modeco kids

At Nayla Natural Care you’ll find a variety of products for you and your family, but I’d have to say their niche is one-stop shopping for safe, non-toxic, high quality skin and body products. This Canadian online boutique is owned and operated by a family in Ottawa and it launched recently. Their curated selection of natural products is the result of this thoughtful approach:

There are so many products out there that claim to be “all natural” or “organic” but the truth is that you really have to do your homework and read ingredient labels to know what you are really buying…. We have gathered some of the best products that we have used with our family over the years as well as a lot of new ones. We’ve spent countless hours researching these products, their ingredients and talking with their manufacturers.

They even took it a step further by recruiting other families to test products before they decided which lines to carry (and only the very best products made the cut). You can read their product reviews and add your own too!

I thought it would be fun to pull together a selection of goodies as though I were shopping for a baby shower gift. Here are my top picks: Angel Baby diaper rash soap, SwaddleMe wrap, Baby Beaver massage butter, Duide protecting balm.

As much as I love discovering new products, I love browsing a shop and finding products that I’ve featured on this blog! At Nayla Natural Care you’ll also find Canadian RiNGLEY natural teething toy and All Things Jill natural skin care which you may remember from a previous post.

See something that’s caught your eye? Worldwide shipping is available. There’s even free shipping within Canada for orders over $150!

(images via naylanaturalcare.com)

Technorati Tags: natural skin care, organic body care, Canadian online shop, baby gifts

August 14th, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, RETAILERS, gear, retailer spotlights, skin care No Comments »

Little Bodhi is “essentials for the enlightened baby”. Great tag line! This Canadian online baby boutique specializes in organic baby clothing, fair trade accessories and non toxic wooden toys. You’ll even find cool music for babies including lullaby renditions of Bob Marley. This CD caught my eye since my husband and I recently watched a documentary movie about him.

They also offer a pretty unique service: free customized birth announcements that you can email, blog or print to share the news of your baby’s arrival with your family and friends. To be eligible new parents need only sign up for a gift registry.

I love the colors and styling of these toddler shoes by Umi for children up to 24 months. Too bad I didn’t know of this brand when my boys were that young! Apparently this brand was recognized by Consumer Reports® as one of their top recommendations for baby’s first shoe. I don’t know if this brand is exclusive to Little Bodhi, but a quick search of Canadian retailers at Umi’s website suggests it’s hard to find these children’s shoes elsewhere in Canada.

(image via littlebodhi.com)

Technorati Tags: e-boutique, baby boutique, children’s boutique, Canada, organic baby

August 10th, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, RETAILERS, clothes, gear, playtime, retailer spotlights, shoes No Comments »

This creative window display is the storefront of Bouton Jaune, a baby boutique in Montreal.

Technorati Tags: storefront, window display, baby boutique, Montreal

July 30th, 2008 Lisa posted in RETAILERS, storefronts No Comments »

I love the philosophy behind Hazel Wood Children that’s so eloquently expressed by boutique owner Jennifer:

When you consider it, our choices as parents have a tremendous influence on the way our children will eventually see the world. Again and again I asked myself, isn’t it even more important to surround a child with such beauty? Why not nurture these values in every way possible, rather than settle for the plastic and ordinary?

You can read more here. I had the opportunity to meet Jennifer when I was in NYC and she visited my booth at the National Stationery Show. She’s so down-to-earth! I’ve been meaning to post about her online children’s boutique for such a long time, so the other day I finally did some leisurely browsing and wanted to show you my favorites.

Letterpress prints by Old School Stationers
Serendipity 100% organic cotton baby blouse
One-of-a-kind handmade sailboat by Ann Wood
Alphabet cards by Ida Pearle

(images via hazelwoodchildren.com)

Technorati Tags: children’s boutique, kids, baby, independent artists, indie designers, retailer spotlight

July 23rd, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, art + decor, clothes, paper goods, retailer spotlights No Comments »

MyWares is a free online marketplace for wholesale buyers. This site showcases quality wholesale products that are created, designed or made by a woman. Retailers, you can join for free and browse many categories including baby, kids, paper goods, green and handmade to look for new products for your shop. You can also download catalogs, linesheets and media kits and contact sellers.

I also wanted to draw attention to the featured seller in the image captured above: Soapylove offers these handmade glycerin Soapsicles that look so fun and unique. Soapsicles are carried by several children’s boutiques including Pink Olive and Mahar Drygoods.

Technorati Tags: online marketplace, wholesale, retailers, wholesale buyers

July 8th, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, RETAILERS, resources, skin care No Comments »

Here’s a great tip for online-only retailers: host a one-day shopping event in your local community! It’s a fantastic way to connect with your existing customers and hopefully meet some new ones.

Nancy DeHart of Toronto-based Kai Kids is going “on location” this coming week to showcase her online boutique’s collection of ethical, eco-friendly, natural, non-toxic, upcycled and organic products for babies, toddlers, new moms and moms-to-be. She says here that she’s hoping to make it a regular event with monthly (and eventually weekly) Kai Kids shopping days.

If you’re in the Toronto area and want to check out Kai Kids in person, drop by 1390 Danforth Avenue in Toronto between 10am and 6pm on Tuesday July 8th. Email Nancy at info@kaikids.com or call 416-318-1501 if you’d like more information. A change room and mirror will be set up in the space so you can try things on. Also you can expect special sales for this one-day shopping event, available only to walk-in customers!

All products sold at Kai Kids are fair trade or ethically manufactured. You’ll also find several Canadian brands and products made locally including some I’ve featured on this blog (Bare Organics, Little Soles, RiNGLY and Petit Flaneur).

While browsing Kai Kids to pick out a few products for the image above, I noticed how well Nancy has described where things are made. The product description for Little Soles, for example, clearly states that they are made in China, but they’re sweatshop-free: “The Calgary-based owners travel to China to oversee the production run to ensure fair labour practices and quality control.” These details are perfect (and reassuring) for label-checkers like me! (I’m not alone! See this article that predicts that a growing number of consumers will want to know about the origins of their purchases.)

Here are the links to the products in the image above:
Little Soles leather baby shoes
Cut4Cloth organic top
Bambu bamboo bowls
Jessica Scott maternity top
Fleurville diaper bag (made from recycled pop bottles)

(images via kaikids.com)

Technorati Tags: online children’s boutique, baby gear, organic, fair trade, Canadian, eco-friendly

July 6th, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, RETAILERS, clothes, gear, mealtime, retailer spotlights, shoes No Comments »

Is it a coincidence that the nursing area at O! babybaby perfectly coordinates with their logo? I doubt it! Surprisingly often I find a disconnect between the styling of a brick-and-mortar children’s boutique and its online presence, but not so with O! babybaby. This Berkeley-based children’s boutique specializes in eco-friendly products that are good for your baby - the O! is for organic! I like how you can browse the online storefront by category or by brand.

I admit that it’s a bit self-indulgent to show you this lovely photo of Sweetbeets cards on display in the shop! The orange display tree is cool and obviously very versatile as it’s used in this Spring-themed window display and also to showcase these colorful hand knit hats by Oishii Knits. You can find more photos of the shop on Flickr. There’s a brand new store blog too!

Technorati Tags: children’s boutique, eco-friendly, organic, baby, online store, merchandising, window display

July 3rd, 2008 Lisa posted in RETAILERS, merchandising, retailer spotlights, storefronts 1 Comment »

Babes in Arms offers products that support attachment through breastfeeding and babywearing and is located within a midwives clinic in Calgary. Talk about making it easy for new and expecting parents to shop before or after appointments with the midwife! Anyways, I was browsing the Babes in Arms website last week after shipping an order of Sweetbeets to them and discovered several new-to-me products for babies and kids that are designed and made in Canada.

RiNGLEY is a natural teething toy made of organic terrycloth and untreated Canadian Maple that’s handmade in Toronto and available either knotted or straight. RiNGLEY is carried in a long list of children’s boutiques and gift shops across Canada, but no retailers are listed for the USA. I’m shocked! Maybe the retailer list is not up-to-date. With all the recent health concerns with plastics, this natural teething tool seems like a winner.

These wooden toys are made in British Columbia by Tuff Toys. You’ll find lots of trains, tracks and accessories in their catalogue.

HipMelon’s reversible baby slings have a simple pouch design made of fabric with just a touch of lycra for comfort. I love this sophisticated black and white design that’s lined with a knit fabric that just happens to be my favorite color. Each sling is handmade in Calgary.

All Things Jill is another Calgary-based company and offers natural bath and body care products including a line for babies. All products are handmade and made-to-order.

(images via ringley.ca, tufftoys.bc.ca, hipmelon.com, allthingsjill.ca)

Technorati Tags: made in Canada, wooden toys, baby slings, pouch sling, natural skin care, organic teething toy, wood teether, baby gear

June 24th, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, gear, playtime, retailer spotlights, skin care No Comments »

A while ago I posted about Sleeping Forest and Dress Me Up, two Canadian designers whose work really caught my eye. I’m so delighted to hear that both are featured on Forest Finds, a new addition to Fawn & Forest that showcases independent artists and designers. It sounds like this section will be refreshed each month so check back for new finds.

While you are browsing Fawn & Forest, I urge you to check out the shop’s blog. It’s one of the best online children’s boutique blogs I’ve seen. Why? It’s the perfect mix of new product highlights, shop news, projects, recipes and personal tidbits. Plus the photography is absolutely stunning and I love how Summer features products in use in (what I assume is) her own home, i.e., in context! I only wish there was a RSS feed to I can add this blog to my Google Reader!

Technorati Tags: online children’s boutique, independent designers, children’s boutique blog

June 21st, 2008 Lisa posted in retailer spotlights No Comments »

It’s so inspiring to learn about indie designers who take the plunge and open their own brick-and-mortar shop. After many years of selling her label Cinti does Vintage at craft markets throughout Melbourne, in the fall of 2007 Cintia Gonzalez opened My Poppet, a children’s boutique that showcases independent design for kids with a focus on items that are handmade in Australia. Her shop looks so cheerful and I especially love her creative use of spinning tops in one of her window displays. The sweet bears pictured above are Cintia’s own creations and ‘upcycled’ using felted wool sweaters. They were also featured in the latest issue of LMNOP - a perfect fit for its animal-themed issue! I think it’s very clever how Cintia uses a blog as her online shop where she offers My Poppet merchandise for mail order each week.

While browsing the shop’s blog I also discovered two more independent designers whose work really caught my eye. This amazing sun dress is made of fabric that was hand screen printed by Fiona Roy, the founder of Monstar. This dress appears to have been from an earlier collection as you’ll just find the Fall/Winter 2008 collection at the Monstar website right now. These colorful handmade drums by Dobbin and Drum incorporate some recycled materials. Other items in their collection include play tents and teepees that I’m sure would delight most children. Both the Monstar and Dobbin and Drum brands are designed and manufactured in Australia.

(images via mypoppet.com.au)

Technorati Tags: independent design, kids, children’s boutique, made in Australia

June 17th, 2008 Lisa posted in KIDS, RETAILERS, clothes, merchandising, playtime, retailer spotlights, storefronts 2 Comments »