Hello everyone,
Just a quick post to remind you that our Aden & Anais Giveaway closes in about 48 hours.
If you’d like to win these superstar swaddles then just click on the sweepstakes link on our Facebook Page.
One lucky winner will be drawn at random.
Like us on Facebook and you’ll also hear about other competitions like this as well as exclusive offers and discounts.
Visit Kidsen on Facebook now
Our Mid Summer Sale is coming to a close, but there’s still a few lovely pieces left. Here’s seven things you could bag today, ready for your summer hols….
Perfect for warm sunny days in the park or at the beach
Was £39.99
Now £25
A gorgeous soft cotton dress with big bold stripes
Was £29.99
Now £17.99
Classic Mary Janes by Primigi. Perfect for dressing up any outfit
Was £34.99
Now £29.99
The perfect shoes for active kids…
Was £36.99
Now £27.99
Keep the sand out of your sandwiches with this lovely beach mat
Was £18.99, Now £9.99
If you’ve got four hungry mouths to feed, then this is the picnic set for you….
Was £12.50
Now £7.50
Brighten up any room with these beautiful cushions…
Was £25.99, Now £19.99
Visit KIDSEN to see the rest of our summer sale…
All stock available at the time of writing
Gwen Stefani has just joined the slowly growing number of celebs who are now designing clothes for kids. And why not? Baby gear is now becoming big business. Mintel projected that the UK Market for baby products will be worth £753 million by 2013, so no wonder celebs are now getting out their Singer Sewing machines…
To be fair Gwen Stefani knows a thing or two about fashion – so we think her new range Harajuku Mini (ranging from $3.99 to $29.99 at Target) will actually do well when it’s launched in November later this year. But what about her competition – here’s a few of the other players in this space…
Madge has just announced that she’s expanding her teen focused, Material Girl collection to include lip gloss, body sprays and more. She’s in partnership with Macy’s and is promoting hard with multi media campaigns which will give Gwen a run for her money.
2. Paris Hilton A lady with her manicured fingers in many pies, Paris has now turned her hand to designing clothes for kids through her own label. She said she “wanted to create a collection that would represent her style, fashion and taste”. Job done!
Beyonce stopped perfecting the “uh oh, uh oh” crazy in love rumpshake, to turn her hand to her House of Dereon label. Formed in partnership with her mother, the kids collection floundered, but knowing Beyonce, she’ll be back to show us the ladies run this…
4. Stella McCartneyFrom her first partnership with Gucci Group, through to her work with Gap and Mini A Ture, Stella is virtually a fashion veteran. Her label, Stella Kids always has some great pieces for little ones…
Between her TV, radio, music career and motherhood, we’re seriously impressed that Myleene’s also been able to squeeze in her own Baby K product line, which is now launching it’s 5th season.
Of course if you’re not swayed by a celeb label and just want some cool kids clothes, we know a little place….
Quick somebody call the police – I’ve just been robbed twice and I know exactly who did it. The first incident took place at the Vue cinema on the Finchley Road at 9.22am. I’d arrived with my two girls to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D as a little Sunday Morning treat. Now, maybe the Good Lord doesn’t like us skipping church on Sunday’s and decided to punish us, because when I put my card into the automatic ticket dispenser, the machine debited my card for 35 pounds plus change.
I thought there’d been some mistake, until some Dick Turpin character dressed in an orange Vue uniform told me that 3D films cost a bit more. A Bit? I thought, but I kept it to myself and decided not to report this daylight robbery….
So we wandered over to pick up some snacks to make the most of the
incredible cinematic experience we were about to have. The girls chose a handful of pick n mix sweets that you could literally count on one hand, plus the smallest popcorn and a bottle of water. When Dick Turpin ran it through the till, it came to 10 pounds plus change. The breakdown was as follows:
So, totalling this up, (with my carparking fee – a bargain at £3.50) the whole thing came to nearly £50 for one adult and two kids to see a film. Doesn’t bode well for the upcoming summer holidays - at this rate, we’ll be completely bankrupt by the time the holiday’s are over!
Kung Fu Panda 2 was a nice little action packed moral tale which is good for older kids (our 4 year old girl found it a bit much). Without spoiling the ending, it is left suitably open for a sequel. We’ve already started a Kung Fu Panda 3 saving fund….
Ever wondered what’s involved in a kid’s fashion shoot? Mini A Ture gave us a sneak peek with this video showcasing their gorgeous upcoming collection for Summer 2012.
Check out what lovely pieces are coming your way. Summer’s only just properly getting underway, but we already want to fast forward to next summer!
They say you should never work with kids and animals, unless of course, you’re Mini A Ture!
We’re super excited to have just got our hands on the brand new Skummis Bath Toys.
If you’re new to Skummis, let us bring you up to speed. The Skummis family are a colourful little collection of baby and children toys from Swedish designer Anna Hokenberg. Created a decade ago they’ve been wowing kids across Europe and beyond because of their quirky shapes that just scream fun.
Up until now, you probably would have seen the Skummis Pram Toys and mobiles, but this latest collection puts the Skummis where the most fun is to be had – in the bath!
The Skummis Bath Toys consist of five lovely filur as they’re known – and they come in a sweet little storage container for storage when bath time’s over.
The bath toys are made from PVC that is phthalat free which means they’re non toxic and it’s cool if your little one inevitably puts them in its mouth.
As we said, we’re super excited about Skummis bath toys – we think bath time won’t be the same again!!
Skummis bath toys are available to pre order at KIDSEN now.
We’re actually big fans of IKEA. They make some great things and we love that they’ve done such a great job of exporting Scandinavian design to the rest of the world.
Last year IKEA had 590 million people visit it’s stores, so don’t be surprised if you find your neighbor has exactly the same furniture as you! If you fancy something a little bit different, check out these Scandinavian inspired kids shelves:
If you have older kids, this storage solution could be ideal. It’s a wall hung shelving and desk solution in one. Great for small spaces.
£349 from Bouf
Available in a variety of colours these beautiful kids shelves are a great way to transform any kids rooms
£240 from KIDSEN
These shelves aren’t strictly for kids, but they can be hung low on the wall and stacked on top of each other to make a good storage solution for kids books. Available in other colours
Approximately £120 from ScandinavianDesign.com
The Swedish Architect Nils Strinning first designed his furniture in 1949 and his vision still look amazing today. A design classic
Price: Various from Skandium
Gorgeous storage solution set available in white and coral. These shelves Can be hung anyway you want! Great for storing toys, books and CDs.
£120 from KIDSEN
Described as “like Lego for grown ups” the Vitose Storage system can expand as your needs change. Great solution which you can even take with you when you move.
Free planning service.
Price: Various – Available from Vitsoe
How do you fancy having tea in London this weekend with possibly the most famous Finnish story book characters ever created?
Well you’re in luck as The Moomins will be in town as part of the first ever Pop Up Festival of Stories taking place at Coram Fields in Bloomsbury this weekend. The Festival is FREE (which always goes down well with Londoners).
It’s been created to give young people a chance to meet the people who make the books they love because the organisers believe that the people who make books and stories can inspire kids to become better readers, writers and artists.
Amongst other things, there’ll be the Moomin Tea Party (with cakes and drinks from the Moomin Cookbook) an appearance by Rastamouse and the Easy Crew, interactive storytelling of Beatrix Potter’s ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ and even DJ Sets from the likes of Charlie Dark.
Take a look at our new facebook competition page for a chance to win some great prizes. We’re kicking off the give-away’s with some gorgeous Aden & Anais swaddles.
If you’ve been too sleep deprived to take notice, Swaddling is making a big return and it’s largely thanks to Aden & Anais. Their swaddles are not only beautiful, they’re large enough to make it easy to properly swaddle your baby.
When done correctly, your baby should feel more comfortable, secure and ultimately sleep longer! We know what you’re thinking and no, that’s not the only reason why those celebrity mums look so good!
For your chance to win a gorgeous Aden & Anais four pack visit our Facebook Page now.
Most parents choose traditional names for their children – if it’s not a name inherited from ancestors, it might be inspired by names of friends, literary characters or even celebrities. However, there are enough parents with “unacceptable” ideas for baby names that many countries have complex procedures for the approval of names and they frequently deny certain requests.
For one reason or another, Scandinavian countries rank very high on the index of the most meaningless or offensive names, forcing the authorities to regulate the process very carefully.
In Denmark citizens are given a comprehensive list of 7000+ names approved for use, with special permissions necessary to use even ethnic names not included in the list. Sounds totalitarian, but what would you do if you received an application from parents who wanted to name their child “Anus”, like the Danish authorities did.
Danes are not alone in this regard. How about a couple from Sweden which in 1996 decided to name their son Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, claiming it is pronounced “Albin”. It was an act of defiance against the longstanding practice of the Swedish government rigorously overseeing the naming of children – they famously banned such names as IKEA and Metallica (perhaps to prevent copyright infringement). Whether strict procedures will help to prevent other outrageous ideas in the future remains to be seen.
Norway is not very far behind regarding the control of baby names, although it recently replaced its list of allowed names with a general ban on the use of words related to sex or illnesses. Norwegian courts actually went a step further in 1998, sending a woman to jail for two days after she failed to pay the fine for attempting to give her child an illegal name. The woman claimed that she got inspiration to name her son Gesher, meaning “Bridge” in Hebrew, from a dream. Not the most ordinary name in the world, but is it really worthy of jail time?
Whilst there’s some terrible Scandinavian baby names, hundreds of ridiculous and offensive names are rejected by authorities around the globe every year. Yahoo recently highlighted this problem by publishing this list of illegal baby names:
KIDSEN Says: Making names illegal obviously isn’t great in a free society, but at least the children are spared the burden of having to explain their parents’ creativity to everyone they ever say hello to for the rest of their lives!