KidStyleFile

I have the most extraordinary story to tell you today. It’s the story of Eternal Creation – www.eternalcreation.com – a divine clothing and accessories company based in Dharamsala, India, at the foothills of the Himalayas.

Eternal Creation is the success story of remarkable Australian Frances Carrington, who now lives and works in Dharamsala.

Started by Frances in 1999, following time spent volunteer tutoring locals on tailoring and design, Eternal Creation has blossomed into a thriving enterprise that employs 70 Dharamsalans in its own Himalaya Tailoring Centre – none of Eternal Creation’s production is outsourced -  and sells into 20 countries!

Eternal Creation operates commendable fair trade practices that support it’s employees and the community as a whole. The result is stunning!

Frances’ love of vibrant colour and pattern, together with the cultural input and expertise of her tailoring staff, comes together to produce unique and utterly beautiful pieces for boys and girls from birth to 8 years (and lovely fashion and lounge wear for mamas too!) that are tailored to absolute perfection.

You can read the full story on Eternal Creation on the Eternal Creation website (which, in keeping with the rest of what Eternal Creation does, is absolutely beautiful!)

Eternal Creation looks after it’s customers exceptionally well too: in addition to the feel-good factor of knowing that the people who toiled to make your creation are treated and paid fairly, you can currently save up to a huge 40% off on Eternal Creation clothing and accessories in their end of season sale.

As well as a treasure trove of winter 08 stock that you can snap up and pop away for next year, there’s bounty of 07/08 summer stock to be had up to 40% off as well. Perfecto!

Eternal Creation are also now selling a lovely selection of children’s colouring books, including Tibetan, signs of the zodiac, alphabet, and numbers books. These books blow away any other colouring books I have seen with their imaginativeness and detail.

To celebrate these beautiful books, Frances at Eternal Creation is gifting you free Tibetan Prayer Flag bunting with the purchase of all colouring books until October 14. Place and pay for your order, then send Frances an email at shop@eternalcreation.com, containing your order number, and code ‘KSFCB‘ to claim your free gift.

Eternal Creation are also hosting a photo competition until October 5. All you have to do to enter is send in a cute photo of your child dressed in Eternal Creation, and you’ll go into the draw to win $200.00 worth of EC clothes. Neat!

Check my picks of the day for just a snippet of the goodness over at Eternal Creation. Hop on over there to see more, and to read the Eternal Creation story – it really is inspiring!

Note: There are no links today, as the EC site uses flash.

Eternal Creation ship orders to you wherever you are in the world direct from their Himalayan workshop. Freight is calculated on the gross weight of your order, and your shipping costs are shown on the delivery information page during check out. You can proceed through the checkout to confirm shipping costs prior to placing your order.

The KidStyleFile Annual Reader Survey will be wrapping up tomorrow — where has this month gone?!! — so you have only ONE DAY LEFT to express yourself for a chance to win from the $2,000+ prize pool.

The survey takes only 5 minutes to complete, and if you refer a friend (or 5!) you get the corresponding number of extra chances to win. Good luck!

The survey is now closed

The Rules

• You must complete the survey to be eligible to win.
• Completion and submission of the survey implies your agreement to receive the KidStyleFile Weekly Deals & Steals Newsletter.
• All fields marked with an * are mandatory. You must complete the mandatory fields at a minimum to be eligible for one (1) entry into the prize draw.
• BONUS Entries: You may refer 1-5 friends to receive 1-5 additional entries into the draw.
• If you are already a KidStyleFile Weekly Deals & Steals newsletter subscriber, please make sure the email address you use is the same one as you signed up to the KSF newsletter with.
• Completion and submission of the survey implies your acceptance of the full Terms and Conditions of this prize draw.
  

The Prizes

And now, without further ado, the fabulous prizes: feast your eyes, and good luck!

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This prize draw commenced on 1 September, and will close midnight, 30 September, 2008. Read the full Terms and Conditions of this prize draw.

Please note that referrals that include invalid email addresses, entries in which fields have been populated indiscriminately, and Spam entries, will be disqualified from the prize draw.

KidStyleFile respects, and protects, your privacy. We will use your email address to send you the weekly KSF newsletter and to contact you if you are a lucky winner, and that’s it! The results of the survey will be anonymous, and your email address will not be shared with, or sold to, any third parties. You can read the KidStyleFile Privacy Statement here.

Ride-on toys are one of my favourite category of kids toys, and most certainly one of my children’s; they just love the mobility and independence of being on wheels.

The YBike, hailing from South Africa, is a new breed of balance bike designed for use from 18 months upwards, and engineered to help your child build the skills, balance and coordination needed to ride a big-kid bicycle.

This bike looks pretty rad, but the Harley-Davidsonesque styling of the YBike isn’t just for looks: this design is engineered to be ultra safe.

The front wheel is considerably further forward, affording a bigger turning circle, which reduces the risk of falling over the front when turning. The back wheel is also covered to stop children from riding over their feet. The YBike body is also designed for better clearance of obstacles and the larger wheels produce a safer ride on uneven surfaces.

The YBike is constructed is built to last too: the injection moulding eliminates weak points, and makes this bike super-tough. It’s available in 5 colours too, so there’s a look to suit every taste.

While the YBike’s superb design features may leave you breathless, the price tag will not: it sells for just AUD$119.95!

Pick up a current copy of Shop 4 Kids magazine to access the special KidStyleFile code to give you 15% off the YBike — making it a mere AUD$101.95 –  at Ekidna Kids.

If you can’t get to a newsagent you can email me for the code.

Ekidna Kids charge $6.95 postage, Australia wide, and international orders are welcome.

Today, Miki leads us on a stylish jaunt through Europe, with a look at some of the fabulous Euro designer labels available at Aussie online stores. Tres chic, mon amies!

Enjoy the weekend

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There are two European designers over at Buckets & Spades – www.bucketsandspades.com.au that I want to rave to you about that are almost too lush for words!

The first is Petite Bateau; absolutely adorable and tres French bien sur.

Petit Bateau was started in 1918 by a hosiery manufacturer who cut the feet of a pair of tights and decided that it was now underwear for kids! The brand has come a long way since then, now being the province of celebs and yummy mummies alike seeking classily understated quality for their gorgeous bubs.

The second is Diesel Kids, from Italy, the pinnacle of Euro street-cool. Check out Buckets & Spades’ collection of Diesel Kids shoes as well as their kids’ gear – it’s simply delectable!  I love their funky print tees; they’re fresh and fun and absolutely unique.

Don’t forget that you can get a 10% discount off full-priced items at Buckets & Spades using the Shop 4 Kids discount code*!

No links here as Buckets & Spades is a frames-based site – but use their search engine to track down these items!
Prices below include the 10% Shop4Kids discount.
Petite Bateau Stripe Romper – Pink, $49.95  $44.95
Diesel Tagiacu tee, $59.00  $53.10
Diesel Talbio tee, $69.00  $62.10

Charlipop Kids – www.charlipopkids.com.au – stock a bevy of fab European designers, including Oilily, Room Seven and Absorba.

Oilily, from Holland, is notable for its kaleidoscope of quirky and colourful designs, and has a huge following worldwide because of its uniqueness. Oilily can’t be mistaken for anything else and your kids are guaranteed to stand out from the crowd wearing their clothes.

Room Seven is also Dutch, started when Brechtje Olsthoorn, who had previously made children’s bedding from fabrics sourced in India, started to make children’s clothing from the same fabrics when her daughter was born.  The result is stunning!

Lastly Absorba:  established in France in 1949, Absorba is renown for its attention to detail with delicate embroideries and top quality fabrics.  Your kids will go from cradle to kindergarten in style with this gear!

Charlipop Kids are offering KidStyleFile readers 10% off at their Designer store until 30 September – enter ‘KSF’ at checkout to redeem.

Prices shown include the 10% KSF discount.
Room Seven Jersey Tee – blue/red/white striped, $36.80  $33.12
Absorba Green Two-Toned Stretchy Teddy Print Top, $38.40  $34.56
Oilily Shame Striped Buttoned Dress With Ruffles, $60.00  $54.00

One of my favourite European designers is carried by Frock You – www.frockyou.com.au. I am talking, of course, about ej sikke sej (pronounced ay sik-kay lay in case you were wondering) from Denmark.

I just love the clean-cut styles of ej sikke lej; I love their adorable iconic owl print, I love their rompers, I love their patterns, I love their hard-wearing 100% cotton fabrics – and yes, there are several of their pieces in my son’s wardrobe including the elk tee pictured below, and yes, of course I got them from Frock You!

I don’t think ej sikke lej can be beaten for wardrobe basics with a Scandanavian flair!

Get a 15% Members-Only discount at Frock You when you subscribe to their newsletter.

Prices shown include the 15% Members-Only discount which comes with subscription to Frock You’s newsletter.
ej sikke lej Big Owl Print Petrol Onesie, $30.00  $25.50
ej sikke lej Strawberry Skirt, $59.00  $50.15
ej sikke lej Elk S/S Tee, $25.00  $21.25

Since we’ve now seen enough European clothing designers to get you inspired, let’s take a look at European room decor and toys.

The obvious place to go is The Infant Boutique – www.theinfantboutique.com.au – as they stock stunning wall art from INKE, aka Inke Heiland, Dutch designer.  Her wallpaper wildlife designs are very hip right now, and each design is only produced in very limited quantities so you can be sure that not every second kid will have the same room decor as your precious pumpkin does.

The Infant Boutique also stock Sirch wooden toys from Bavaria, Germany. Made by a family company (established 1805), each Sirch toy is approved by European safety authorities and is absolutely stunning to look at.  The Sibis Max (pictured below) for example, features soundless heavy-duty rubber wheels which won’t destroy your floors and is made of steam-curved ashwood. Just beautiful!

Use the Shop 4 Kids code* to receive a FREE gift with all orders from The Infant Boutique!

INKE Wildlife Wallpaper Birds – Blue, $55.00
INKE Wildlife Wallpaper Lion, $161.90
Sirch Sibis Max, $269.00

Please check individual sites for shipping details.

*The Shop 4 Kids discount code can be found in the latest Shop 4 Kids magazine.  If you can’t get hold of a copy, email Angela and she’ll whisper the code to you.

Today, Miki hits The Hip Infant for a shopping spree. If you want a 10% discount at THI grab a copy of Shop 4 Kids mag for the KSF exclusive code. Can’t get to the shops? Email me, and I’ll send you the magic words

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The Hip Infant – www.thehipinfant.com.au – is an unending source of delight for me.

The site itself is a dream to navigate, it’s beautiful to look at and everything is just so… well, *hip*!

When you combine that with the vast range of brands you can understand why The Hip Infant is shopping heaven for the 0-2 years crowd.

Brands stocked include *takes a deep breath*: AKA Pipik, Albetta, Alex Toys, Alimrose Designs, Anna & Sally, Annabel Trends, Anne Claire Petit, Baby Einstein, Baby Legs, Babylicious, Benny Boy, Bical, BlaBla, Blink Designs, BUD, Built NY, Bump Buddy, Cheeky Monkey, Christmas Ideas, Coco & Eli, Cuddlefish, David Fussenegger, DiddleDumpling, Dirty Laundry, Elodie Details, Eyetribe, Fiesta Crafts, Flensted Mobiles, Fleurville, For Walls, For Windows, French Bull, Gertie and Me, Giimmo, Go_Home JNR, Green To Grow, Haba, Heimess, Hip Stuff, ID Tee, Inch Blue, Infancy, Jazzy Toes, JellyCats, JewelQueen, Kathe Kruse, Keptin Jr, Kid Squidgy, Kiddopotamus, Kipiis, Lima Bean, Limo Basics, Little Chipipi, Little Einsteins, Little Joey, Little Twig, Liz Knits, Milestone Press, Mill & Mia, Mini Glow, Mitty James, Mon Ange, Moppit, Mum To Mum, My Child, Oeuf NYC, OUCH, Peanut Shell, Present Time, Pure Baby, Rockabye Baby, Rondeau Industries, Rush, Sigikid, Simple Gorgeous Storage, Skip HOP, Smirk Kids, Snugglebum, Snugzeez, Teeny Me, Tiger Tribe, Tippy Toes, Toys Pure, Trunki, Vessel, Wall Candy Arts, WalRUs, and Wee Gallery < *gasps for air*>.

You can see why I love it!

So, what’s new on the block at The Hip Infant?

Well, the first things to catch my eye were the incredibly adorable Giimmo nightlights.

With sweet little shapes such as a panda, a monkey, a cat and a stegosaurus which are bound to have everyone squealing “OMG, cuuuuuuute!!” you know you’re onto a winner!

Night lights are great for kids who get a wee bit worried in the night.  How comforting for them to wake up to a soft glow rather than cold darkness. As an added bonus these nightlights are portable, so your child can take them to the bathroom if he or she wants to.

For those of you who are redecorating the kids’ rooms, check out The Hip Infant’s huge range of wall art and room accessories.

Although they stock a big range of For Walls and For Windows, among other top brands, the ones I love most are The Hip Infant’s own range of wall graphics and in particular the hot air balloon wall decals.  Just gorgeous and extraordinarily well priced for top quality wall decor!

Personally I’m particularly delighted that The Hip Infant stocks Green To Grow BPA Free bottles and accessories.  I’ve been using these bottles for ages and wholeheartedly vouch for them; they’re great to use and it’s very reassuring to know that when my little one drinks from them he’s only getting milk and not a host of other chemical nasties.

My picks of the day, represent just a handful of what I love over at The Hip Infant. Head on over there yourself to get the full effect

From top left in rows:

Prices quoted are after the 10% Shop4Kids discount is applied. Grab a copy of Shop4 Kids mag for the KSF exclusive code, or email Angela, and she’ll word you up.

Albetta Babygrow ‘Baby Angel’, $42.00  $35.00  $31.50
Cheeky Monkey Elephant Tee – 0-3 months, $19.95  $17.95
Dirty Laundry Basic Black Supaman Tee, $32.95  $15.00  $13.50 (MEGA bargain!!)
Cuddlefish Bucket Hat Red, $29.95  $26.95
Heimess Elastic Rattle, $19.95  $17.95
Giimmo Night Light – Bamboo the Panda, $44.95  $40.45
Snugglebum Short John, beachside stripe, $34.95  $32.35
Tiger Tribe Magnetic Playbook ‘At The Beach’, $19.95  $17.95
Ouch Frill Detail Dress – Aqua, $39.95  $35.95
Rush Backpack Red Spots, $34.95  $32.35
Hip Stuff Little Fish Maraca, $4.50 $4.05 available in Red and Green amongst other great colours!

Don’t forget to have a browse through the fabulous and well-stocked sale section at The Hip Infant either. Huge bargains within!!

The Hip Infant charge $7.50 postage flat Australia wide for Express Post/courier delivery. Orders are dispatched within 24 hours of receipt. The Hip Infant also ships internationally. Please visit the Delivery Info page for full information on shipping.

Today’s post brought to you by Miki. 

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Just wanted to let you know that you need to head on over to La Toriana – www.latoriana.com.au – sometime before 30 September: Elizabeth is celebrating La Toriana’s first birthday and we’re all invited to join in with 20% off store-wide for KidStyleFile readers. Woo hoo!

That’s 20% off new stock, off already discounted sale stock, the lot!  Enter code ‘BirthdayKSF’ at checkout to redeem your discount.

What’s more, every order this month will receive a FREE copy of the latest My Child magazine!  And if all of that isn’t enough, make sure you sign up to the La T newsletter for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher, AND orders over $150 receive FREE postage! Wowee!

I tend to go to La Toriana thinking, “Right, I’ll just have a quick looky”… and there I am an hour later, filling up my cart.

This is because they stock so many of my favourite-est things – Eternal Creation clothes, Anamalz, Oobi Space Hoppers (and just Oobi in general actually, Vanchi super-sized wraps and designer bibs, annieB Play Palaces (what kid wouldn’t LOVE to have one of these?) and much, much more.

But La T gets even better when you start to take 20% off every price in sight! Especially when the La Toriana ‘stable’ of brands includes annieB, Britt, Cheeky Little Soles, Dobbin and Drum, Eternal Creation, Finnigan Finn, Hey Baby, Huggalugs, Vanchi, Kee Ka, Lambykins, Oobi, Toys Pure, BumpBuddy, Lazybones, Gertie and Me, Britt, Thurlby Farm, Kids Kitchen, Grommets, Mini Whisk, Annabel Trends, Vintage Kids, Babylicious, Penny Scallan, Tickled Pink, Djeco, Anamlaz, Nana Huchy, Jasnor, Footprints, Tummy Bear, Tea Princess, Alimrose Designs, Fairy Floss Creations, Cuski, and Gaia, and new to La Toriana, Britt, Nanny Pickle, Oopsidaisi and prem baby brands Tummy Bear and Early Birds.

Here are some of my top picks to give you an idea of what goodies are available:

Clockwise from top left in rows:

Prices quoted include the KSF 20% discount code, applicable only until Sept 30.

Eternal Creation Tri Colour Long-Sleeved Shirt With Star, $36.95  $29.56  $23.64
Strawberry Shortcake Ruche Dress, $29.95  $23.96
Finnigan Finn ‘Holly’ Denim Wrap Dress, $64.99  $51.99  $41.59
Cheeky Little Soles ‘In Bloom’, $31.95 $25.56
Peanut T by Kee-Ka, $29.95  $23.96 I have given these tops as gifts before, they come in the sweetest little gift boxes!
Footprints Nappy Cover, $9.50 $7.60 I love this range – so cute, SO affordable, and all 100% cotton!
Heidi Ho Elephant, $49.95  $39.96
Play School Stacking Boxes, $22.95  $18.36
Tractor Farm Set, $52.95  $42.36

As a final note, we all love winning stuff and the prize pool for the KidStyleFile Annual Reader Survey is especially drool-worthy – which is to be expected given that the grand prize comes from La Toriana!

Fill out the Survey before the end of September for a chance to win one of over $2,000.00 in prizes including the grand prize of an AnnieB Play Palace, and a $200.00 customised Mother & Child Pamper Pack, all up valued at $500.00 kindly sponsored by La Toriana.

La Toriana charge $7.50 postage Australia-wide. Orders over AUD$150.00 are posted FREE.