Where to Shop – Europe

I love independent retailers and supporting small businesses all over the globe.

I have categorised shops across different regions to make it easier for you to search your part of the world.

Here is a guide to some of my fave shops, stocking kids toys and kids fashion across Europe, listed in alphabetical order as all are equally brilliant in their own right.

Check back every now and then as I add more to the list.

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Misha & Puff

Well after a glorious Summer like week of weather last week, this week we have had gale force winds, rain and a big drop in temperatures. It feels like Winter again and I am wanting to keep all warm and cosy. I am blaming myself of course as the day I put away all our winter heaters, winter came back with a vengeance! But I digress as always, as all we want to hear about are these super gorgeous timeless knits by the fabulous Misha and Puff.  They are oh so perfect for this colder change in temps.

Designed by Anna Wallack in the US, each knit is ethically hand made in Peru. Here the women are given opportunities to support their families through working from home or at a knitting centre that provides meals and childcare.

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Little Wild Things

It has been way too long between fashion posts on this blog and for that I apologise profusely!!! But this little label we love and I wanted to let you know about them as the kids have been rocking their tees of late.

Little Wild Things T (LWT) is a gorgeous new kids label based in Melbourne focusing on t-shirts which are made from high quality 100% organic bamboo cotton fabric. Producing a limited run of 30 tees for each collection, which means none of this fast fashion that is so prevalent today. This label is all about creating super soft clothing with designs that won’t date.   They launched in December last year and they have already designed 2 collections for ages 1-6 years.

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Mister. I

I have to say when I opened up the package from Mister.I, I gasped, quite literally, at how beautiful the 2 pieces of clothing were that I was looking at. The prints were utterly divine and the fabric super soft. They took my breath away. I had not seen kids clothing so stunning before.

As such I was in a bit of a fix, as I knew that my photos couldn’t do this beautiful clothing line the justice it deserved. I am still learning with my photography but these clothes needed a master! So I enlisted a photographer friend of mine to take over and weave her magic. I have to say my darling Sina from Petite Etoile certainly did that!

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Pop Kids USA

Pop Kids USA is a fantastic and super fun brand of kid’s tees that is designed and produced in Chicago. When looking for t-shirts for my boys, I am always after clothes that are fun, hard wearing, and something that reflects my kids’ awesome characters. It was with much pleasure and delight therefore to receive a package of goodies from Pop Kids USA this month to test and review as their t-shirts fit my criteria perfectly.

Pop Kids USA is a year old however, Ellen and her husband Luke have been in the kids fashion business for well over 10 years and with influences like vintage graphics and signs, kids’ books, pop culture and typography; their t-shirts are uniquely designed to stand out from the crowd with designs like “The Wild One”, “Road Rebel” and “Bugs and Slugs”.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I love supporting handmade and small businesses and adore when a company designs and creates things in house. It is so hard to design a gorgeous product and even harder to work out where to get it manufactured; using fair trade resources in India, Indonesia or China or locating production somewhere in your own country.

Pop Kids USA are very much American and true to their name, every sweatshop free American Apparel tees is pressed by a local printer by hand which is dedication to the cause. Even more so as either Ellen and Luke are there to watch and check on the printing every step of the way.

Ellen and Luke design t-shirts seasonally, but as they are sometimes inspired by street art or a vintage sign they see, they may design just on a whim! Growing up with a love of drawing, painting and art, they have both been able to develop and evolve that love of all things visual; into creating brilliant designs for their t-shirt line. I love this true artistic aspect to their operation and the fact that they are inspired by lots of things I adore, like vintage graphics and the like. It definitely shows in their collection.

I have to say we have had a lot of fun with our tees from Pop Kids USA. We took the kids to the skate park where they could have a go on their scooters and skateboards. Needless to say they had a ball! And the t-shirts stood up to the test of skating and scooting to perfection. They have become our go to t-shirts as the kids love how soft they are against their skin and their fun designs.

Disclosure: In order to review the t-shirts,  we received a complimentary selection of them to test.

wild one scooter

POP boys

skater scooter

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Wild brothers

skater pop

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Australian kids labels – ones to watch 2015

I have to say 2015 is looking like a hugely successful year for so many young Australian kids brands. It was so hard picking just a handful so here is my selection of 12 to watch this year. Some are already established and some just starting out but I predict HUGE things for all of them in 2015! Watch this space…

Australian kids labels – ones to watch 2015

Clockwise L-R:

One Two Nine “Quilt 1”

Paul and Paula “Go Bananas” tee

Inkibabinki  “Grid bloomers”

Mint Rhapsody “Milky Attic House”

Mum life project – soon to be released project supporting mums

Miss Pigeon Productions – crochet sweets

Maven Dolls “Maven Elsie”

The Hook Co “Wall hooks”

Captain + Co “Gone Batty Bunting”

Smallest Tribe “Spearminty dance party girls skirt”

Little Red Elk “Bunny wall hook”

Babee and Me “Handpainted memory game backyard animals”