KidStyleFile

Today I’d like to bring you this very special interview with Alex Riggs, the extraordinary creator of Oobi Baby & Kids, twice voted number 1 favourite baby and kids designer by you, KidStyleFile readers, in the KidStyleFile Annual Reader Survey.

The Autumn/Winter 2010 Oobi collection for boys and girls will be in stores from 12 March 2010. In the meantime enjoy this inside scoop!

- Angela.

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Hi, Alex, tell me about Oobi A/W10: what’s inspired you this season?

Boys used to pull my pigtails when I was a little girl and as an early teen I was in love with David Bowie for ages (still shocked I never married him!). That’s about all I know about boys really. They are a complete mystery to me in so many ways (try asking a man the same about women and I’m sure he’ll say they are a complete mystery to him too!).

But I know how I like a boy – or man -  to dress. Sharp little jackets, funky shirts, nice retro touches, a rugged fitted Henley Tee and buttersoft jeans. Throw in a vest and some tweed and I’m a happy camper. No bling, nothing too fancy, just a quirky touch here and there, some neat tailoring and clever cuts and colours.

This season for little boys we’ve created a sweet range of tailored jackets with superfunky stripy lining that can be mixed and matched with our new Henley Tees (check out the cool buttons I found!) and created a range that I think is pretty well-rounded. I think that no matter what your style you can mix it up and create your own look. Red cowboy with grey vest, tweed pants and navy jacket? Cool. The same look with jeans and a Henley? Sure. It all works together because I chose the entire colour palette to co-ordinate without being matchy. I think that should make any busy mum’s job way easier.

For girls I’ve been inspired by Paris (a girl can dream, right?). Fresh, crisp French navy and white with bold touches of red feature heavily (the shirt dress is so Audrey-Hepburn-in-Paris!)

On the flipside, we’ve got some really autumnal stained berry colours, rich tweeds and some really old-fashioned shapes. We are loving our little swing coats with the beautiful ribbon features. The coat is lined in really soft jersey so they’re easy to wear and the hoodie has Oobi house-designed fabric peeking out.

Our Tweed bubble dresses are very quirky and I know they are not for everyone, but they are totally for me. I am so in love with this look and I hope there will be a bunch of mums that dig it too. Little crystal buttons and some seriously impressive pleating work just finish the garment so beautifully. The pleating was done for me by a special artisan who only works in pleating and has created garments for some very famous designers.

I’m especially pleased with how our appliqué work came out this season. Oobi is pretty well known for our appliqué dresses and pants and I found some lovely vintage-y fabrics to mix-and-match with my own Oobi prints. I think that the combos are really cute and I hope that everyone else likes them too. I always try and make mixing-and-matching easy so there are some great tees, retro headscarves and clips that go with everything plus some lovely tights and leggings to keep warm over winter.

You travelled to Toyko, Japan, recently. I know Oobi has been a best-seller in Japan for a while now. How was your trip?

We were invited to Tokyo to see Oobi sold in one of the big department stores there. Oobi has sold really well in Japan for a few years, but this was a huge big deal for us – lots of excitement (and lots of eating, eating, eating!).

The Silver-Grey Smock Dress with Rosette (also available in Dusky Pink, not shown) is inspired by Japan. The pleating is all hand-made and designed to work a little like origami. The fabric is gorgeous and soft and I think our little model wears it really well with her diamanté tights.

Notes on the Tokyo Pics: The one with the spinning top is not retouched in any way, that’s a paper cut-out! Terry and I are desperately trying to import one of those pandas for the warehouse. We like the idea of Ben riding around on those collecting cartons. The band… Ummm.. Because you’re never too old? A pic of this very cool band called Polysics that we went to see one night. Loads of fun, made me feel 24 again. Our distributor took us around on an Oobi stores shopping spree and we stopped here on the way, one of the most beautiful stores I’ve ever seen. We had a ‘pop up’ store in this super-funky area called Omotosando Hills (very “The Hills” – “Omotosando Hills”). Full of Gucci and Chanel all that stuff. As I was walking I saw a guy who looked like a rock star walking a monkey on a lead. Blurry pic because he wouldn’t stop his stride. My delicious lunch. Found it hard to eat it it was so beautiful. We weren’t even anywhere fancy, just a regular restaurant. All reasons why I love Japan!

I love the illustrations you have used with the photos in this season’s collection. Reminds me of old-school Disney in the 50’s: what was it inspired by?

The idea actually came when I was looking at this gorgeous Judith Fritchman drawing of a child on a swing. I thought how beautiful pencil drawings are and I immediately thought of one of our “Oobi Babies” who could rise to the challenge of pretending to be on a swing. The idea just kind of developed from there and most of the drawings using the babies were drawn in after the shoot to correspond with their spontaneous actions. Other shots we asked the children to ‘make believe’ which they did really well. There’s a little story throughout our catalogue this season and it’s written like a children’s book from the 1950s. It was the most fun concept and shoot ever.

Oobi Autumn/Winter 2010 will be available from stockists from 12 March 2010. Boy’s wear goes up to 5 years and girl’s wear goes up to size 6 years; the new release ‘Darcy’ skirts go up to size lucky number 7. Prices for all pieces range from $17.95 – $69.95. Follow Alex on the Oobi Baby & Kids blog, and let her know you’re a fan on Facebook.

Today’s post written by Angela

There’s a fresh and very cool new label hitting the scene in Australia right now: New Zealand based Minti – www.iloveminti.com.

This delightfully quirky streetwear brand has been big in its native New Zealand for some time now, and is set to do them same in Australia, with a cache of the hippest stores taking it on board.

So what’s the story behind Minti? I caught up with Amy from Minti to get the lowdown…

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When did you start Minti?

We started Minti way back in 2003.

Why did you start Minti?

We started Minti due to a gap in the market for cool, high quality kids wear. We were all working at Federation Clothing (which Nick and Jenny own) and getting a lot of our retailers and customers commenting that there was nothing cool out there for kids. Launching Minti was a bit of a gamble considering none of us had kids at the time, but what we designed was really well received, so we pretty much have gone from strength to strength from there.

Any funny stories?

The funniest would have to be the time we sampled a baby’s one piece in a size 5 and our tiny framed sales rep managed to squeeze in to it!!

What inspires you?

There really are so many things for us designers to be inspired by, we are all really close and get on super well. Nick and I run an artist series t-shirt label called Collective Edition. Within the family of artists we collaborate with are creative geniuses such as Mike Perry, Rinzen, Luke Ramsey, and Jim Stoten, to name a few – they are all so inspiring!

Also, since launching Minti, Nick and Jenny have had three awesome kids, Ryder, Monte and Dusty, who are really inspirational. They have really helped the evolution of Minti and taken us to the next level.

Tell me about the summer ‘09-’10 collection

The Summer collection is really raw which we love; a lot of hand drawn prints and a lot of denim pieces. We went a little bit ‘back to the future’ when creating it as well.

You can view the entire Minti summer ‘09-’10 lookbook here (click on each image to view full-size).
You can buy Minti online from these stockists.

Today’s post written by Angela

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Today I’d like you to meet Mel Barassi, doyenne of the Australian baby and kids world, and proprietor of The Hip Infant – www.thehipinfant.com.au.

Mel’s enjoys eating, socialising, sewing and reading – despite not having finished a book since she launched The Hip Infant in 2004. Mel’s wry humour, warmth, and sense of style is completely engaging. Read on to find out more, and don’t miss The Hip Infant blog: you will be instantly addicted!

Mel lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband John, and their four children, Max, Gus, Finn and Coco.

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Tell us a little about your background and how you came to start The Hip Infant

In my past life I was a Registered Nurse and enjoyed the varied opportunities this career gave me.

My training and all hospital roles were as a paediatric nurse in both of Sydney’s major children’s hospitals. I loved it, but my first child was born 10 weeks premmie and was quite sick.

This made me look at a different side of working with children and at the time felt I was way too emotional and affected by my own experience to be a good nurse to my patients.

Fortunately I somehow fell into a job as a film nurse 12 months after Max was born. It was a great opportunity I got to go to amazing locations, meet incredible people and I had lots of fun, but by the time my second child arrived I learnt that having two children was more on the challenging side and logistically the long hours I was expected to be away for work were not compatible with juggling 2 little children.

It was at this point I started dreaming of an at home business and started laying the ground work for what today has become The Hip Infant.

The Hip Infant evolved over time, I was a stay-at-home-mum looking for clothes for my kids and I couldn’t find what I wanted in conventional retail stores so I set about finding them for myself.

At that time online stores were very new, but I saw a gap in the market and crossed my fingers – it sounds clichéd yet true! I did a lot of research, sold items on ebay, did markets, I really listened to what parents were wanting for their kids.

Once I eventually started the process was pretty quick, I fortunately have a husband who works in IT so his support and help were invaluable.

How do you decide what to stock at The Hip Infant?

I’m not sure I should say it, but there is not a lot of method to my buying! I buy things that I would like to wear myself if they were 10 sizes bigger and I buy what I would like to see my kids in.That said, I am very proud to say that we don’t sell plastic toys, anything with batteries that whizzes and flashes or anything endorsed by television programs or commercial ventures.

I guess I am somewhat of a traditionalist, I think little people should look like little people, not adults. Importantly, I want to provide my customers with brands they can trust, ensuring quality is really important for me

What are your top 5 all-time favourite products for babies and kids, and why?

1. Aden + Anais Muslin wraps you can never have too many wraps and muslin is easy, safe, washes well the list goes on.

2. French Bull monster plates- they have been around for years now and I still adore them and so do my kids. Our house is full of them, even kids that come to visit fight over them.

3. Snugglebum PJs- I have a pj obsession, my children love them as much as I do. I have been stocking Snugglebum since we started The Hip Infant and there has not been a season yet that I have not loved. The quality is amazing and the prints super cute. Snugglebum filled a real niche when they launched and I have always been very honoured to be a stockist. There are plenty of similar brands around these days but Snugglebum will always be my fave!

4. Green To Grow Bottles- These bottle are fantatsic, easy to use and of course they look great. I have now used them and stocked them for over 12 months and I have to say they look as good as new, have never leaked and knowing they are BPA Free offers that extra piece of mind. I nearly choked when I saw how expensive they were but have to say they are worth every cent.

5. David Fussenegger Blankets: I first purchased one of these blankets 10 years ago when we had our first son, it is still in great condition and still sits on the end of his bed! I love the range we stock now.

What 5 new products are you loving for babies and kids right now, and why?

1. Belly Art Inkless print Kit (read our blog and my horrid tale with a pot of fabric paint, a newborn and a pillow…it was ugly) $24.95

2. Printspace Customised Birth prints $35.00 I love anything personalised and feel like I am forever buying gifts for new babies, I think these are ideal

3. Milk & Co Baby from $22.95 his has walked off the shelves since we have first started stocking it, people are loving the room strays. There is nothing else around like it and I think we all strive to have a yummy baby smelling nursery and spraying with a natural product is ideal for peace of mind.

4. Newborn Organics- the downside of being online is that people do not get to touch and feel our products. Our new organics range is the softest lushest most divine cotton. Most people who have purchased any of the range email to say they cannot beleive how soft it is! which is very flattering. Our organic range is 100% certified organic cotton.

5. Our own The Hip Infant Limited Edition printed range of tees and baby grows, they are very cute, printed on our lush cotton and are unique to us.

What is your favourite way to spend time with your kids?

With four children our life is consumed with routine and activities, they are all very busy and as three of them are boys I like to keep them as active as possible. Our weekends are full of sporting activities and in between we have lots of chill out time at home.

Every Sunday morning we go to Yum Cha – we are very faithful to our local chinese resturaunt! The kids are crazy about bike riding so we do lots of that too.

The one thing we never miss out on during the week are our bedtime books, the kids love it and so do I. It is the one time they are assured to get some one on one time, and it’s a good time to have a chat too.

Do you get any ‘me’ time, how do you spend it (or would you spend it)?

With four kids, a full time job and a husband I have to make a real effort to make ‘me’ time. When life gets busy it’s the first thing to be sacrificed unfortunately!!!

When I do have ‘me’ time I catch up with girlfriends, go to the gym and sometimes just enjoy putting my feet up! I also love walking – it is the only time I get to think.

When you’re a mother I think it’s really important to try and include some ‘me’ time everyday in your life – even if it’s just a long hot shower with the door shut.

For any woman juggling motherhood and family, life is a balancing act and requires a lot of patience, compromise and deep breathing!

What’s coming up for The Hip Infant?

We have some great things in store for Spring and Summer (with some early ones arriving next week!) from Ouch, Snugglebum, a great new Cuddlefish range, Plum Baby, and of course we have some of our house hip delights arriving at the end of August.

The Hip Infant blog has just had a makeover, and due to popular demand we have some really interesting articles, interviews, guest bloggers and just generally some nice day dreamy bits and pieces to view.

We also have a great competition coming up, stay tuned you won’t want to miss out on this one!

Today’s post written by Angela

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Today I’d like you to meet Lise Taylor, editor in chief and publisher of My Child magazine.

Lise isn’t one to shy away from difficult issues either with her magazine, or her personal life, and her story of guts and determination is sure to inspire you.

Lise lives with her husband, Brian, and their 5 year old son, Duncan, in Sydney Australia.  Lise loves good food, good wine, good company, and the colour blue.

The My Child Winter issue is out now, and can be purchased online here, else take a trip to your local quality newsagent. You can also sign up to KidStyleFile FREE Weekly newsletter to in the draw to win one of 10 Annual Subscriptions (closes 31 May 2009).

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Who lives at your house?

Myself, my husband, Brian, and our just-turned 5 year old, Duncan, and his menagerie: Baz the boxer, Barney the cockateil, 6 frogs, 2 stick insects, 1 spiny leaf insect, selection of fish, large collection of insect, beetle and spider carcasses/shed bodies. We have also had hermit crabs, live spiders that liked eating each other, Mexican walking fish and more!

Tell us about your background?

Having failed my HSC because I was enjoying myself too much, I worked as a secretary in the corporate sector after I left school. When I was 27 and my mum was in her mid 40s, she took herself off to uni, did her BA, her honours degree and then a PHd and become a lecturer. I thought ‘If Mum can do it, why can’t I?’ So I repeated my HSC, did a degree in English Literature and then I got my first job in magazines at Amway’s Amagram magazine as a secretary/proofreader.

After a short stint at a legal publisher, I started as a sub-editor on the launch of That’s Life! magazine. I was then promoted to deputy chief sub-editor, before moving to Elle as chief sub-editor, then Family Circle, and then back to That’s Life! as a section editor. After that I moved to Australian Cosmetic Surgery Magazine (ACSM) as editorial director.

Around that time I met my now-husband, and five months later I became pregnant. (We married when Duncan was 18 months old.)

It was after I gave birth to Duncan that Brian and I decided to set up a business so we could each have a stay-at-home-type role looking after Duncan. Brian is a wonderful, hands-on Dad and he also persuaded me to get out there and launch my own magazine.

I’d found all the parenting magazines available at the time pretty boring. Their coverage of topics was so superficial! I’d read an article and think: Well, I learnt nothing from that! The design was also dated and they were very mass market, which wasn’t me. I figured there must be other mums out there who wanted something more intelligent (over 50 percent of mums are now university educated) and stylish. Hence the launch of My Child.

I have to say that I’ve never worked so hard in my life, found anything I’ve ever done so challenging, or enjoyed myself so much! It’s been hard-going financially because we didn’t have enough money behind us to start with but, apart from meeting my wonderful husband and having Duncan, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

What, or who, inspires you?

We never did a proper business analysis before starting My Child. If we had I’m sure we’d never have done it. This just goes to show how having a total passion for something can help make things work. I take great inspiration from Richard Branson’s autobiography, Losing My Virginity: Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way, as he is so successful now but really struggled for the first 10 years.

You independently publish My Child – what does this mean?

This means that I own the magazine entirely. No other company has any financial or other type of interest in it. It also means that my life is crazy as I try to balance my three working “hats” – publisher, editor and advertising director – along with my husband, son, family and friends!

What helps though is that I’ve developed partnerships with other independent businesses to help each other evolve against the “big guys” like ACP and Pacific Publications. My two key ones are with the Bub Hub parenting website and the Hello Babe sample bags for expectant and new mums.

What’s your life like outside your job?

Still busy! I have a tennis lesson once a week with Duncan (I’m learning too), pilates once a week with my husband, and I walk the dog. Brian and I have a “date night” once a month or so and share evenings with friends and their kids. Otherwise I spend time with Duncan or work. I love to read novels but have only managed to finish one since his birth! I also enjoy Sudoku when I can.

How has parenthood changed your life?

I’ve now learnt that the most difficult, challenging things in life are the most rewarding. The things that you give your heart and soul to are those that you learn the most from. Having Duncan is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, making me feel much more powerful as a person and teaching me more about myself than I could have imagined – and making me totally appreciate my own parents.

What inspires you?

Motherhood has made me much more of a “mothering” type of person. My staff are all fairly young and I truly love helping them and nurturing them. It took me so long to really become my own person in life (until around age 40) and it inspires me to see them growing and developing – just as it inspires me to see this in my son.

What are your top 5 favourite picks for babies and kids at the moment?

1. Wooberry custom-made dolls from children’s drawings. They take your child’s drawing and turn it into a toy!
2. Dog tag pendants. It feels so special wearing my son’s name and DOB close to me. Try brands such as Koolamon, Uneik, and Lovestamp (images 2,3,4, respectively)
3. Baby on Board: Understanding What Your Baby Needs by Dr Howard Chilton. This book was a huge help when I had Duncan – especially its chapter on colic – and it’s now been revised and updated. It’s the best!
4. Organic bamboo. Softer than cotton and with a cashmere-like texture, this is the most incredible eco fabric, and many labels are now using it to make the sweetest baby and kidswear. Try Nurture Nappies (image 5) and Mudd Kids (image 6) for some great examples.
5. All the incredible products available today that weren’t around even five years ago when Duncan was born. I’m 46 now and off the pill so there’s still a chance we could have another bub (lord knows how I’d cope but at least I’d have fun researching it all!)

What’s your idea of a perfect day?

I used to think this would be a day all to myself having a massage and going shopping, but I now know that after about two hours on my own I start to miss my hubby and son. I’m so used to having them around that I don’t like to be away from them for too long.My perfect day would be all of us hanging out together doing nothing much. An easy, relaxed start to the day reading the paper, maybe hanging down at the local park riding bikes and letting the dog run around in the morning, sitting out in the laneway that our townhouse backs onto in the afternoon having a cup of tea with our neighbours while the kids play. Then having friends over for dinner and some lovely wine.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

My childhood wasn’t easy. In fact, I seem to have blotted out much of my primary school years. There were four kids in my family, the third being my brother John, who has cerebral palsy. He is partially deaf and blind, can’t speak at all so we use sign language, is intellectually about six years old (he’s 43 now) and fairly unco-ordinated in his movements.

My mother, in particular, took the full brunt of looking after John while my dad worked two jobs. Until he was around 13 or 14, John behaved like he was having a non-stop tantrum whenever he was awake. How my mother must have yearned for his sleep times. On top of this, my parents struggled financially and did their best to look after me and my sisters.

Honestly, I look back and think: how did my mum do it? When John was very young, she had to walk to the bus stop with him in the pram and my sister Juliet and I, catch the bus to the railway station, catch the train into the city, and then a bus to hospital every day so John could have the physiotherapy he needed to help him learn to crawl and then walk. Mum and Dad had been told he’d never be able to but my mum was determined. I can’t believe the guts that this took.

My favourite childhood memory is, in a sense, knowing the utter love and devotion of my parents under incredibly difficult circumstances.

I found having Duncan in my early 40s full-on but when I look at my parents and what they had to cope with back then when we were little, I feel total and utter admiration for them. It took me a long time to forgive my parents for what I viewed, in my younger years, as their lack of attention to me as a child. But having Duncan has really made me realise what amazing parents they are.