KidStyleFile

Motherhood is such a multi-faceted experience: such a rush of love and purpose and ultimate meaningfulness, and on some days, unbelievable difficulty.

Through all the highs and lows it is, without a doubt, the most mind-blowingly significant and remarkable thing I have ever experienced, and I know it won’t ever be beaten.

I have a feeling all you other mums out there know exactly I’m talking about.

No new deals today - I’m off to claim my medal at the Mother’s Day Classic (they include one in the finishers show bag: right on!) - but if you’re in a shopping mood, please do head over to review the All Current Deals page to check out the discounts and offers the KSF community has on offer - they are rippers!

I’ve included here a couple of links to some neat Mother’s Day related content, the first, Pop Sugar’s Mother’s Day pages, and the second to a Reuters article on what Mums - from supermodels to suburban Mums - want for mothers Mother’s Day. (Seems I have more in common with Cindy Crawford than I thought!)

Finally, way out of left-field, I’ll leave you with a gift of giggles via this blast-from-the-past video of Mr T paying homage to mothers everywhere. “I pity the fool” who sees this vid and doesn’t treat his/her mother right, *especially* on Mother’s Day! Have a good one.

Today marks ANZAC Day, a time to remember the brave souls who gave their lives supporting the allies during WWI.

It is a time to spare a thought too, to the families devastated by this war, and many others since.

War Child states that “Sixty million people [were] killed in wars during the 20th Century. Over 80% of war casualties are civilians - mainly women and children.”

As a mother, my heart breaks at the thought of the terrible suffering that the mothers of children who die in war, either through active combat, or through civilian casualty, must go through, and the affect that these losses have on communities and across generations.

While we cannot change the past, we can learn from it, and strive for a more peaceful future.

We can make our desire for peace known, and minimise the negative impact of war, through supporting causes like Amnesty International, who actively campaign for human rights, and War Child, an international relief and development agency dedicated to providing immediate, effective and sustainable aid to children affected by war.

KidStyleFile has today made donations to both these organisations. You can donate to Amnesty here. Instructions for making a donation to War Child are here. Donations over $2.00 are tax deductible.

Alternatively, you can shop for yourself *and* do good deeds at the same time!

Shop at Amnesty International to campaign for human rights, or purchase the books and CDs below - great Mother’s Day gift ideas! - to help War Child raise funds: a portion of each sale goes to War Child.

Buy these products at Fishpond -www.fishpond.com.au - and get free postage when you spend over $50.00.

KidStyleFile will donate 10% of your Fishpond orders including any or all of the books and CDs below to War Child. Purchase the products by clicking through any of the Fishpond links to ensure your purchases will be recorded.

Girls’ Night in $24.99 $22.27 contains short stories from the world’s best known authors, and has raised millions of dollars for War Child.

Girls’ Night in 4 $24.99 $22.27
Girls’ Night In is an anthology of short stories from 50 of your favourite authors. Royalties from Girls’ Night In 4 are shared between War Child and No Strings.

Kids’ Night in: A Midnight Feast $24.99 $21.82 is a collection of stories, poems and illustrations from over thirty writers, including Morris Gleitzman, Andy Griffiths, Graeme Base, Garth Nix, Eoin Colfer, Jessica Adams, Andrew Daddo, Pia Miranda, and Ken Done. All the royalties from Kids’ Night In are donated to War Child.

Kids’ Night in 2: A Feast of Stories $22.99 $20.49. All royalties are donated to War Child.

Help: A Day In The Life $34.99 CD 22 tracks from Radiohead, Gorillaz, Razorlight, Manic Street Preachers, Babyshambles, Kaiser Chiefs, Belle & Sebastian, Go! Team, Bloc Party, Mylo, Tinariwen, The Zutons, Maximo Park, Magic Numbers, Keane, Hard-Fi, Emmanuel Jal, Elbow, Damien Rice, The Coral, George & Antony and Coldplay. All royalties go to War Child.

I’ll go on and admit that these little finds are just as much for me as for the small people in my life.

I saw these super coolio Animal Rubbber Bands at a recent trade show, and now they’re available to purchase online. Yay!

These rubber bands, designed by Yumiko Ohashi & Masanori Haneda from Japan, are made of silicone, and are stretchy and can be used just like regualr rubber bands, but they’re stronger, come in great colours, and most importantly are *animal shapes*!!

What a delight!

Portable friends suitable for a whole range of play scenarios, and perfect for party favours or other treat situations.

They come in Pet and Zoo varieties, and are available in both 6-piece packs ($5.95) and 24 piece Gift Boxes ($12.98) from SheWants -www.shewants.com.au.

I also like these Mon-Keys, $9.50 for the set of 6.

You see your keys a lot, so how’s about giving yourself an opportunity to smile when you do? Nothing like cuteing-up a really mundane part of your life. I know I’m gonna

Postage is $6.95 Australia wide. International shipping is welcome.

Hope you’re having a ‘Bunderful’ Easter Sunday

Ever wonder how all the stores come across fantastic new products? The answer is “trade shows”.

Trade shows are events put together for industry members to allow them to see, touch and talk about the products, and place their orders for the coming season.

The LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE - www.lifeinstyle.com.au - Trade Show is Australia’s leading event for premium and boutique brands.

In February, I went to Sydney to see 200 of the best adults and kids brands on the market show their wares.

The quality was outstanding; I think I stopped at every stand! The ambiance of the LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE show was also something to behold. Great design, great products, great layout, great styling, great music; I’m in heaven!

Trade shows are, as the name suggests, “Trade” only; they aren’t open to the general public. So, as an Easter special feature I’ve put together a little something for KidStyleFile readers; a small sample of the quality on show at LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE, to give you a window into the world of the designers and products that will be coming soon to a store near you.

I have included products from both the ‘LIFE’ and ‘KIDS’ sections. Many products in the ‘LIFE’ category, while not being specifically designed for kids, crossed over into kids territory. That’s what good design is all about. It complements who you are, and how you live, regardless of your age.

Note that I have included the web addresses of the distributors in the presentation, as many of the product aren’t available through retail sites yet. The distributor sites do/will provide information on stockists in due course. See the VIP programme for the presentation for details on the products.

This is a multi-media presentation - I recommend full screen viewing, and there is music - so pump it up and enjoy!

Welcome to the KidStyleFile LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE Trade Show presentation programme, companion to the KidStyleFile LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE presentation.

This programme provides a little information on the products featured in the presentation.

Welcome to the LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE Trade Show at the Royal Hall of Industries, Sydney, February 2008

The venue ambiance - stunning - a stimulating, yet calm, place to be. Excellence in design perfectly executed.

Danish by Design - www.danishbydesign.com.au. Iconic Danish design in the Leander Bed, and Handy Sitt Chair.

Love by Geneine Honey - www.lovehate.com.au. These brooches are so exquisite, and bring the joy of childhood into adult jewellery.

Nordic-retro themed canvas prints from Tiny Bird - www.tinybird.com.au

Sweet printed tees from Studio Antic - www.studioantic.com.au

Iconic Stokke Tripp-Trapp Chairs at the Exquira stand - www.exquira.com.au

The world’s most stylish toy cars - Playsam at Forest for the Trees - www.forestftt.com.au

Nordic style for kids: Elephant range, made in Sweden, from Nordic Designs - www.nordicdesignshome.com.au

Fish Lilly produce cotton wraps for little babes that are unmatched in their softness and sweet design. Love ‘em! Visit www.fishlilly.com.au

Chill out at the LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE lounge, styled by InsideOut magazine

The beautiful Karen and Amber with their wonderful prints at the Me and Amber stand - www.meandamber.com

Babymoov insultated bottle and nappy bags: the funkiest baby bags ever, complete with their own travellers blankie! How thoughtful! Available through Rose and Lilly - www.roseandlilly.com.au from May 2008.

Teeny little ballet flats for little girls (and big ones for their mamas!) at Parisian Ballets - www.parisianballets.com.au

Teeny Me fold out sofas. Kid-focused, to adult standards of aesthetics and quality. Visit www.teenyme.com.au

I just love these timber veneer postcards from Pigeonhole - www.pigeonhole.com.au. Owls are HOT this season. Keep an eye out!

You won’t believe it, but this is a doll’s house! How gorgeous is that?! When can I move in….. Lundby dollhouses brought to you by Axis Trading - www.axis-trading.com

Pip from Woo’s, with the most amazing red clogs, and Simon, from Hamb, doing his best model pose and holding his super-cool tees (available for adults and kids). Visit www.woos.com.au, and www.hamb.com.au

Itch Design are adding to their fine repertoire with melamine plates, and bed-linen. Coming to market soon. Visit www.itchdesign.com.au

The Lana soft toy range at Kideeco - www.kideeco.com.au - has to be seen to be believed. These toys have so much personality and soul.

Look at these extraordinary felted-wool creations at Shweshwe - www.shweshwe.com.au. Oh, how my girls (and me!) would love these in our home.

Sparrow Kids do-it-yourself bag kits from Suzi International - www.suziinternational.com.au. How I love thee!

My kids wear Cuddle Fish swimmers. Highly recommended! Visit www.cuddlefish.com.au

Rock couture from Aussie designers Rock Your Baby - www.rockyourbaby.com.au

These cafe cups from Kek! - www.kek.com.au - look like ceramic, but they’re actually melamine. Perfect for children with style, and no worries for the adults!

Two of my favourite products: the fabulous Trunki Towgo, and the clever Kipiis Bib Clips at the Latitude Longtitude stand - www.latitudelongtitude.com.au

Stunningly coloured printed cards from Studio Antic - www.studioantic.com.au

I heart (minimink) - www.minimink.com.au - to the max, and only just restrained myself from cosying down with one of these blankets at the show. The luxe-ness of these is unparalleled.

Thought and creativity was poured into every inch of the LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE show. This swallow-shaped halogen light fitting exemplifies the excellence.

The KidStyleFile LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE presentation has now concluded. Hope you enjoyed the show

Visit the KidStyleFile LIFEinSTYLE/KIDSinSTYLE presentation to see this programme in all its multimedia glory.

Abundant in beauty

Sweet ambience

Perfect designed world

Happy faces

Inspired creativity

4am start

Exhausted Angela

…

Fresh post tomorrow

Cheap Trunki

On it’s way

xx

Ok, so I wrote a little while ago about how I think we have a deeply entrenched instinct to gather and collect. How important the objects that fill your life are to giving you context and triggering memories, and shaping your understanding of the world.

But what if you don’t absolutely need everything that’s building up around you? What if your Collection is turning into another C word: Clutter?

I had an experience a few days ago which was little sobering. I got home, opened the front door, walked in, and my inner dialogue went like this: “Oh, nooooo!!! We’ve been ransacked….oh.no.no.no.noooo!!!” 5 seconds later, calming down: “It’s ok, it’s ok… no need to panic…silly me!..It’s just as I left it….phew!”

Thing is, we always seem to bring so much more into the house than we carry out. And it’s sometimes not easy to let go of this. How do you know what to chuck and what to cherish?

Some years ago, I read that if you really need to say bye-bye to an object, but are having trouble letting go, photograph it. That way you have it to access any time you feel you need its presence in your mind, but it isn’t cluttering up your physical reality anymore.

Hmmmmm….with that, I think it’s time to got get the camera, and start click-clicking, maybe put some pumping music on and use this cheesy but punchy little de-cluttering list from FlyLady.net to bring a little more white space into the picture.

Stay tuned for more super-fabulous bargains coming tomorrow, oh yeah!

PS Also, totally unrelated, I read this article in New York mag about a year ago via Parent Dish. For some reason it still pops into my head occasionally….I wonder why? What do you think: are you a “Grup”?

Notice anything different about KidStyleFile. Yes, you got it! We went and got ourselves made up all pretty!

What do you think? Love it or loathe it, show me some love either way and leave a comment.

No new post today, but a few special things are coming in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Ange x

I love the Australian artist Mirka Mora. I think I love her philosophy even more than her art.

In her book Love and Clutter she explains that she collects, houses and retains a wild menagerie of objects, from handbags to birdcages, because each one reminds her of a point in time. An event, a person, the thrill of the moment in which she acquired each piece.

I think there is a little of the hunter gatherer instinct still left in us as human beings, and in the Western world this often manifests itself through shopping and acquiring new things. Shopping is basically one of the only thing the average person has left to exercise this instinct on.

I once aspired to minimalism in my life, but I have now let my natural tendency to be a magpie take over, and I’m all the happier for it. These things that surround me, they give me context for my life, who I am, where I am and where I have been.

In my pursuit and documentation of all the wonderful kids products on sale out there I am not advocating buying things just for the sake of it. Buying things on sale just because they are cheap.I am expressing my appreciation for all the love, thought, care and hard work that has gone into the production of each piece.

By waiting until sale time, I am not only saving myself precious funds, but extending the pleasure of noticing, and being inspired by, the exquisite beauty within each creation. Treasuring - especially - the things I have waited patiently for, savouring them far more because of it. Maybe there’s truth to that old saying “Good things come to those who wait”…

So, Dear Reader, does this theory resonate with you, or do you think I’m just justifying my large soft toy collection? Drop me a line, I’d love to know:)

How are you? How are you finding KidStyleFile?

Am I catering for your needs? Pointing you in the right direction? Providing a bit of light entertainment?

Or maybe not?

I wanna know!

Let me know what *you’d* most like to see found for less in the world of kids.

Leave a comment or email me at finditforlesschallenge[at]kidstylefile.com.au NB remember to replace the [at] with @ when you send