KidStyleFile

Happy Australia Day!

Every day I am impressed by and proud of the enormous creative and entrepreneurial talent in the kids and baby goods market here in Australia. Support Australia designers and retailers by buying Australian today.

Check out this collection of posts which all feature great Aussie design at great sale prices.

Have a great long weekend

Rosie Pose – www.rosiepose.com.au – stock over 90 premium kids and baby brands and they’re having a very sweet summer sale! Yay!

Get 35% off summer stock and 15% off all other stock including sale stock that has already been heavily reduced.

Note that prices will be reduced at checkout. I have included the applicable discounts in my price quotes, so you get the gist of just how cheap this fab products are going at!

Also, join the Rosie Pose VIP club and get a 10% off every purchase you make in the future.

The bargains here are remarkable, so get in quick!! To whet your whistle, my quick picks are:
Latitude Enfant – My Wooly Mummy and Me – Julie and Juliette $49.90 SALE $21.25

alex & charli Leather Star Prewalker Shoes – $34.95 SALE $22.72

DripStik – Drips No More! $7.95 SALE $6.96

Girl Charlee Pink Disco Dot Tie Ruffle Dress $65.00 SALE $42.95

My picks don’t do justice to the selection available, so I’ll take a deep breath here and reel off the full range of Rosiepose supplied brands, so you can prepare yourself and dive straight in! Here goes:

Albetta, alex & charli, Amplified Kids, Anne-Claire Petit, Aromababy, Baby Banz, Baby Blankie Express, Baby Kids, BabyLegs, Baby Plum, Bamboletta, Baby to go, Basil & George, Beauty & the Bib, Bebe by Minihaha, Bebe Jnr by Minihaha, Bob & Bossom, Brio Toys, Cause, Crocodile Creek, Dripstik, Eternal Creation, Fairy Floss, Creations, Flippers, Fiona Kate, Fiesta Crafts, Fish Lilly, Freshbaked, From Asia with Love, Gabrial Saynte, Garwy -Linen for lads, Girl Charlee, Glam, Heimess, Hide that Spot, Healing Hippo, Ikaboo, Itch Design, Itsy Bitsy, Jack and Lily, Joey Sling, Ju Ju Be, Kaloo, Kathe Kruse, Kids Cold Packs -Bump Buddy, Koo-di, LadyBugs, Latitude Enfant, Lark, Lima Bean, Little Beetle, Little Blue Dog, Little Lifestyles, Little Twig, Longueville Books, Mamas & Papas, Marquise, Miatom, Minihaha, Mondays Child Pyjamas, Monster Baby, My Child Magazine, Myself Belt, Oobi, Paper Eskimo, Papoose, Penelope Lane, Penelope Peapod, Penny Scallan, Qtees Designs, Ramona Ramona, Ring o Rosey, Rolly Poly Kids, Rosiepose, Silly Billyz, Sooki Baby, Smirk, Sunny Beginings, Sweet Lilly Designs, tees2knees, Baby Keepsake Co, Tiki Baby, Tiny Tribe, Toys Pure, Urban Urchin Vintage Kid, Wholesome Productions, Willow and Finn, Woof and Zebra Crossing Club.

Phew!

Rosie Pose charge $6.50 flat for Express post Australia-wide. View Rosie Pose’s postage information here.

Oobi are always refreshing and fun with their products. They tread their own unique and joyful path in the world of kids, a quality I’m always on the lookout for.

KidStyleFile OobiWatch is pleased to report the following wonderful Oobi products found on crazy splendiforous sale at Rascals and Scallywags – www.rascalsandscallywags.com.au.

Rascals and Scallywags also carry other hot brands including Active People Bilibo, and the Bilibo Pixel, Smoby, Ouch and Moppit.

Enter code ‘HOT SALE’ to get 25% off everything on the site, and remember to let them know that KidStyleFile sent you!

First cab off the rank is the ultra-cool Oobi-marketed ‘Egglings‘ $12.95 just *****$9.71 with 25% discount****

The precious, little eggling looks and feels like an extra large egg, but crack its top and discover a garden ready to grow! Cultivation is easy — seeds are already sown into eggling’s fortified peat mixture, just crack it’s top (by tapping on it with a spoon), water and place in bright spot. Plants grow for up to five months in the eggling, after which it can be planted directly in soil.

Extremely popular in Japan where it is hand made of white porous ceramic, the eggling (54mm x 47.5mm) comes with a terra cotta tray and an extra seed pack to insure success. Ten egglings are available: three herbs (basil, mint and thyme), three flowers (chrysanthemum, phlox, petunia), and four special edition varieties (lavender, cactus, red pepper, and wild strawberry). In its handsome gift box, the eggling makes a clever and delightful gift for the chef, gardener or anyone who loves the cute and curious.

Irrepressible Timorous Beasties as below, all $21.95 $16.46 with 25% discount!!!!!!!! (Hey, too many exclamation marks is just not enough for this one!!–!!!)

Ruby Rabbit…far from Wonderland (We have two of these Bunns in our household, and I can commend them to you: very quiet, warm, friendly and always ready for a cuddle!)

Trashcan Ted the Terrier

Scrappy the Unfortunate Cat

Oobi Ruche Dress with lace hem in Strawberry Shortcake or Floral print (some sizes out of stock already!!) $24.95 $18.71 with 25% discount

Oobi Boys Nappy Covers 2 pack: 1 groovy Egg print and one cool Bat print $18.95 $14.21 with 25% discount

Oobi SmockDress in Fireworks or Blue Flower Print $29.95 $22.46 with 25% discount

Oobi Slogan Tees ‘Almost Famous‘, ‘Jellybaby‘, ‘Little Cutie‘ or ‘Rock Chick‘ all $14.95 $11.21 with 25% discount

Rascals and Scallywags postage charges are based on Australia Post weight charts, and are on average $6.00. Postage is calculated at checkout.

I adore baobab – www.baobab.com.au – with their distinctive clean design lines and cool prints. baobab pieces exude intelligence, creativity and life. It’s ‘wow!’ and wearable at the same time. If you want your children to go forth with confidence and creativity then you’ve hit the mother-lode with baobab.

I have just seen the look book for the baobab Autumn/Winter 2008 range. It took my breath away! It’s such a strong collection I can’t choose what I like best…they are all my favourites! The colours are a winter-warming collection of red, dark grey marle, pale blue, mint, purple, in addition to their signature prints, and new Stripes range .

The baobab Stripes range has just been released and is available now from the baobab online store (expect the rest of A/W ’08 to roll out to stores between early Feb and mid March; I’ll keep you posted).

I have had an ongoing love affair with stripes since I read ‘Pippi Longstocking’ as a child. Stripes just give a sense of adventure, and children and stripes is a match made in heaven. baobab’s Stripes are made from amazingly soft, high quality cotton knit, so they’re comfy and practical as well as cute and cool.

To celebrate the arrival of baobab Stripes, baobab is offering KidStyleFile readers 15% off purchases made in their online store. Enter the discount code ‘KSF’ at checkout to receive the discount.

Don’t forget that baobab is also having a cracker of a sale at the moment, so make sure you check out the sale section for superb bargains.

One of the joys of travel is that you can go somewhere else and discover different ways of living — different food, customs, language, mode of dress. What a joy to see things from a fresh perspective, to appreciate and be inspired by the differences, and maybe incorporate a little of that experience into the tapestry of our existence.

Skimbaco – www.skimbaco.com – based in Durango in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado is to me like a direct portal into a different world – a cornucopia of delights nestled in the wilderness.

The selection of products Skimbaco carry includes our very own Aussie designers Edenstar and Paper Wings, and this fact set the bar on the quality I perceived across their selection.

I was entranced by Riiminka Designs from Finland, Tea Collection, Lola et Moi, Droopy Knickers, Twinkle Kids. But what were they really like? What could I expect when they arrived? Should I be thoroughly excited in anticipation of their arrival, or prepare myself for disappointment in the event that the experience didn’t cut it?

So I browsed and watched and waited…until one day – PING – a sale! And, boy, was I am impressed with the results on every level.

Sales are the perfect opportunity to try something that you may not be able to afford on an ordinary day, or something that you have not tried before, and want to road test a time or two before making a full-price commitment. The great thing about buying internationally is that the seasons fit perfectly from a sale perspective; we go to winter when they go to summer, and vice versa.

I know it is a big jump to make from shopping online locally to internationally, but there are some unbelievable bargains to be had in Skimbaco’s sale section at the moment, and they are too good to miss. Trust me: you won’t regret this side-trip! (Check out my previous post for further details). Remember to use the currency selector so you can shop in AUD$.

To sweeten the experience further Skimbaco is giving KidStyleFile readers an additional 15% off purchases when you enter the discount code KIDSTYLEFILE at checkout. This will give you in total about 70% off most products in the sale section.Skimbaco are living up to their motto of ‘spread sunshine’ alright!

You never know, you might even pick up some cheap Edenstar or Paper Wings while you’re there

Here’s some of what I bought, on sale of course Remember that the sale prices listed below will be 15% cheaper after you enter the discount code.

Droopy Knickers Tree Swing Baby Blue T-shirt
Price: $30.94 (AUD) On Sale For: $16.57 (AUD)

Riiminka Designs Purple Princess Dress
Price: $49.73 (AUD) On Sale For: $16.58 (AUD

Tea Collection Journey Canvas Jumper Aubergine
Price: $54.15 (AUD) On Sale For: $22.09 (AUD)

Twinkle Kids Cherry Blossom Small Felt Cake
Price: $19.89 (AUD)- Regular price. This item is sent directly from Hoboken New York, so will arrive separately from the rest of your order.

Big Fish Double Ruffle Tank Top
NOTE: Very small sizing. I recommend you order 2 sizes above what your child usually wears
Price: $32.05 (AUD) On Sale For: $8.83 (AUD)

Marimekko Summer Top
Price: $33.15 (AUD) On Sale For: $11.04 (AUD)

Marimekko Flower Skort
Price: $33.15 (AUD) On Sale For: $18.79 (AUD)

Tea Collection Sol Yarn Dye Stripe Tee
Price: $28.73 (AUD) On Sale For: $13.25 (AUD)

Tea Collection Sakura Canvas Vest
Price: $46.41 (AUD) On Sale For: $26.51 (AUD)

Lola et Moi Green Turtle Neck Shirt
Price: $35.36 (AUD) On Sale For: $16.57 (AUD)

Lola et Moi Paris Wool Dress
Price: $127.09 (AUD) On Sale For: $66.29 (AUD)

Check Skimbaco’s shipping charge table here.

Ok, back to the sales….and this one is a bit special: it’s one of the biggest premium brand sales I have come across. There are over 650 (!!!!!) items going cheap at the Buckets and Spades – www.bucketsandspades.com.au – mega-sale.

Buckets and Spades stocks kid sizes, boys and girls, from 000 up to 14. With everything from denim to dresses, boots to bows, I defy you not to find something you love here; I think it might be impossible, especially since most pieces are 30-40% off. (I think I might even have spotted something that I might be able to squeeze into in the kids size 14 items….more on that later….)

The breakdown is 530 item on sale in the Summer sale category (buy for the remained of this summer, or buy now for next summer) , 53 products in the Winter sale category (buying ahead out of season is one of my key money saving strategies; it’s definitely worth checking this section) and 107 pair of shoes (summer and winter varietals) going cheap too! WOW!

Brands on sale include BIG and ‘Fiona’ by Fiona Scanlan Fred Bare, Hula Girl, Eeeni Meeni Miini Moh, GumBoots, Piccolina, Guess For Kids, Gant, Trelise Cooper Kids, Tommy Rocket, Two Belles and European footwear brands such as Diesel, Giocattoli, Garvalin, Agatha Ruiz De La Prada and Bimbi.

To locate the goodies on sale, head on over to the ‘Specials’ menu option on the top navigation bar and select away, or choose from the categories chooser. With so much to appreciate, I recommend you take some time to make yourself a beverage, and enjoy the parade of well presented, quality products.

Here’s just a teeny sample to get you started. I’m going to have a little fun and play amateur stylist here (this could be bad news for my credit card, but anyway…)

You’ll get the picture that I like things to be a little thrown together, but you know, kids look great this way; it’s a visual splendor!

Two Belles Bombay Belle Lurex Dress $69.95 SALE $30.00. I always love this kind of dress because it can be layered easily: put a top on over or underneath, wear tights/pants underneath or not.

Wear Trelise Cooper ‘Stripey Mo’ pants underneath for practicality and visual kapow effect $55.00 SALE $39.00

Put these Fred Bare Silver Sparkle Ballet Shoes $44.00 SALE *JUST* $29.00!! on your groovy girls feet and you’re set. (Love these skimmer style shoes; remind me a lot of Morgan and Milo, but with a more do-able price tag. Also I just can’t do laces. These are the corners I cut so we can get out the door more or less on time).

For the little man in your life, this Fred Bare Factory Transfer Tee is crisp fun and super value at $41.80 $29.00 Match it with these Eeni Meeni Miini Moh Wide Waist Shorts $79.00 SALE $49.00 for summer cool. This may still seem like a bit for shorts, but you will be able to wash and thrash these over and over, and they’ll still come up smiling: the quality is just great.

On his feet place these Fred Bare Zebra Print Slip On shoes $44.00 SALE $29.00, and you’re ready to roll.

Another one for the girls (this is fun!):

Trelise Cooper Jack and Frill Top $63.95 SALE $49.00, matched with BIG by Fiona Scanlan Cargo Bocker Shorts $49.95 SALE $29.00 and Fred Bare Pink Zebra Ballet Shoes $44.00 SALE $29.00. Wear the aforementioned Trelise Cooper ‘Stripey Mo’ pants underneath the shorts (in cooler weather) to confound all conventions.
And for me (or your discerning teen)…this Fiona by Fiona Scanlan girls Doves in Pearls in Patriot Blue Tee $44.95 SALE $29.00. Size 14 is like a women’s size 12; a fine fit! The elasticated sleeves provide interest and elevate this tee from every day to happy day.

Postage is $5.00 per parcel up to 500 grams in weight, and $9 .00 per parcel up to 3kg in weight. International shipping is available.