Petit Amoir - My New Adventure!

I thought I better do a bit of a post about what I've been working on for the last 6 months. Finally on 8th September Petit Armoir was born! She has been a labor of love and I'm more than pleased with the result. 

Whilst there's still a long way to go in both renovations, website development and stock, she's looking so good and it's been flat out since opening. 

Here's what she looks like....

Street view

Front window

Signage (which I love!)

Inside

Front counter which is yet to have the logo added. Note awesome chandelier!

Kids play area complete with perspex barrier in front of TV so no breakages!

Linen from BABU & 'and the little dog laughed'

Babies

Boys & Girls sizes 2-14yrs

There's still lots to do like wallpaper the back wall, more stock to buy, advertising to organize etc. But so far so good. I'm so proud of what I've put together and I've had lots of great feedback. It makes all the long nights after working all day in the old shop worthwhile!

What do you think? 

Disruption to Routine is My Enemy

Today was slightly better than yesterday. I feel like I got a few things achieved finally. I still don't know how to use my new accounting system but I did get all but one of my winter 2013 orders completed.

The last order was for Fabrik, a label I love. Exquisite designs and gorgeous fabrics. It ticks all my boxes.....

"Fabrik marries that neat little girl with nanna’s handicrafts, warmth and care, a splash of colour, a dash of inspiration and wraps them all together in a unique and environmentally friendly package."

 

 

I'm thinking I might need some of their summer range too so tomorrow's job is to contact them/my agent and see if I can get some last minute stock. It's just too beautiful!

 

Just as I was about to walk out the door I got a call from one of my newest suppliers, Lullaby Linen. Helen, one of the owners, was absolutely lovely and so helpful.

 

How often do you see really great boys linen? I haven't seen a range as sophisticated and suitable for babies through to teens ever! I absolutely think this is an exceptional rage of linen and I'm so excited to be stocking it.

 

 

So finally I got out of there and loaded my car with some boxes of coat hangers to make some space in my overflowing storage room. I picked up Emily who had apparently been allowed to sleep from 1pm to 4:15pm!!! Any Mum of a 2 year old knows this is a disaster. Her bedtime was less than 3 hours away and there was no way I was going to get her off to sleep at that time now.

 

At 7:30pm we did the usual bedtime routine of bottle and story while she cuddled her hippo and laid quietly in bed. No sooner had I shut the door when I hear "Mummy!".....and so began my night of bedtime negotiating and re-settling. In the end I gave in and sat beside her holding her hand and patting her off to sleep. It was 9:30pm when I left her room. She was up at 5am this morning and she was beyond over-tired tonight.

 

It's times like this that I really struggle with loving having my own business and wanting to stay with my little girl. Routine is so important to her at the moment. When Daddy doesn't pick her up on the nights he's supposed to she's beside herself asking for him all night. When she doesn't sleep properly during the day or if I'm away working for a night she takes a couple of days to settle back into the routine. 3am wandering into Mummy's bed is not unusual for Emily.

 

But we'll work with it and struggle through for now. Just a couple more weeks and things can settle down and I can spend more time with her. At least that's the idea......

 

 



 

 



Seriously....More Shopping!

On Friday I took off to Melbourne for another big day of buying. This time it's to pick Winter 2013 stock. I've always found it fairly difficult to choose 6 months in advance but on one hand you at least know what customers wanted that you didn't have this winter. I also know what has sold out the quickest, so I know what to make sure I have loads of next time.

Next winter is going to be very different from this seasons colorways. There is loads of orange and purple, navy and green, florals and patchwork fabrics. I'm so excited about what I can bring to my little shop. Here's a sneak peak at what I'm looking at when I meet with my agents.....

Picking from the new range Fabrik was just delightful!

Baobab has some very funky designs

 

Mizzle basics



These gorgeous crotchet booties are part of the new Mizzle winter range and I just love them!

Four and a half hours of buying and I was exhausted. I'd hoped to get a bit of shopping in but since it was 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon and I knew I'd have to battle peak hour traffic back to the hotel in St Kilda, I decided to call it a day.

My bestie turned up at 7pm and we headed out to Mama Baba for dinner. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was ready to be disappointed since there was such a hype about George Calombaris's latest restaraunt venture and I'm not normally a fan of going to celebrity chef restaraunts.

I'm not foodie, I know nothing about wines and I couldn't care less who the chef is. But, I know what I like and don't like in a meal. There's no point in plating up a pretty dish if it's not going to fill me up and taste delicious.

Mama Baba is at the end of a little lane just off Chappel Street in South Yarra. You would never know it was there and it's totally unexpected in appearance.

 

The entrance.

We started at the bar and enjoyed a few drinks before we were seated at our table. If you don't like noise this is not the place for you. The music is loud and so are the customers. The seats are close together so expect to be able to hear all of your neighbouring tables conversations. Somehow this works well though and we had some great conversation with our neighbours.

Entree of beef carpaccio......oh yeah!

Scollop's and they were perfect

Tortellini Prawn saganaki, tomato & feta. It honestly tasted more like crab to me but it's definitely a dish I wouldn't normally order so maybe it just wasn't my taste.

Desert...... this was the Ferraro Roche and it tasted exactly like one! Oh this was heaven.

An Italian Mess. By this stage I was so over full I just couldn't fit it in. But my bestie demolished 3/4 of it!

All up I was definitely not disappointed by Mama Baba. Totally worth the 4 phone calls I made over two weeks trying to get a booking. And to Stacey on the reservations line....you are so lovely to deal with.

So that was day one of my freakin' weekend. Part two tomorrow as I'm buggered and it's time for some sleep.

Kids In Style 2012

So last Friday I headed off to Melbourne with my Mum for the Kids In Style Expo. I went to the Sydney expo back in February for the first time and it was mind boggling. Imagine every top kids fashion label, shoes and accessories and baby and kids products all under the one roof. They all want you to buy on the spot and you are bombarded with minimum spends, product information and the benefits of having their stuff in your shop.

This is why I took my Mum this time. I needed a seasoned shopper to help me make some important decisions about what kids clothing and products I was going to stock in my shop. Also it was Mum's birthday and since one of the things she loves most is shopping I thought this was a perfect way for her to spend the day.

So this is what we saw:

My favourite.... Gaia Organic Cotton.

I need these for Emily's next birthday party - cute little milk bottles from Lark

Owls Owls and more Owls!

The new Serentity Star from Aiden & Anais

Gorgeous & functional furniture from Gather Kids

Sandals from WALNUT Melbourne

Christmas rattles - I just love this as a display idea

Oshi-M - one of my new favourite suppliers for toddler gear

Lots of beautiful linen

Goo Collection

La De Dah Kids for classic toys

And then there were these..........



I understand why people take a week for these shows. They are huge and amazing and scary and wonderful. I had a ball and I can't wait till the next show in Sydney 2013!

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. 

Stealing Time

Lately my life has been so busy. Moving house, single parenting, family get togethers, birthday parties, markets and planning a new shop. There seems to never be enough hours in a day. I sneek extra minutes wherever I can, whether it be sitting in the car waiting for the all-day car park to open and checking my emails on my i-phone while I'm waiting, to sitting on the bathroom floor with the laptop paying bills while Emily takes a bath. I jam as much as possible into my day because at the moment there is just so much to do!

I'm currently in SALE mode at Bearly Worn, getting ready for the endo of financial year and clearing the shop of stock in preparation for the closing down, renovation and opening of the new shop. I have some beautiful handmade clothing and today I put up a Facebook sale for C is for Cat who exclusively stocks Bearly Worn. You can check it out here.



I love her reversible Babushka Pinafores. They are the best thing for pre-school and birthday parties.

So I decided that I need a little relaxation at night and something that is just for me. I love retromummy's blog and taking inspiration from her last night I trotted down to the local Lincraft before work this morning and picked up a $2.95 pattern book and a couple of balls of wool. I'm going to knit Emily a jumper for next winter. I say next winter because it always takes me ages to knit anything! Jumpers are so expensive to buy new and if i can pull this off I will have a lovely pure wool jumper for Emily for under $20. Not bad....... 

This Thursday I have to go to Melbourne for two days to buy fittings for the new shop and meet with suppliers. I'll also be having a little R&R with my bestie Lisa. She always cheers me up and she's a foodie so we always go to an amazing restaraunt. We'll also be going to a comedy club after dinner and meeting some friends there. I really don't want to look like the frumpy single Mum I've been feeling like lately so I pulled out my absolute favourite shoes and it's been my mission this week to find something that goes with them.

Are these not the hottest blue suede shoes you've ever seen? Mollini baby!

In the whole hour I get to myself between dropping Emily at childcare and opening the shop I stopped off at Valley Girl to see what tops or jackets they had that would go with my awesome shoes. We don't get a lot of choice of shops in Albury and I don't want to risk waiting till I get to Melbourne to find an utfit.

I swear Mrs Woog was reading my mind this morning when she blogged about Retail Discrimination! Anyway I entered the shop just after the 16 year old shop assistant pulled up the roller door. She looked pissed off that she already had a customer and then proceeded to totally ignore me while I floundered around trying to figure out whether to get a jacket to go over a slinky black dress or a layered top look to go with some skinny black jeans. I left empty handed as it turns out a large at Valley Girl is equivilent to a small at Susan..... seriously.....

Anyway I'm open to all suggestions about the shoes and what would go with them. What would you do?