smaller

small shops - Aggie Hill Giveaway

Aggie Hill has redesigned and modernized their website with many new amazing offerings and they are celebrating with a Giveaway!
Enter by Sept. 3^rd for your chance to win a pair of Blundstone Blunnies Boots ($90 value).

Click here to enter! 

 

 

Small Shops - Little Bean Shop turns one!

I can't believe it is the year anniversary for Little Bean! I feel like it was yesterday I was posting about the opening. We are celebrating this Friday with a Rikshaw Design Pop-up shop and party. The talented designer behind the beautiful boho brand, Catherine Fitzsimmons will be flying in for the occasion. She also has an amazing blog! We are co-hosting with the fantastic blogger Joslyn from Simple Lovely. Joslyn has been a contributing food editor of Small.  If your in Dallas this Friday stop by for some bubbly!

Rikshaw Design's fabulous collection inspired this shot from our Spring 2010 issue.

small giveaways- Moonchild Studio Doll

This week's giveaway is a beautiful, carefully handmade, one of a kind, 15" Waldorf style doll from Moonchild Studio. This particular doll (pictured on the left) was specially made for our readers at Smaller* and that's not all.... Berrie was kind enough to offer the readers a 20% discount on a Custom Order Doll for a January, February or March delivery. Just go to her Etsy site or blog and use SMALLMAG as the code when you order. 

A Moonchild doll is an all-natural doll that is made with natural fibers. This doll is made with European cotton interlock fabric that complies with Oeko-tex standard 100, wool stuffing, and mohair hair.  Her clothes are hand made with European corduroy and knit fabrics and her hat and shoes are made with 100% wool felt.  She comes with a care sheet and a re-blushing cloth. Waldorf style dolls typically have a neutral expression so the child can add the feelings that the doll is needing to fulfill. As a child holds and plays with a Moonchild doll, the wool stuffing holds the child's body heat.  Besides being great for educational and creative play, these toys are safe for your child and good for the environment.  This gorgeous doll will be a wonderful addition to your child's life that can be passed down through the generations.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what you think is so special about this doll.

One lucky reader will be picked at random and notified by email.  (Please leave your email address when you post a comment!). The winner will also be posted in the blog the following Monday. Our winners from last week (picked by random.org) were comments no.1, 3, 5, 6, and 12- congratulations!!  Please contact us with your email address.

Small inspiration 69

Barabra Berrada

Flatlands

small photo- lookbooks

We receive many lookbooks here at Small which we look through to see the new collections when we are trying to put together outfits for our shoots. Some of the books are so beautiful and so eye catching that we wanted to show them to you. Here are a few of our recent favorites.

 

IKKS

LuckyBoySunday

Buisjes en Beugels

Hucklebones

Dandy Starr

Les Zigous  a small snow hand made collection (bottom left)

Ada Ada Ricky's gang search for the horizon

Small play- puppets

We love puppets and here are a few our favorites.

man and woman finger puppets- Pintassilgo Prints

Morskoi Tsar laser cut puppet -Isabellas Art

Zebra drinking a Martini - Crank Bunny

Owl - Pin Pals

Bear- Shak-Shula

Dinosaur shadow puppet- Monkeytail and Wellington (Buy 3 or more single shadow puppets and a Shadow Puppet Theater Screen, and get the screen for just  $10.00. Pick up the discount code on their site and enter at purchase.)

Owl hand puppet- Romp

Small draw- street/studio

Sketch books by Miso known for her beautiful street art. Also checkout great the new book she co wrote with Alison Young, Ghost Patrol and Timba on the place of Melbourne street art, Street/Studio.

Small giveaways- The SqueeGees

Rescuing legions of parents from the torturous children’s music of the past, The SqueeGees provide an irresistibly playful musical adventure for the entire family. This week we are happy to be giving away 5 of their self titled CD's. Our favorite song is Nala the Chihuhua- it makes us smile every time we hear it! You can also find the CD on the itunes Target page or at a Target store near you on September 21st. Good Luck!

Five Lucky readers will be picked at random and notified by email.  (Please leave your email address when you post a comment!). The winner will also be posted in the blog. Our winner from last week (picked by random.org) was comment no.4- congratulations Kelly Mitchell! Please contact us with your email address!

If you are a maker, designer, illustrator, author or musician interested in participating in our Small Giveaway - email us at editor[at] smallmagazine.net.

small inspiration 68

Kat McLeod

Clare Bowditch- an inspiring woman and mother, with an inspirational new album- cover art by Kat.

small finds- school bags

Jasmine is back in town (hooray!) and she has been looking for some school bags now her first is heading off to school

left to right

moop

zowie

coq en pate

Atsuyo Et Akiko

Fjallraven

Bakker made with Love

small photo shoots - mario's magic school

We have just got in a wonderful shoot for the next issue that was shot in Puppetworks in Brooklyn. We have thought for years it would be a great place to stage a shoot, with the old fashioned stage and deep green walls and slightly spooky puppets hanging every where. We were so pleased when Kelsey and Dennis of Stomping Ground teamed up with Mario the Magician to do the Magic School Story for the next issue.

 

Here are a few shots from behind the scenes.  You can see the kids were so enchanted by Mario's show they didn't even notice the camera. Look for the full story in the next issue of Small coming out early next month

Small play- safari

flamingo

tree

giraffe

lion

rhinoceros

elephant

bird

vulture

small giveaways- swirl syndicate

Swirl Syndicate was inspired by Leigh-Ann's daughter, who is a gorgeous mix of her Caucasian father’s fair complexion and red hair, with her African-American mothers big brown eyes. This collection of tongue-in-cheek tees is meant to take the taboo out of the race topic and celebrate the beauty of having a rich mixed heritage. Swirl Syndicate designs are printed on sweatshop-free 100% cotton T-shirts.

Leigh-Ann is giving away a t-shirt - just visit her site and leave a comment here.

Last weeks giveaway (picked by random.org) was comment number 2- Congratulations Katie. Please get in touch with your information and we will send you the lovely Chakra dress.

inspiration 67

Birds cloud sky by 工字背心

Joanie Multitasks by Erin Flannery 

small report no.3 - Playtime New York

Clemence G-A colorful collection of baby onesies adorned with owls, birds and fish. Sleep sacks with mixed fabrics and beautiful stuffed bird mobiles that play sweet music.

Lamantine-Another amazing French line of luxe fabrics like muted silks and sheers with beaded details in modern silhouettes. I loved the beaded jewelry and empire waist dresses. Look for this line in our next issue!

Soft-This collection was created for children with sensory sensitivity. Each garment is tag less, sewn with flat seams, and crafted from bio washed cotton. This range is practical yet very stylish.

Goat Milk-Basic underwear, onesies, leggings and tee shirts in soft organic ribbed and pointelle knits. Essentials for any child's wardrobe in a neutral color scheme.

small report no.2 - Playtime New York

Opus-Baby clothing in super soft knits in cutting edge silhouettes- think harem pants and rompers with ruffles in places least expected. All the fabric detailing is vintage cotton.

ESP no.1-Hands down the best denim I have seen for kids. In white, black and worn denim washes in classic, unisex styles as well as tees in gorgeous stripes and solids in soft Japanese cotton. ESP no.1 is manufactured locally in NYC.

Sailor Rose-Beautiful liberty prints in classic silhouettes. Dresses that can be worn everyday that are inspired by and also made in the USA.

Bequita-We can't get enough of this line of boys and girls organic knit collection inspired by the East. The Spring 2011 is consistent with the Asian feel, but in beautiful jewel toned colors.

small report no.1 - Playtime New York

Last weekend I attended Playtime New York,  the international trade show devoted to childrenswear. I had a little assistant, my daughter Miette helping me. It was so nice to get a fashion perspective from a 6 year old. As a sponsor of Playtime we had limited edition postcards (seen in the middle photo above) featuring artists from our Small Draw coloring pages made for all the attendees of Playtime.

I will post over the next couple of days my favorite designers, new and old, from the show.

Bakker Made with Love -A French label designed by couple David and Valerie Bakker, who reside in Indonesia and who are clearly influenced by their travels. It can be seen in the colorful handmade fabrics in tribal prints that adorn rompers, bags, bibs, swim trunks and dresses. Along with a this collection are bright beautiful basics like jeans, tees and outerwear.

Supereditions-  A Parisian publishing house making books with Sandra Lanilis’ funny text with titles like, The Magic Sausage and Where do Monsters and Spiders hide when they are scared with a blank pages where your child can illustrate the story.

Coral & Tusk- Pillows, tee shirts, onesies, stationary and art prints adorned with embroidered images created by Stephanie Housley. I loved the kids button down shirts and dresses in a beautiful blue fish print as well as the award brooches and baby booties embroidered with bears and ducks.

 

Easy Peasy- A French brand of beautiful leather baby and toddler shoes.A  Classic collection of mary janes and lace up soft oxfords as well as booties with mouse and owl faces, colorful peace signs and hearts.

small giveaway - Chakra Design

I am excited about this weeks giveaway as we introduce to you a new children's clothing line called Chakra, meaning the circle of life - always revolving, always in flux - emanating joy and hope. Chakra garments are produced in a small coastal village in the southern part of India, where artisans weave beautiful, fabrics and practice ancient techniques of Kalamkari dyeing and block printing. These fabrics are then expertly sewn by seamstresses employed through a non-profit organization that trains under-privileged Indian women in the art of sewing and needlework.

Chakra will be opening up pre-ordering for fall on their website from today...Summer is still available, too, but Small readers are getting first shot at fall pre-orders! I just ordered Chakra dresses to stock in my shop and they really are beautiful!

We love Chakra's philosophy, "Better for the earth, better for your child."

 

The lovely ladies behind Chakra are offering up a Fira olive smocked dress, valued at 54$ in size 2, 4, & 6. Their clothes are all crafted by artisans in southern India from hand-loomed, vegetable-dyed, block-printed 100% cotton fabric. The fit is loose and flowy.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what your favorite item is from Chakra. 

One lucky reader will be picked at random and notified by e-mail (please leave your email when you post your comment!). The winners name will also be posted the following Monday.

Our winner last week (picked by random.org) was comment no.4. Congrats to The Clip Cafe!

If you are a maker or designer interested in participating in our Small Giveaway email us editor@smallmagazine.net

small shops - Sweet William summer sale

It's no secret that we are obsessed with the Brooklyn shop Sweet William. Bronagh Staley has an incredible knack for finding THE coolest kids stuff on the planet. Lucky for us we can find her summer stock on sale for 50% off starting August 10th. No joke. 50% off Keep shoes, Tuss, Angela Devine, Ketiketa, Kidcase, Clover...I could go on and on.

Sweet William

inspiration 66

Inspiration for still life....

Edible Mushroom Vintage Bontanical Poster

Photo from her Oyster Mushroom Series no.1 by Jenna Park

small report- project lemon-aid

Project Lemon-Aid began in mid-June 2010 as part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation campaign to Save Our Schools, when local school children held lemonade stands to raise money to save their teachers and programs from devastating state budget cuts to public education. Their efforts mushroomed across the city, and dozens of lemonade stands (and now garage sales, yoga classes, and more) continue to appear several times per week, raising more $20,000 to date. In July local businesses began to join the students' campaign.
Bid here for amazing offers for LA foodies such as an ice-cream party from Sweet Rose Creamery or private pastry lessons from Zoe Nathan, owner/baker of Huckleberry.

Submitted by Andrea Arria-Devoe

small paper - dicky bird

I love these cards from Dicky Bird.  Printed on heavy matte paper stock and blank inside- perfect for any occasion. They would look awesome framed!

small finds- tie it on

 

Halter dress from Parasols

Vintage fabric halter dress from Baby Bean

Frilly halter dress from Little Bean

Vintage sun suit from Dagmar Daley

small projects- bird mobile

The talented illustrator and designer, Bess Harding from Beeb, is back with another fantastic craft project for you. This time she has come up with an adorable bird mobile- although you could probably use the idea to make customized ones featuring your child's favorite animals.

Don't forget to check out Bess' inspiring blog and website and of course her Etsy shop for her toys and illustrations.

small giveaways - Little Korboose

LITTLE KORBOOSE is a design and illustration shop whose playful collections reflect founder, April Nemeth’s, keen eye for modern and eco-friendly products. Reminiscent of childhood, these collections range from unique screen-printed tees and onesies, to recycled note cards, to picnic-friendly melamine plates, bowls and trays. All Little Korboose products are made in the USA most in their own studio in Cleveland, Ohio. April is offering Small readers a t-shirt or onesie, simply go to her Etsy shop and leave a comment here.

One lucky reader will be picked at random and notified by email. (The winner will have to choose from available sizes in the shop). The winner will also be posted in the blog so please contact us with your mailing address if you see your name the following week. Our winner from last week (picked by random.org) was comment no. 34 - congratulations Ruth. Please let us know your address. 

If you are a maker, designer, illustrator, author or musician interested in participating in our Small Giveaway - email us at editor[at] smallmagazine.net.