession for vintage. This is reflected in her collection: impeccable, simple and with some special clothes such as “batista” shirts made from old vintage patterns. Good for tocotó!

LITTLE CREATIVE FACTORY

Little Creative Factory is the “baby” of two architect mums that decided to start designing clothes without having any previous experience in fashion’s world. Who could have guessed that! Their hats are so cute and they look great on kids!

The little hats that made them “famous” are made from japanese clothes and are reversible. In it’s winter version, they have polar fabrics to make them more comfy and warm.

BE LUCKY

And for fashion addicts here comes Be lucky, with daring prints such as this leopard print which looks amazingly good on kids… Incredible but true. If you don’t believe me just check on their website catalogue. You’ll be surprised by their incredible combinations.

PETIT OH!

Girls from Petit Oh!! treated us very nicely and although we are already big fans of their brand we got surprised one more time by the good quality of their materials and their well known partner “Trumpette”, which we already presented you on the post “calcetines o botines“.

And that’s all for today, in a few days we’ll be posting more info on Little Barcelona.

cuski | 3 comments
04 Feb 2012
Events

Little Barcelona 2012

Tomorrow Sunday 5th of February is the opening of the first edition of Little Barcelona in the FAD and… we’re invited!

We’re looking forward to this kid’s fair because although they’re launching this year, it’s definitely going to be something big.

Aside from the large number of exhibitors (more than 60) it’s their quality what interests us the most since some of the best minimoi’s local and international brands are participating.

So tomorrow, we’ll be informing you real-time through our twitter and facebook and next week we’ll publish a series of entries on what we’ve enjoyed the most.

Our best wishes to Little Barcelona!

minimoi | No comments | Tags: , ,
02 Feb 2012
Deco

Original storage…Closets or not.

Someone said that baby clothes are too beautiful to be kept inside a closet, which I completely agree. When I started visiting baby shops looking for some nice outfits for my niece, every once in a while I suffered from the Stendhal syndrome when I saw those tiny little dresses hanging at the window shops, those baggy trousers and those woolen buttoned jackets…

I know I’m not the only “freak” who thinks like that. On the Internet there are many examples of people who’ve decided not to keep their babies’ clothes inside a closet but display them turning each piece into a decorative element.

In the category of  “no-closets” one can find some interesting ideas such as the following.

Look at this! So simple but astonishing at the same time: a tree branch!

And this one: a single bar underneath the shelf…brilliant!

Via madebygirl.

These options are great, but let’s be more realistic… some of us need doors to hide the chaos… People who know me know exactly what I’m talking about.

For those who, like me, are unable to keep everything perfectly arranged, I present you this amazing closet for kids.

First of all, check the closets from kastvaneenhuis that look like Amsterdam houses.

And what about these closets from Car moebel? They’ve got funny shapes such as a doll house or an old beach- changing room.

I also like the classic white closet because it’s a good option if you don’t want to overload you kid’s bedroom with too many colors. These are from Maisons du Monde.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it brings some inspiration!

cuski | 3 comments