Sneak Peak Summer 2012

Something a little different today and more in line with my passion......


I thought I'd share some of the Summer 2012 kids range coming out with a sneak peak of some of the stock I'm getting into my new shop. I also thought it's time to reveal the new name!


Deciding on a business name is really, really, REALLY hard! There were loads of options to choose from but you want to sound original, have the right "feel" to the name because it can dictate your logo, image and ultimately type of customer that walks through your door. 


After a lot of debating, back and forth with friends and family I finally chose this name:

And this is my new logo. You like?

I've signed quite a few labels already and will be looking at more at the upcoming Kids In Style Expo in Melbourne. So here's a sneak peak at some of the designs coming out for your kids this summer. 

Some very cool sunglasses by Babiators

Gorgeous singlets and matching headbands by Fawn & Milk

Summer Mary-Jane's by WALNUT Melbourne

How adorable is this jumpsuit in dusty pink by Baobab? 

Boys aren't forgotten in these stylish organic cotton unisex harem pants and pine needle print tee by Baobab

Fun and practical for play. Chemical free with 100% organic cotton. Emily definitely needs one of these navy play-suits by Baobab.

I've got your cool dude covered with Freshbaked. Sizes 3 to 14. 

This dress is perfect for year 6 school dances or parties. It comes in sizes 3 to 14 and it's by Freshbaked. 

New to the kids market is Milk & Sugar. Pretty prints and available in sizes 0000 to 0. I'm in love with this new label!

Totally on trend, the boys range of Milk & Sugar is very special. 

Another new comer. The Letter M specialises in sizes 8 to 14 and it's so refreshing to find a Tweenie label that's both young, on trend and still age appropriate. 

Natural hues are definitely in this summer for Tween's. How greet would your 12 year old look in this number by The Letter M at her school formal or Christmas Party? 

So that's my preview of Summer 2012. I think this season is going to be huge and I can't wait to hear what you think of it. 

Back to Work

Back at work today and I've been flat out busy. It pissed down rain all day and i really thought there would be no one about and it would be an easy day. Instead I had customer after customer and a million emails and admin jobs to catch up on.

Not that I'm complaining. Being busy is good. The day flew by and before you knew it I'd picked up Emily, served take-away chicken for dinner, bathed her and put her to bed.

I've been playing with logo's for the new shop all night and my eye's are beginning to get sore. Do I do a colored logo or a black and white logo? Do I put a picture on the side or faded behind the name? So many options and I'm terrible at making up my mind on these things.

I'm so excited about the Melbourne Kids In Style Expo coming up on 3rd August. I've booked Mum and I into the Art Series hotel - The Cullen. Mum was an art student and teacher back in the day and it's right up her alley. She'll love all the art deco furniture and original works on the walls.

Tomorrow I've got a little more stock ordering and re-organising to do, and endless amount of paperwork and hopefully get this artwork sorted. It's going to be a really busy 6 weeks ahead so this chest infection better hurry up and get better!



Emily's Obsession

My daughter Emily is currently obsessed with my parents, her Mama and GD (Dad wasn't quite ready to be called Grandad when my sister had his first grandchild).

 She wakes up in the morning and asks for them, she goes to bed at night begging for them and every time we go out in the car she wants me to go to their place. When we do visit it's a struggle to get her back into the car to go home. We usually have to trick her by having my Dad put her in the car with my Mum sits next to her pretending to come with us. Then she jumps out and says goodbye and Emily cries for the next five minutes in the car on the way home.

I'm praying this is a stage she'll go through and get over quickly. It's not like Mum and Dad purposely make her love them so much, she just does. And I'm glad she adores them and enjoys them because I a lot of kids don't get to enjoy their grandparents they way mine does.

Today was my day off and a day I always try to do something special with Emily. She's my one and only so I want to make the most of it. I declared it a sewing free day even though I got the most gorgeous Amy Butler fabric in the mail today......

So we went to our local cafe this morning for a coffee and an Anzac Biscuit and just spent time together reading Thomas The Tank Engine book and chatting about nothing (she doesn't really say anything but gibberish anyway and I just nod and ask questions).

We spent some time at the shop and ordered some Skeanie and Uh-Oh! Sleepwear shoes and PJ's for our trip next week.

On the way home I thought we'd swing by my parents business Albury Dream Cottages and say hello as they were just finishing up and there is play equipment out back that Emily loves.

I really should have thought about it before we went. It was 11am and she was already getting tired. She hadn't had lunch and I hadn't bought any with us because it was a spur of the moment decision.

Well she happily played for half an hour on the swings with Mama and chatted to GD telling him big stories. Then she began banging the back door of the house, refused to put her shoes on, started throwing things and I knew she had gotten past it. Getting her into the car was a nightmare and once she was in and we were driving home she sucked hard on the dummy and hugged her pink hippo. We pulled up in the driveway and she wanted to stay in the car as she was obviously comfortable and very tired. She refused lunch, she drank a bottle and fell asleep on her bean bag in front of the TV.

I felt bad, I should have taken her home an hour earlier and given her a proper lunch. When she woke two hours later she was hot and sweaty and crying. She asked for Mama and GD. *sigh*

None of this is a big deal, none of this is anything special or out of the ordinary. I know all parents go through stages with their kids. It does make me feel better writing it down and sharing.

What's your childs obsession? 

The Best Day Ever!!

Today was the best day ever! I mean it, it was awesome.

On Monday I put a Facebook post up saying there would be a big announcement on Thursday. On Tuesday I posted a reminder and on Wednesday I said I had not one but three big announcements to make.

Today was the Albury Gold Cup and a gazetted public holiday from midday which meant no childcare and therefor no shop open after midday. At first i thought it was a disaster. I need the income desperately at the moment and half day closing meant I would struggle to meet my sales target.

So these were my announcements that I made on Thursday:

Announcement 1: It's almost been a year since I bought the shop and to celebrate my 1 year anniversary we are doing a bit of a make-over in the shop. Over the coming weeks you'll see a new color scheme, play area, shop fittings (I've started this already) and a new logo. A huge thanks to Kath from Doodlebugs who has been madly designing the new bear and logo. I can't wait to show you all!

Announcement 2: With the success of new labels Gaia Organic Cotton, Eternal Creation, Mizzle, Walnut and Skeanie added to Bearly Worn over the last year I've decided to expand the range for summer 2012! I'm very pleased to announce I have just signed orders for Koko & Co., Milky and Freshbaked. There will be more to come so keep your eye on Facebook as I'll list them her as they're confirmed.

Final announcement for today! To celebrate Albury Gold Cup I am having a one day only SALE! Come in between 10am and 12pm tomorrow and get 10% discount on all new winter stock from Gaia Organic Cotton, Mizzle, Skeanie, Uh-Oh! sleepwear and... Walnut Melbourne. This is for TOMORROW ONLY with no exceptions, rain checks and not in conjunction with any other offer. So come in and save some $$$ on your kids winter wardrobes! See you tomorrow :-)

 

Well turns out a lot of people read my post about the sale and at 9:30am there were people lined up at the door. In two hours I did a weeks trade and I couldn't be more chuffed! Honestly i wasn't expecting this at all and today I finally feel like I made the right decision buying the shop. It's been a really hard slog this last 12 months and days like this give me hope that it's all worth it.

 

Anyway, not to worry. I hope tomorrow is just as good and that the trend continues. Next on my list of many things to do is the new radio campaign. Anyone good with writing jingles?

One Day at a Time

It was an absolutely huge market day and I wish I had of grabbed some photo's, but honestly it was just too busy!

It started at 5:30am with a toddler who decided it was time to get up and sang "mummy mummy mummy" for about 1/2 an hour before I finally dragged my tired ass out of bed.

After that it was go, go, go setting up my market stall and opening the shop for the annual Traders Market Day in Albury. Because we're a twin city with Albury on the NSW side and Wodonga on the VIC side, half the population got the day off with VIC Labour Day and they all came over for a family fun day at QEII Square.

All I can say is it was hugely busy, although I would have liked to be busier. I did better than this time last year but not as good as two years ago. Considering I now have new kid's clothing and shoes in the shop whereas last year there was only recycled kids clothing, I expected a much bigger days trade. But I guess with all the flooding and economy worries, a lot of people weren't spending.

Hubby picked up Emily who hardly slept today and was really grumpy so I decided we needed fish and chips for dinner as I just couldn't deal with sore feet, a grumpy toddler, a frustrated hubby and cooking tonight. But now I feel sooooo guilty that I ate all those chips. It's always when your busy and tired that you give in and go for the easy take away option. To make matters worse I'm sitting here watching The Biggest Looser and all the ads in between are weight loss program ads like Lite 'n' Easy and Weight Watchers!

Tomorrow morning I have to meet with the creative team from Aus Stereo to create my new radio ad. I've been trying to think of something creative and punchy that really gets the message about the shop across to my customers. I'm changing everything about the shop except the name and I'm trying hard to pick up those customers that never came in before because they only bought new and up-market brands. It's really hard changing the reputation of an existing business. When your a new business you have no reputation and so people naturally come in to see the new kid on the block. But when your an existing business and you already have a particular reputation, it is that much harder to convince people to come in and see what's new.

I think this week is going to be a "one day at a time" week. I literally have something major on every day and no time for rest. Here's hoping next week is a little less stressful!

The reason for everything I do......

When the Going Gets Tough, Country People Stick Together

It's been very eventful around here in the last week. Last Thursday there was an absolute deluge of rain in Albury resulting in Emily's new childcare centre being evacuated. We had a reprieve on Friday and thank God because thanks to the rain the shop had been dead all week. I couldn't even bribe people to come in with new WALNUT gumboots on sale.

Saturday came and the deluge returned. Albury has pretty good levy banks and drainage but my birth town of Urana 1 1/2 hours North West of Albury was hit hard and Sunday morning and so they began building up the levy at the nearby Columbo Creek.

Monday dawned and the sun came out, but the news came through that the levy at Columbo Creek had burst and the water was headed to the town.

This is the town yesterday aftenoon .....

I've never seen Urana drenched like this in all my 36 years. It is certainly higher than the 1982 floods I remember as a kid which came halfway up our driveway but never reached the farmhouse. It's definitely higher than the 1942 floods that the oldies are talking about in town.

Urana is a resilient town. It was once the epicentre of sheep and wheat trade in the district however with the removal of the railway it has slowly declined to a small village of 400. The people that remain are strong and carry a "she'll be right" attitude. Our old neighbour who is now in her 70's said "oh it's just a bit of water" when asked to evacuate last night.

I love this photo posted of one of the locals today on Facebook. Says it all really....

When you get lemons, make lemonade.....or row row row your boat.

Last night they took a vote in the town meeting as to whether they should evacuate and it was a unanimous no. The water began to subside today but they have a long way till their out of the woods. More water isexpected to move to the Billabong and Lake Urana and that will cause more flooding towards to end of the week. Then the clean up begins.

Country people stick together in times like this. They don't care for politics or who "should" be doing what. They just get on with it, they just do what has to be done. They're very matter of fact about it and I love it. There's no bullshit. They say it how it is and they do what has to be done.

Then they all go off to the pub afterwards for a beer.

Planes, Trains and Kids In Style

Friday morning I flew to Sydney for the Kids In Style expo. If you've never heard of it, imagine all the new and existing fashion labels, accessories, toys and loads more for kids under one roof. Retailers and industry folk go to look at what's coming up, find new and interesting products for their shops, pick up samples and order for next season.

So I thought I'd share a few pics of the trade fair so you can get an insiders view to the industry:

The entrance to Kids In Style

Skeanie and Uh-Oh! in the left corner had some amazing new styles

The board with the list of exhibitors.....totally mind boggling!

How cute are these dinasour badges for boys!

Colored jeans have made a come-back and these are sized 00. So cute!

I saw so many great products and kids clothing ranges and met some wonderful and talented designers. I've spent the last 24 hours going through the massive bag of price lists, catalogues and samples I bought home and I have to admit this has got to be the most fun part of my job. The hard part will be not buying everything and making sure what I do get fills a gap and compliments the rest of the shop.

I spent quite a lot of time talking to Natasha who owns Skeanie and Uh-Oh! It seems we have quite a bit in common having both previously worked in recruitment and both moving from Sydney to the country. We also both decided to start our own businesses once we had our first child and Natasha has done a brilliant job with hers. She's definitely someone I admire.

Anyway, best get Miss E's bag ready for her first day at the new daycare centre tomorrow. It's looking to be a huge day of pricing, hanging and new window display at the shop as well as trying to ensure Miss E transitions well to the new center. But this is the life of a Mum running her own business........

How Was Your Day Dear?

I'm single parenting at the moment as hubby is on "a business" trip. This business trip happens to be in Coffs Harbour in a 5 star luxury resort and his room, with it's king size bed and spa, overlooks the ocean. He tells me tonight that he spent a hard morning brainstorming in an IT workshop, then spent the afternoon in the pool and got sunburnt.

I on the other hand was woken at 6am by our screaming toddler, who by the way didn't go to bed until 10pm last night! My morning shower was taken whilst Miss E had her face pressed up against it crying "Daddy" and staring at me like I could magically produce him. After getting us both dressed and breakfast, cleaning the house, doing the dishes and putting on a load of washing I had to answer a phone call from hubby just as I was about to race out the door. Apparently it's not nice to just hang up on someone who tells you they just woke up (it was 8:30am) and what a glorious sleep he had. Really? Do I GAF???

Dropping Miss E off at daycare I politely ask if they can please make sure she wakes up at 1:30pm as she hasn't been going to sleep at night and I want to tire her out so she'll go straight to bed tonight. This is followed by a lecture from the childcare worker advising me I enable her too much by giving her too many cuddles and I should just let her cry it out. She tells me they have no trouble getting her to sleep during the day. Well that's just great!

I get to work and my back room looks like a nuclear stock explosion. There is literally no room to move and so after spending the first hour rearranging I finally am able to make my way to the kitchen where I find a mouse has accidentally got caught in the trap my Dad set behind the fridge 6 months ago. I feel sorry for him. I also feel disgusted and dry retch as I pick up the trap and throw the entire thing in the bin. I'll just buy a new one, it's too much to ask me to get the thing out of there!

I go to put pictures of my new Gaia Organic Cotton Winter 2012 collection on my website and realise that my computer just wiped the shop copy of the stock images. Aaaarrrggghhh!!! Another job I'm going to have to do at home on the trusty Toshiba.

Gaia Organic Cotton Winter 2012 Preview

 After this discovery I decided to have a go at doing a new window for the shop. Originally I wanted to do a Red and White theme for Valentines Day, but my new Eternal Creation range hasn't arrived yet and so I'm having to make do with Pink and Blue. I think it still turned out pretty good.

 Anyway, picked up Miss E from childcare and found they had let her sleep for over two hours today so she was not tired at all. She also had a big scratch on her face which they couldn't tell me how it happened. This is not the first time I've had these kind of issues, however luckily we are on the waiting list for our preferred childcare centre in central Albury and hopefully soon we'll have a great place where I don't have to worry.

Tonight it took until 9pm to get Miss E off to sleep. We raced around the back yard when we got home, made dinner, had a bath, watered the garden, read books and played until she was exhausted at 7pm. Then as soon as she lied down and I turned out the light the crying game started. I ignored, painted some new shop fittings, did another load of washing, took out the garbage, checked Facebook, until I heard the whiny cry change to a distressing scream so I raced back in to find her soaked in sweat and she had vomited all down the front of her PJ's.

I cleaned her up, gave her some warm milk, cuddles and kissed her and told her it would be OK, put her back in bed and held her hand until she finally drifted off to sleep.

Then hubby called........

Seriously I couldn't give a toss how wonderful your damn resort is and how you plan to take me there one day!

Apparently it's rude to hang up on someone when there telling you how wonderful their life is when your day has been so shitty.....

How was your day?

What my six year old neice did today....

I was going to write about my day today. I was going to tell you how when I got to work I decided to put together the new Ikea bookcase that I drove 3 hours and battled crowds in a hot smelly warehouse to get, only to find that one side of the box had been damaged by what looked like a forklift tyne.

I was going to tell you how I ended up putting it together anyway because it would cost me more money and hassle to return it and just put the damaged side on the floor. It turned out pretty good!

I was going to tell you I put together a new window featuring Eternal Creation which is now on sale at 50% off and how proud I am to stock such a great Australian label that is Fair Trade certified.

I was going to tell you that on the way home I saw the most amazing site. Five grey kangaroo's eating green grass on an empty block in a residential street. Truly amazing that they weren't even freaked out when I pulled over, rolled the window down and started taking their photo's.

I was going to tell you that I am now relaxing with a Vodka, lemon and lime, blogging whilst my hubby sits next to me watching Star Wars (he's a massive nerd!).

But then I got an email. It was an invite for a blog. It was my 6 year old niece's blog! I'm not even going to debate whether she's too young to have one, I think it's cool. Six years old and already writing.

This is today's post....

The best friend club

In a school there was a girl. her name was Sarah. her best friends name was Milly.her 2nd best friend was Isi well also 1st!they were in the best friends club.they made necklaces.

One very proud auntie here.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!!

Today was so much fun! This is the part of my job I love.......getting new season stock.

This morning I thought it was going to be another boring day of bookwork and then the delivery guy came with four massive boxes from WALNUT Melbourne. Whoop! Now I have an excuse to procrastinate on the bookwork.

I had honestly forgotten what I ordered so it was like opening Christmas presents today. Gorgeous fuchsia pink Mary Jane's, classic french navy Cruise shoes, little chocolate boots and warm winter tights. I was having a serious problem because all I wanted to do was put them on the shelves immediately.

Halfway through the day I gave in to temptation and put the Mary Jane's and Cruise shoes on the shelf and website. By 2:30pm I was showing a regular customer the ballet flats that aren't due to go out for another month. I'm really bad at the surprise thing!

I have a huge love of beautiful shoes and when I find a label I love, I tend to buy it in excess. Children's shoes can be so cute, but they can also be so expensive. When I discovered WALNUT Melbourne I was so pleasantly surprised that they were not just very stylish and functional but also very affordable.

Miss E was recently out at our local park in her new Chilli Red WALNUT Mary Janes and what's the first thing she did? Jump in a brown muddy puddle! "Noooooo!" I screamed as I ran accross the playground. When we got home I popped them in the washing machine on wool cycle with a bit of wool wash and they came up good as new. See, stylish but functional.

Anyway, I managed to get all the stock into the computer and put away in storage until their time to go out (except for the Mary Jane and Cruise shoes of course) and now all I can think about is how I'm going to display them.

I think I'll leave that for another day........