One Mums Imagination

My lovely friend Jess Dabro from the fabulous and creative blog Little Cricket recently sent me an email titled 'One Mum's Imagination' When I opened it I was delighted to see the amazing work of Adele Enerson from Mila's Daydreams. While her daughter Mila sleeps Adele creates these fabulous photos. I hope you enjoy them. 

Mathildas Market

"Unique. Stylish. Beautiful kids stuff. That's what Mathilda's Market is all about. We carefully handpick our stall holders to bring you divine and original clothing, accessories, homewares and toys for the little ones. It's kids shopping heaven "

Little Thing is happy to be going to our first Mathilda's Market this Sunday. 

DETAILS: 

• Sunday, 05 December 2010
• * Special Christmas Shopping Market * St Ignatius College, Riverview, Tambourine Bay Road, Lane Cove
• 9am to 1pm. Ample free parking on College grounds. 

Come by and say hello and don't forget to ask for an entry to our Mathilda's Market competition.

Shopping Blue Caravan

Blue Caravan is a great Australian website that features ethically made and sourced products from around the world. I thought It would be nice to feature some great products I have discovered on this site. These are some of the things on my Christmas list this year:

For Jasper - Organic Hemp Baby Boots

These baby boots by Bobka Baby are made in organic hemp linen and lined in hemp linen. They are hand embroidered in a rust allover grid pattern and there are natural shell buttons that hide the snap closure underneath. The soles are padded and the size 4 and 5 are non slip.












 For my Husband - Sea Machine T-Shirt

Every year I buy my Husband a T-shirt, it has become a tradition and each year I search the shops for the perfect T. This year with a lot less time and a baby in tow I am happy I have found this great T-shirt online by  STOC













For me - Spring Necklace - Earthtribe 

I love this necklace, I think it would look great with a simple black dress. I wear a lot of black so I always try to buy colourful accessories.















Once a Year Book - Laikonik

Okay I know this is two presents but I have to have one of these Once a Year books by Laikonik.
Insert just one photo per year (for 18 years) and add a brief description of that year on the corresponding page. Also included is a 'Chatter Book' which is a small notebook for keeping a record of the childs first words and funny sayings.
This is such a great way of capturing the changes in your children as they grow up.

More from Sri Lanka

While scouring Sri Lanka for amazing children's products I also stumbled upon these beautiful batik clothes for women and I just had to fill my suitcase with them. Each piece is handpainted in wax. The kaftans and skirts are silk and the swimwear is cotton/spandex.

I am selling these on Blue Caravan which is a great site for all things ethically made and produced. I hope you love this range let me know what you think.

Arani x

Little Thing on Babyology!

Little Thing – glorious clothing for mother and child – Babyology

Thanks to Jaime Purnot for her write up on Babyology. It is so exciting to see our clothes featured on blogs that I read daily.

Just back from Sri Lanka

We have just arrived back from a great 10 day holiday in Sri Lanka. A lot of people thought we were crazy for going on a holiday overseas with a 9 month old, but he loved it. New sights, smells and sounds kept him occupied and we got to relax a little.

I also had a chance to do some shopping while in SL and I am excited to introduce some new clothes to our store. As always it was important for us to buy ethically made clothing and I am happy to have found two projects that support Sri Lankan women who create amazing handmade clothing.

The first is a HSBC funded program that supports women who lost their husbands in the tsunami. The women are now the sole providers for their families and use their talent and handwork to support themselves and their children. Each of the garments is handmade including the bobbin lace which I was in awe of. Lacemaking was first introduced into Sri Lanka by the Portuguese in the 16th century and is now widely practiced.

The second project is a Government run project that promotes village industry. I found these amazing batik dresses which have been painted and dyed by hand. 

Batik has been practiced in Sri Lanka for years and their are many skilled artisans. All of these items will be available online within the next couple of weeks and will be available at Hide and Seek this weekend.

We would love to hear your feedback on these items so let us know what you think.

Where Our Donations Go

One of the recipients of an En Via loan

By purchasing a product from our Mamacita range you are contributing to the fight against poverty in Mexico. For every item you purchase we donate 10% of our profits to En Via, an organisation that provides interest-free micro loans to help women start or expand their small businesses. They are also working on a broad range of other programs – from education to financial literacy to environmental support.

En Vía was born out of a need to solve two basic problems people living in poverty face in Oaxaca: the interest rates on credit and the challenge of getting tourist money to the people who need it most.

En Via runs tours from the city of Oaxaca out to Teotitán del Valle, a small town close to the city where they are currently running their programs. 100% of all donations and tour fees are given to their borrowers as an interest-free loan. Once the loan is paid back, it will is used to support the rest of their work in the community.


The main church in Teotitlán.

I recently had the pleasure to go on one of their tours and I would highly recommend it to anyone heading to Mexico. The pictures are from the tour and hopefully gives you a glimpse into the area they work. Below is a story sent to me about one of their new borrowers from this summer - a woman named Minerva Sanchez Sosa who just received her second loan. I hope this gives you an insight into the good work they are doing.


One of the women in the village working on a traditional weaving machine.

Minerva's Project

Minerva is a single mother, raising her 3-year old daughter. She is from Teotitlán, but lived for a few years in Sonora – the place they call the Cradle of Flour Tortillas. In Oaxaca, all of the hand-made tortillas are corn tortillas. While she was there, she fell in love with the flour tortillas, and asked a tortilla-maker to teach her so that she could make them for her family when she got back home. The tortillera agreed to teach her, but only on the condition that she open a business in Oaxaca to sell them so that she could support herself and her daughter.

Minerva agreed, and came back to Oaxaca with the idea of starting this business. She started with just one kilo of flour, making a batch of tortillas and giving free samples to her family and neighbors, then taking their orders for more.

Her First Loan

Minerva found out about En Via's loan program through a friend, and applied for her first loan this summer. She formed a borrower group with her mother, Miroslava, and friend, Maria. Miroslava uses her loans to buy wool for the beautiful rugs she weaves, and Maria uses hers to buy more of the pottery she sells to supplement the small income she makes as a curandera - a healer - in the town.  

With her first loan, Minerva was able to really launch her tortilla business, using the 1300 pesos to buy flour and other raw materials. Now she makes 2 kilos every day (about 80 tortillas), and sells them to family and neighbors from her home, in the Teotitlán market every morning, and to a handful of small restaurants.

Her Vision

Minerva has a great opportunity right now – she is able to sell all of the tortillas she can make, and knows that there is an even bigger market to which she could be selling far more. Many Oaxacans who have been to Northern Mexico or to the US loved the flour tortillas there and are very happy to be able to buy them in Teotitlán and those who hadn't tried flour tortillas before love them once they try Minerva's.

What she needs to take advantage of this is just the cash to invest in her business, to buy the raw materials to make as many tortillas as she can sell. Minerva has a vision that in the future, she will start a small cooperative to make more tortillas, specifically to help other single mothers and poor women in Teotitlán. She knows that by sharing the work, and selling to everyone who wants to buy them, she can help not only her own family, but many other families in the community.

Her Second Loan

With her second loan, which she received three days ago, Minerva is taking another step towards this vision. She will use this loan to buy more raw materials, a parilla (a small stove) and a bigger comal (the clay dish used to cook tortillas). With these, she will be able to make up to 8 kilos of tortillas each day – including the bigger tortillas that she will sell to a burrito maker. 

Hopefully this gives you more information about the projects we are supporting from the sales of the Mamacita range. If you would like any further information about En Via you can visit their website http://www.envia.org/ or their recently created facebook page.

We have winner!

Congratulations to Lisa Roberts from Bendigo who has one three dresses from the Mamacita summer collection.

Summer Giveaway!

How All you have to do is register to follow our blog then write a status update on your facebook page mentioning Little Thing with a link to our site.

Then send us an email to mail@littlething.com.au with your status update, name, address and telephone number and you will go in the draw to win a dress from each of our summer lines for children – Jardin de Flores, Batita Tejido and Tulipan.

When Just in time for Summer the competition will be drawn on the November the 1st.

* The lucky winner can choose one dress in their choice of colour and size (subject to availability) from each of our children's summer lines - Jardín de Flores, Batita Tejido and Tulípan.

The Magic of Reading

It is my hope that Jasper is an avid reader, that he gets lost in the worlds that I got lost in as a child and that he discovers new worlds amongst the pages of his favorite books.

Some of my happiest childhood memories involve reading and being read to. I can't wait to sit next to Jasper's bed reading him books like The Magic Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton), The BFG (Roald Dahl) and Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll). So in honour of all the fabulous Children's books out there I thought I would share some of my favorite reading themed finds from Etsy:

Pesonalised book plate from - Oiseaux

Mushroom Bookends from - Graphic Spaces Wood

Ice cream bookmark from - Dana Grace

Book print from - The Black Apple

New Products!

I have been busy over here in Oaxaca scouring the local villages and markets for beautiful new products to send over. I thought I would give you all a sneek peek.

I found some great new tops for women that come from the Chiapas, the state next to Oaxaca. They are in a loose tunic style so will be great for those with a baby bump. Also great for those who don't – I liked them so much I had to keep one for myself!

The other great range we are adding are these super sweet Sirena dresses. Sirena means mermaid in Spanish and I am sure all the little Ariel's out there will love them.

And finally after being berated by my many friends who only have little boys I made sure I found some treats for them too! These great playsuits in a loose cotton weave were just so cute – how could I not include them?

As these are new styles we have initially only purchased a limited amount. If you would like to lay claim to any of these before they go on sale please email us at mail@littlething.com.au and we will make sure you will be the first to be notified when they arrive in Australia!

Handmade Mums

One of the best things about being in this business is that you get to meet the most amazing and inspiring Mums. Recently we had the pleasure of being introduced to Maria from Ave. She is an amazing illustrator who uses her two lovely girls as inspiration for her work. We were so excited when she sent us four illustrations that had been inspired by our Mamacita range! For those of you in Melbourne she will be selling at the Fairy Floss Market on Sunday 3rd Oct. 

Hide and Seek Market Day

I had a lovely day at Hide and Seek Market on Sunday, the sun was shining and lots of people were out and about. I met some great people and got some really positive feedback about our range. We were next to the lovely girls from Cute as a Button Gifts who were kind enough to mind my stall so I could go explore the market. Of course I came back with some fabulous goodies:

Crayon Wrap from Love and Lollipops - This is such a great idea. I love the fact that I can throw them in my hand bag and whip them out whenever the Pickle is bored or feels like being creative. He is still a little young for them but I'm sure in a years time he will be drawing up a storm.

Cupcakes from Cupcake Emporium - I couldn't resist one of these delicious cupcakes and yes they taste as good as they look. I chose the rosewater flavour and was glad I did, it was perfect!

Be Kind Necklace from Mrs Peterson Pottery - I was lucky enough to get to meet Mrs P in person and she was as lovely as her jewelery. I am buying myself this necklace as a reminder that as a mother, business owner and wife I not only need to be kind to others but also to myself and sometimes just take a break.

Little Thing Giveaway!

I have been faithfully reading Kid Independent since Jasper was born, so naturally I was very excited to hear that they were doing a Mexican themed day! After a lovely chat with the team we decided to do a $50 giveaway as part of the post. To enter head over to Kid Independent. While you are there check out some of the other lovely things that they have featured lately. My favorites are :

Frida Doll by My Mayan Colours
As seen on their Long Live Frida Kahlo post.

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Penelope Penguin by Chet and Dot
As seen on their Arctic Adventures post

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BELIEVE IT Print by Studio Mela
As seen on the Creative Cravings... Pink and Peachy post.

A Few of Our Favourite Things

You can tell a lot about a person by checking out their favourite things. Here are a few of ours. Hopefully they can help you to get to know us and inspire you to create a list of your own. We would love to get to know you so post your own list in the comments section.

Karin's List

1. Anything made by Elva Fields! Emily scours local and far-flung markets, auctions, and shops for unusual vintage and antique pieces to use in all three of the Elva Fields jewellery lines. I am absolutely in love with this necklace from their upcoming collection. Boyfriend take note!

2. All things handmade: Poppytalk Handmade is a monthly online street market which showcases handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world. These super sweet organic wool creations from Sweetpeatoadtots are featured in the crochet & knitting section. Gorgeous photography too!

3. Pattern & Fabric Design: I have an unadulterated passion for both cloth and pattern. In fact as I write this I am currently indulging in one of my favourite procrastinating activities. While I should be finishing off a big design job I often find myself scouring fabric sites for inspiration and... well just pure joy! Here are a few of my current book listed sites:
Duckcloth
Inklore
Galbraith and Paul

4. Chocolate (of course): I am very lucky to that my boyfriend (who happens to be my number 1 favourite thing) is a chef and that we are living in the land of chocolate! You might think that means Belgium but in fact chocolate originates from the New World. To find out more - and for some tasty recipes using chocolate check out the De La Tierra Mexican food blog. Of course this is a shameless plug for my boyfriends blog!

5. The beach: I am in bliss when I am near the ocean. Time spent away from it is consumed by dreaming up ways to get back there. I have been doing lots of daydreaming for an upcoming get away to the beaches south of our home in Oacaxa, Mexico. I will post some photos when I get back, but in the meantime here are two of the summer maxi dresses I have been imagining myself in while sipping out of a coconut! They are from the always gorgeous Modcloth who never fail to have me drooling.

Arani's List

1. Shopping for my son: So here is my first confession: when I found out that I was having a boy I was over the moon,but there was a little part of me disappointed. I had always imagined shopping for a girl! However with a little persistence and a lot of browsing I discovered that shopping for a boy can be just as fun. At the moment I am loving Minti a quirky label who have helped me to embrace and love shopping for my little boy.  

2. Cup's of tea: A lovely cup of tea represents time out, time with friends, great conversation and warmth. My friend Rachel once said that tea tastes better out of a beautiful tea cup and she is right! I am currently drinking Earl Grey out of a Samantha Robinson tea cup, perfect!  

3. Skype: My mum lives in Tasmania, my Dad lives in Sri Lanka, Karin lives in Mexico and one of my besties lives in New York. What would I do without Skype? 

4. Markets: I love spending the day at the markets, finding a treasure, discovering an emerging designer and being outside. My latest Market discovery was Marie Ramos Baby Imprints - I discovered Marie at Matilda's Markets and I was so excited to see her baby imprints range. So many of the baby imprints are really tacky but Marie does a beautiful job. I booked in for a session and was so happy with the process. Marie is really good with babies and the Pickle loved being in front of the camera. 

5. My Husband and Son: Last but certainly not least my Husband and Son, bless their little cotton socks. Life would not be as sweet without them.