KidStyleFile

Today’s post written by Anna

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No need to let the winter blues get you down – a little retail therapy is sure to help! And things sure are hotting up on-line at Raspberry Rascals – www.raspberryrascals.com.au.

Raspberry Rascals have markdowns on exclusive designer label clothing that will be hard to beat this winter – try up to 50% off! – and, until 26 July 2009, all KidStyleFile readers score an EXTRA 20% discount off every single thing in-store. WOW! Enter discount code “KSF20′ at checkout to take advantage of this offer

The sale page is where you’ll want to head first. You’ll find items suitable to wear right now, plus some little treasures you can put away for summer fun! With such hot prices it’s hard to pick, but here are my very favourites…

For girls I just love the dresses (so much smiling done whilst viewing these ).  They will be great for summer parties on the horizon!

If it’s a little man you’re shopping for, this sale is a great opportunity to pull together some special pieces to have him looking sharp. I love Chalk N Cheese Boys Marco Polo top in navy. So handsome!

For hip baby rompers I can’t go past Kit + Lili – check out Kit + Lili Romper Owls – in chocolate.

Raspberry Rascals also stocks some of the most interesting and creative baby rattles around. These baby bushka rattles by Morgan Wills feature designer and vintage material and they are simply adorable. At 20% off they are an affordable baby gift that is truly unique.

There’s really not a lot left to say now other than “happy shopping” – let the bargains make you glad!

A. Chalk N Cheese Kaisa Girls Dress sale price $54.95 less KSF 20% = $43.95
B.  Monkey Toes – Wowie Cowie Shoes sale price $39.00 less KSF 20% = $31.80
C. Chalk N Cheese Boys Marco Polo – Navy sale price $35.95 less KSF 20% = $28.95
D. Lucy Sykes Irish Cardigan – Cream sale price $70.00 less KSF 20% = $56.00
E. Morgan Wills Baby Bushka Rattle – Small $16.00 with 20% off = $12.80 each, and Large $89.00 with 20% off = $71.20 each
F. Polka Dark Denim Jeans – 9 Lives sale price $49.95 less KSF 20% = $39.95
G. Monkey Toes – Wowie Cowie Shoes sale price $39.00 less KSF 20% = $31.80
H.  Kit + Lili Romper Owls – in chocolate sale price $59.00 less KSF 20% = $47.20
I.  Chalk N Cheese Party Dress – Balloons sale price $55.00 less KSF 20% = $44.00
J.  Chalk N Cheese Daisy June Frock – Clouds of Yellow sale price $45.00 less KSF 20% = $36.00
K.  Chalk N Cheese Boys Lazer Tee – Cracked Up sale price $20.00 less KSF 20% = $16.00
L.  Tiny Mammoth – Baby Cord Pants sale price $39.95 less KSF 20% = $31.95

Raspberry Rascals is stocked with items from designers Lucy Sykes, Chalk n Cheese, Kit + Lili, Jolie + Jane, Pink Chicken, Monkey Toes, Polka, Tiny Mammoth and Morgan Wills.

Raspberry Rascals offer GREAT rates for shipping – Express Post for $6.95 Australia wide and FREE postage for orders over $150. See Deliveries and Shipping for details including International orders.

Today’s post written by Angela

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Yahoo! It’s the weekend, and it’s time to kick back, relax, and PLAY! There’s no better place to have a frolic today than Millie’s Playground – www.milliesplayground.com.au.

Millie’s Playground stocks baby and kids fashion, accessories, and toys for babies and kids from birth up to size 4 (soon to be up to size 8: stay tuned!), and can be found in bricks and mortar format nestled in the bucolic surrounds of the Huon Valley in Tasmania, and also now also online, which means the contents of this delightful store are now within reach whereever you may reside. (Don’tcha just *love* that?!!)

Millie’s Playground proprietor Taneall has throughtfully selected a great selection of brands for you: choose from Alluring linens, Annabel Trends, Baby Ka-Boosh, Babykids Australia, Beauty and the Bees, Bobux, Classic Pooh, Giimmo, Humphrey’s Corner, Johnco Productiions, Ka-Boosh, Little Beetle, Marquise, Max and Tilly, Milestone Press, Natures Purest, Ninth Moon, Noo,  Pure Earth, Soon Melbourne, Sugar booger, TTot, Tea Princess, Tiny Minymo, Toyslink and Vanchi.

Hot picks are Tiny Minymo from Denmark, with fantastical prints and colours to zap the grey of winter right out of the picture (stay tuned for Summer 09/10 stock, due by the end of July), Marquise; among the best, most tasteful and affordable baby clothing you’ll find, Nature’s Purest organic toys and linens, an extensive range of Bobux pre-walkers and shoes, maternity fashion from Ninth Moon and Soon Melbourne on clearance, drastically reduced, and Beauty and the Bees skincare for mums and babes, including Botty Butter and Mother-to-be Belly Balm.

On a personal note, I was gifted Beauty and the Bees Belly Balm by a friend when I became pregnant. It’s an all-natural formula, and so I happily massaged my tum with it for my entire pregnancy, as much for the connection it gave me with my babies (twins) as anything, but I didn’t end up with a single stretch mark, so I’d say it’s worth a go for that purpose too!

To welcome you to the Millie’s Playground experience, Taneall is offering KSF readers 15% off store-wide, including stock already on sale (heads up: Tea Princess, Tiny Minymo, Soon Melbourne fashion and more!) Enter discount code ‘KSFJuly’ at checkout to redeem. Offer ends midnight 25 July 2009. Play nice now

A. Bobux iWalk Sport in Chocolate, Beige and Orange $65.00 less 15% = $55.25
B. Bobux Tiger Shoe in Chocolate $35.00 less 15% = $29.75
C. Hook and Ladder Truck Ride-on Toy $200.00 less 15% = $170.00
D. Soon Melbourne Nappy Totes in Red and Cream $159.00 each less 15% = $135.15 each
E. Sounds for Silence Baby Settling Program $44.95 less 15% = $38.20
F. Beauty and the Bees Botty Butter 40ml $10.95 less 15% = $9.30
G. Tiny Minymo Amalie Dress in Purple $49.95 $39.96 less 15% = $33.95
H. Tiny Minymo Air Growsuit in Green $26.95 $21.56 less 15% = $18.32
I. Beauty and the Bees Mother-to-be Belly Balm $17.95 less 15% = $15.25
J. Tea Princess Wide-leg Frill Pants $54.95 $43.96 less 15% = $37.35, Tea Princess Hand-knitted Cardigan $64.95 $51.96 less 15% = $44.16
K. Annabel Trends Gift Set: Onesie, 2 pairs of socks in a cute suitcase $29.95 $23.96 less 15% = $20.36
L. Bobux Shoe in Pink Flowers $35.00 less 15% = $29.75
M. Bobux iWalk Sport in Raspberry $65.00 less 15% = $55.25
N. Pink Speedster Ride-on Toy $200.00 less 15% = $170.00

Millie’s Playground charge postage $7.50 for registered post Australia-wide. Heavy and bulky items may attract additional charges. All orders over $200.00 are shipped FREE. View full information on postage and delivery here.

Today’s post written by Miki

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Paaar-tay! Paar-tay!! <waves hands in the air> Pastel Pink – www.pastelpink.com.au – is turning the big TWO, and the party going on over there totally rocks!

Cheryl’s present to herself (although we definitely benefit!) was to get the whole Pastel Pink site redesigned, and the brand spanking new PP site is a joy and a delight to use.  You’ve got to go and try it out for yourself – it’s easy to navigate, packed with very cool stuff and the new checkout process is easy as pie (trust me, I’ve already tried it out

Chez’s present to us is a bounty of impressive markdowns on covetable brands. Behold:

20 % off Alimrose Designs Dolls and Gertie and Me soft toys
25 % off Bluebird and Honey and Elk Accessories Jewellery
30 % off Bebe by Minihaha and Three Little Trees
40% off Baobab, Sooki Baby and Tiny Tribe

Plus select styles of Cocoon Couture beanbags are on sale: Tiny Toucan in Blue, Green and Sand, Early Bird in Red with Aqua bird, Hoppy Kangaroo in Sand, and Giraffe in Pink. I looooooove these beanbags, they’re absolutely beautiful.

There’s also a great deal running on Envirosax, where if you buy six Cheryl will throw in an extra one for you absolutely free!! Envirosax are fantastic to keep in your handbag, but they also make absolutely brilliant gifts for both adults and kids alike.

If you think Cheryl’s done with the freebies and specials, you’d be very much mistaken: in addition to all of these great offers, every order at Pastel Pink will receive FREE SHIPPING with the code ‘BIRTHDAY’ plus a FREE birthday gift with the code ‘KSF’; enter it in the comments box in order to use both codes at once.  These offers are both valid until midnight 26 July 2009.

PS Make sure you sign up to the Pastel Pink newsletter too: all you have to do is create a login here. After you place your first order, every order thereafter will score an automatic 15% off Club Pink discount. Yup, this even applies to already discounted stock. Very, very, nice!

Ok, I’ll let you go so you can groove on over…Paaar-tay! Paar-tay!!

Make sure you sign up to the Pastel Pink newsletter too: all you have to do is create a login here. After you place your first order, every order thereafter will score an automatic 15% off Club Pink discount. 15% discount applies to already discounted goodies as well as full-priced stock.

1. Sooki Baby ‘Playtime At Nan’s’ Romper, $34.95 $20.97
2. Bebe by Minihaha Darby Striped Beanie, $27.95 $19.57
3. Various Envirosax, $9.95ea
4. Alimrose Designs Caitlin Doll, $52.95 $36.01
5. Elk Accessories Indigo Resin Necklace – Short, $38.00 $28.50
6. Elk Chirp Brooch, $15.90 $11.93
7. Bebe by Minihaha Chelsea Sleeping Bag, $64.95 $45.47
8. Gertie & Me Sam Sausage Dog, $19.95 $15.96
9. Cocoon Couture Tiny Toucan Beanbag – Green, $99.95 $84.96
10. Bebe by Minihaha Morgan Romper, $41.95 $29.37
11. Sooki Baby Zebra Crossing Romper, $34.95 $20.97 and Hat, $15.95 $9.57
12. Bluebird & Honey Red Cord Pinafore, $79.95 $59.96

Pastel Pink stock Alimrose Designs, Alluring Linens, Bebe by Minihaha, Cold Coffee, David Fussenegger, Elk Accessories, Spiegelburg, Louenhide, Gingerlilly, Emotion & Kids, FlatOUT Bears, Gaia Organic Cotton, Gertie and Me, Hess-Spielzeug, Huggalugs, Keptin-Jr., kikki.K, Little Chipipi, McMillan, Mitsy Accessories, Nesti Dante, Oobi Bab, Skeanie, and Wee Gallery, Tkxi Surf and Three Little Trees.

View the Pastel Pink delivery information page for full details on shipping.

Today’s post written by Miki

More discoveries from the 2009 edition of prestige kids tradeshow Bubble London. Follwing on from Part 1 yesterday, Today we continue our focus on interiors, with three stunning examples of Dutch design.

Each of these brands is represented in the UK by Room Red, a young agency who specialise in bringing European children’s interiors labels to the UK and ROI markets. For queries about any of the brands – unless your Dutch is fluent – I suggest using Room Red as your first point of contact.

For more Bubble London coverage click here.

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Global Affairs

Started around 10 years now, Global Affairs was created by Dutchwoman Annette Klein Bog.  Having spent time travelling in China and India, Annette fell in love with the bright colours used by craftspeople in these parts of the world.

Using traditional fabrics and techniques from these countries, Annette created an interiors and accessories range with a contemporary Scandanavian feel. The collection is manufactured by small companies, all of whom are personally visited by Annette, which helps to ensure that employees are ethically treated.

The children’s range includes bedlinen, cushions, mobiles & wall hangings, storage options, lamps and toys.  The range is not currently available to Australian shoppers, but we’ll be sure to update this when it changes.

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Snoozebaby

Another Dutch kids’ interiors company, Snoozebaby are renown for their tag-based snuggle products for babies and toddlers.

Created in 2005 by Marleen Rameckers, the products were initially designed for Rameckers’ own child.  the range has since expanded considerably, and now includes bedlinen, toys, comforters, wraps, nappy change mats and play mats.

Each of the products features numerous tags made of different fabrics: velvets, satins, silks, corduroys and crackling materials.  The products themselves are primarily made of cotton jersey and velour, which are comforting textures and retain a child’s fragrance.

A selection of Snoozebaby products are available through Monsters & Munchkins, who will ship to Australia for £8 per order.

On a personal note, my 23 month old son has a Snoozebaby ‘Sweet Dreaming Deluxe’ Comforter, which he adores. He loves to play with the tags and rub the different textures against his face.

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Birdy nam nam

The third Dutch brand of the day, Birdy nam nam was created by Jopie Biesters, a graduate of the prestigious Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.

Entirely handmade, the collection demonstrates Biesters’ love for shapes and forms and is distinctive for its radiant colours and eye-catching forms. Endearing in their imperfections (due in part to design, and partly to being handmade), the products are friendly and funny.

The collection has grown to include bags & accessories, a wonderful selection of mobiles, cot linen, and a charming range of felt birthday crowns which can be updated with a new age each year.

Birdy nam nam is not available to Australian shoppers at present, but we’ll update you when that changes.

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Please check individual sites for shipping details.

Today’s post written by Angela

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Playing dress-up has to be one of the most enduring games there is. Small children get a big kick out of dressing up in Mum and Dad’s clothes and shoes, and then in more elaborate costumes as they get older; think animals, superheros, pirates and fairies, and a wide range of occupation-based characters – doctors, police officers, shop keepers, builders, veterinarians, teachers and the like. (Hey, even adults enjoy a good costume party!!)

Dressing up allows kids to role play, and to inhabit the realm of their imagination, and it is always fun to watch!

Right now is a great time to pick up a bargain on some exquisite costumes and to add some excitement to dull winter days. Little Possums Toys – www.littlepossumstoys.com.au – stock the most beautiful high quality costumes from UK label Travis Designs, and they are offering a fantastic 40% off their entire Travis Designs Costume range. Travis Designs reductions are valid for one week only until 23 July 2009. Prices are as marked.

1. Travis Designs Blossom Fairy Costume – $72.95 less 40% = $43.95
2. Travis Designs Lilac Fairy Costume – $72.95 less 40% = $43.95
3. Travis Designs Sugar Plum Fairy Costume – $84.95 less 40% = $50.95
4. Travis Designs King with Crown Costume – $72.95 less 40% = $43.95
5. Travis Designs Peg Leg Pirate Costume – $72.95 less 40% = $43.95
6. Travis Designs Princess/Pirate reversible Costume – $72.95 less 40% = $43.95

Little Possums Toys has just started stocking gorgeous Aussie label AnnieB’s. The AnnieB’s range is sure to add a touch of magic to your child’s bedroom, and encourage imaginative play. The iconic hanging play palace is instant indoor cubby that will provide hours of amusement on a rainy day, and when summer comes, can be moved outdoors for instant garden pizzazz.

Little Possoms Toys are offering KidStyleFile readers a 10% discount on their already competitive prices on their stock of AnnieB’s products until 23 July 2009. Enter discount code “anniebs” at checkout to redeem.

A. annieB’s Pink Stripe Kid’s Hammock – $59.95 less 10% = $53.95
B. annieB’s Pink Mix fabric Bunting – $29.95 less 10% = $26.95
C. annieB’s Blue Stripe Kid’s Hammock – $59.95 less 10% = $53.95
D. annieB’s Pink Gingham Play Palace – $285.95 less 10% = $257.35
E. annieB’s Pink Stripe Puppet Theatre – $72.95 less 10% = $65.95

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign up for the Little Possums Toys newsletter and receive automatic entry into their monthly prize draw.

Little Possums Toys stock fabulous quality toys from: Alex Toys, Automoblox, Brio, Djeco, Felt Tales, Fiesta Crafts, Folkmanis, Goki, Le Toy Van, Little Chipipi, Mamas & Papas, Manhattan Toy Co, Missi Missi, Orchard Toys, Papo, Plan Toys, Schleich, Sevi, The Little Experience, Tiger Tribe, Tolo, Travis Designs, Vtech and WOW Toys UK.

Little Possums Toys delivery charges are automatically calculated at checkout according to the Australian Post recommendation for product volume, weight and destination. Orders are delivered by either registered Australia Post or Fastway Courier. Contact Little Possums Toys for further details.

Today’s post written by Miki

More discoveries from the 2009 edition of prestige kids tradeshow Bubble London. Today the focus is on stunning interiors labels to delight and inspire. Stay tuned for part 2, coming tomorrow.

For more Bubble London coverage click here.

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ella & otto

A delightfully modern boutique children’s bedding and interiors brand, ella & otto is a print-led range designed to fit into the contemporary home.

Relatively new to the children’s interiors market, the collection was created by Tania Urban in 2008.  With a strong international background in fashion, Urban is also a mother of four children and combines her professional and personal experiences along with her love of contemporary design in her brand.

At present the brand features four collections, each based on an Urban-designed print. The products within each collection include cot bedding, soft toys, sleeping bags, cushions and decorative accessories such as bib sets and laundry bags.

Australian shoppers can buy ella & otto products directly from their website.

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Mini Moderns

A range of interiors products for kids and ‘kidults’, Mini Moderns is produced by UK design agency Absolute Zero.

Co-founders Keith Stephenson and Mark Hampshire created a print-driven collection, which currently includes wallpapers, textiles, plastic and ceramic dinnerware and gift sets. The prints are based on retro concepts (such as vintage toys) but retain a distinctly modern feel.

The company operates on a strictly ‘Made in the UK’ basis – in fact, specifically ‘Made in the UK by nice people’ – enabling their carbon footprint to stay low while the quality of their products remains high.

Australian shoppers can purchase Mini Moderns wallpaper from The Selvedge Group, and other products directly from the Mini Moderns online shoppe.

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Petra Boase

Collage-based design is the passion of Petra Boase, and her self-titled brand reflects this in the most delightful way.

Retro papers, prints and fabrics give a comfortable feel to her otherwise modern designs, which now cover a range of canvases and prints, mugs, wrapping paper, a wide range of stationery and children’s and adults’ tees.

Boase also stocks in her online store a small but lovely selection of Japanese paper ballons (an excellent and very cheap method of decorating a child’s bedroom; also great for party favours), and toys knitted from yak wool which are surprisingly soft and non-scratchy.

Boase’s stationery range is particularly note-worthy – if you’ll pardon the pun! – as the designs are distinctive and fresh while remaining appropriately childlike.

You can source Petra Boase products directly from her online store, email for a postage quote to Australia.

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Please check individual sites for shipping details.