Best of Natural Toys, 2008!

Things just keep on getting more and more exciting - my Organic Rabbit Rattles (RaRa) are included in Mothering Magazine's list of Best Natural Toys for 2008!

I'm soOo thrilled to be in the company of my Island neighbours: Bamboletta, Little Red Caboose, Poot & Boogie and Natural Pod - as well as the myriad natural, inspiring toys discovered by Mothering Magazine.

Wonderful! I hope to have some images from the article up soon - stay tuned.

Come Win!

There are a whole lot of exciting things unfolding right now - a home and studio move (this time, pretty permanent) in the works, some fantastic press and coming in-person events that I'll tell you more about soon - but right now just wanted to remind you that I've got a lovely lovely Organic Double Cream Blanket up for grabs!


Getting ready to crawl - perfect for tummy time

Send me an image or story - or both! - of you and your Ostrich Picnic Blanket in use and your name will be entered into my draw for the Organic Double Cream Blanket!

If you haven't got an Ostrich Blanket yet and having been thinking about picking one up, you'll find a few listed in my Etsy store, or come see me tomorrow at our last Moss Street Market of the summer season! 10-2pm, rain or shine.


Rain, rain, come, let's play ...

May the Sun Always Shine on Punky & Paige

I was in the supermarket on Friday night and noticed that a number of the magazines at the tills had been changed since I was last in, and that got me thinking ... Is the new Pregnancy & Newborn issue out? Would my Organic Teething Bonbon be included in one of their columns as suggested by a certain retailer's publicist? Are fame and fortune just around the corner?! Would I be getting a call from Oprah's producer in the morning?!!!



Reeling it in a little, I made my way down the magazine isle, looked waaay up to the pregnancy selection (don't magazine stockists get that pregnant women and new mums can't reach high and far back?!) and plucked the October 2008 issue of P&N from the shelf. I flipped to the table of contents. I saw the picture of the Orbit Stroller System (which my in-laws have and swear by, and which was recently mentioned on The Little Seed TV). I thought maybe, just maybe this Orbit image has something to do with promoting The Little Seed, and maybe, just maybe The Little Seed has something to do with promoting me.



I turned to page 108 and let out a yelp of joy, startling the fella browsing the car magazines (at waist level) beside me, and ran around trying to find Nathaniel hollering, 'o my gawd, o my GAWD!'.



Cleary, I'm *really* good at maintaining composure. Perhaps Oprah should hold off until I take some sort of class.

Thank you Soleil & Paige! 108 is my new lucky number.

Wooly Eggs ... ?

I've just ordered more lamb's wool stuffing for the Organic Teething Bonbons, the Organic Cloth Balls and the Organic Soft Block Sets - I've got about 20 balls and 40 sets of blocks waiting to be stuffed, and the wool shelf is almost bare! The little bit that I have left will fill just enough balls to satisfy the latest order from my first American retailer - Hatched, all the way over on the east coast in Boston. Hello, Hatched!

It's been a bit of a scattered day, I feel like my head is full of wool and my creative powers are sleepy. There seems to always be soo much paper work and computer work and not enough hands-on creative work - needless to say, the admin stuff is a bit energy sucking at times. You know how it is.


Little R., Blue Jay Babies, and our Bamboletta

I have two amazing women providing part time childcare for Little R. - this afternoon it will be Andrea who will pedal over and take Little R. on some exciting neighbourhood adventure, and I'll get to cutting out more of the Winter Bonnets. That should get me out of my stuffy slump. People LOVED the bonnets at the Market - the two I have left are posted to my Etsy store.

Thanksgiving Power Out

Win an Organic Double Cream Blanket!

We had a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend - I hope you did too! The weather was perfect for welcoming the cozy, nesting spirit of autumn and Saturday's Market was spectacular - bright and crisp and busy with anticipatory energy. I would have loved to see every Thanksgiving table decorated and laden with our farmers organically grown vegetables and gourds and flowers!



I don't have any pictures of the Market's harvest bounty, but I will lift this image of Green Tomatoes from Jen's blog, Forward Thinking Foods. Jen is preserver extraordinaire, growing and harvesting her staggering selection of organic fruit and veg and herbs and turning them into mouthwatering preserves. Though the Moss Street Market goes right to the end of October this year, last Saturday was Jen's last for this season - she has to get ready for Holiday markets! For Thanksgiving hostess gifts, I picked up Jen's Cranberry Kiss Marmalade, Hot Spicy Thai Jelly with Corriander, and a huge jar of Wicked Dilly Beans. Salivating yet?



I chose to have this Thanksgiving weekend be a bit of a break from the computer and administrative work, and it was delightful. With all of my lower-Vancouver Island neighbours, our Sunday evening Thanksgiving meal was illuminated by candlelight, a gentle reinforcement of my decision to be unplugged, and a reminder to take things slow and light, making time for family and friends and giving thanks. And potatoes, lots of potatoes.

Parent Knows Best

Whoa-oh, Oh! My Organic Teething Bonbons are listed in the Parent.com Gift Guide! Parent! Dot! Com! Now that's pretty freakin' cool. Thanks, Kai Kids, for helping make it happen!

Winter Bonnet

Organic Double Cream Blanket Contest! See my last post for details.

I've been focusing so much on creating and promoting the Dress Me Up Organic Collection for Young Children that I haven't had much time for my other love - vintage fabrics. This morning, while Little R. was off on a library adventure with Ms Emma, I pulled out my stacks of vintage wool and brought some of my day-dreams to life.



These Winter Bonnets will be with me at the Moss Street Market tomorrow, then up for grabs online. You may recognize some of the wool from my Ostrich Picnic Blankets! It's absolutely divine to use every square inch of vintage scrap.



Warm and classic, the Winter Bonnets are lined with soft and cozy organic cotton flannel. From under the brim of each bonnet peeks one of my hand screen printed birch tree prints. Ribbon tie at the chin. Child sized, fits 10m - 3yrs. Machine wash cold, preferably in a mesh bag, line dry.

Outdoor Ostrich Fun - Read to Win!

Just a quick post to let you know that I've uploaded a pile of my Ostrich Picnic Blankets to my Etsy Store! And I'm having a Contest!



Do you have an Ostrich Blanket? I'd love to hear from you! Send me a picture or story of you and your family enjoying your Ostrich Picnic Blanket by Nov 1st and your name will be entered into a draw to win one of my beautiful Organic Double Cream Blankets! I'll post some images of the win-able blanket in the next day or two. Good luck!



I can't tell you enough how perfect these blankets are for outdoor fun - ideal for the windy and rainy days upon us. Designed to drape over an infant car seat and stoller, the Ostrich Blanket can be tucked into the straps of your baby carrier, offering a warm barrier to wet, chilly weather when you're out and about.

Made from recycled wool blanket and piece of wool suiting, I pair each one-of-a-kind fabric selection with a truly unique weather-resistant material ... faux ostrich leather! It's a fabric-backed vinyl that is slightly cushioned and washable. I pre-wash all of my wool so the blanket care is easy-peasy for you at home - just machine wash COLD, tug to reshape and line dry.

Slim Sandy, he's the man.

I'm currently on hold with Visa Desjardin waiting to re-set my online password. It's been 9 minutes so far - I figured that instead of getting a neck crick, I'd switch over to speaker phone, put the phone down and write a little something here.

As my last blog titled stated, it is indeed rainy, rainy, rainy here in Victoria. It feels like winter has come - thought I know it is only autumn and there will be windier and rainy-er months to come. This Saturday's Market was so quiet - not for lack of Customers! Thank you, dear, courageous and community-inspiring Customers for coming to see us even in the driving rain! No, it was my fellow Vendors that left the few of us who braved the elements kickin' it almost solo. You can count on me being there, rain or shine - even if I have to pack up early to keep my products from getting wet, I hang around until the end.


Slim at the 'other' Market, the Government Street Market. That's Little R. to the left, snappin' with my folks.

One of my favourite people (who may not yet know that he is on my favourite people list as we don't really know each other) is the one and only Pete Sandmark a.k.a. Slim Sandy. He's the coolest rockability musician from right here in little ol' Victoria who plays a mean guitar and kicks the beats on his suitcase drum. And man, can he whistle. Little R. just can't stop two-steppin' when ever she sees him ... uh, unless she's feeling a little under the weather and strapped in her stroller - but look at her right foot, see how it's in the air? That's Little Miss R's one step for Slim.

On Saturday afternoon, Slim's bright rhythm and raspy how-down tunes kept us warm and cheery. Come see him, and our other amazing musicians, again at the Moss Street Market on Sat Oct 18th, 12-2pm!

PS. Does anyone know where my camera's spare battery and charger are?!
PPS. 14 min 33 secs

Rain Rain, Here to Stay

The rains have arrived. It's been steadily wet here in Victoria for a couple of days now - I can hardly remember last (last!) weekend's hot sunny days. I was sure summer would stay well into October. I am wrong.

It's been a beautiful and touching week - Little R. turned 2 on Thursday and she has been showered with love and affection by everyone. I took a couple of days to unpack and get all my product settled back into the sewing studio, and just sat down to the machine in the past two days getting back into the swing of creating.

Just wanted to post a quick note - rain or shine, I'll be at the Moss Street Market this Saturday - and every Saturday to the end of October. I'd love to see you there!