Bubble London January 2013 highlights



Melissa's new kitty cat kids shoes



CLB hopped to Bubble London yesterday to get the scoop on the best new kidwear labels. It was great to catch up with old faces and make new friends. Here are the ten things we loved the most:

1. Melissa's new plastic cat and fox-inspired Mary-Janes.
2. Poco Nido's beautiful new baby footwear designs, T-shirts and shortie weelies.
3. Tootsa MacGinty's super-cool unisex collection featuring stunning knits and checks.
4. Corby Tindersticks' quirky illustrated clothes and soft toys - very refreshing.
5. Sew Heart Felt's cute felt animal slippers.
6. Sasti's highly individual collection for groovy boys and girls.
7. Lettie Belle's new sea life themed applique cushions.
8. Leopold & Livia's the new Swedish label's dreamy party frocks. So pretty.
9. Hucklebones' stunning a/w 2013 collection.
10. Grubbies denim dungerees for boys and girls.



Tootsa MacGinty's faboulous unisex designs
Sasti London's charming designs

Corby Tindersticks' leftfield offerings
Sew heart felt animal slippers


Hucklebone's beautful dresses

Poco Nido's shortie wellies

Leopold & Livia's exquisite party frocks


CLB ♥ Peter Rabbit for Gap

Peter Rabbit rabbit ears hat, £7.95


CLB nipped into BabyGap last week to take a peek at the new range inspired by Beatrix Potter's most beloved character, Peter Rabbit. The Oxford Street flagship store (opposite Bond St tube station) has the entire range for boys and girls stocked on the lower ground floor, all beautifully merchandised with giant Peter Rabbit cardboard cut-outs. What a treat it was: babygros with classic Peter Rabbit illustrations, old-fashioned checked summer dresses, Jemima Puddle-duck hats and cute polka-dot skinny jeans. So lovely in fact, that we wanted to buy the entire collection. It's in store until stock runs out (they estimate about a month) so don't miss out. Price from £7.95 for a hat at Gap.

Jemima hat, £8.95, Gap

Smocked plaid dress, £14.95

Rabbit bodysuit, £9.95


Polka-dot jeans, £14.95

Top ten cool kids things for 2013



Miss Evelyn and Little Lola Maud enjoying the snow today

Hello, hello and happy 2013! To kick off the new year in style, we thought we'd bring you ten things we're most excited about this year. So here goes: cute fashion finds, keepsakes to cherish, brilliant organic products and some fab sheepskin slippers to keep tiny toes warm in these near-Arctic conditions. Enjoy!

Polish mountain slippers for little ones


1. Polish mountain slippers or 'mounties'.
Our brilliant Polish nanny, Sylvie, came back from her homeland with sheepskin slippers for Evie and Lola and the girls absolutely love them. Me too - they are so snug, cosy and beautifully embroidered. Luckily you needn't schlep to Eastern Europe to get them - CLB has found similar on Etsy.





 
Little Pinecone's delectable super-fine New Zealand merino designs including this newborn set, £19.95

2. Little Pinecone
Since acquiring this beautiful reversible merino hoodie last spring, Little Lola has worn it practically every day. Merino is a great year-round wool that keeps you warm when its cold (nice and toasty for a day like today) and cool when it's hot. Miracle! We adore this small independent brand specialising in soft modern merino pieces for babies and children.
www.littlepineconemerino.com


First Impressions' exquisite baby casts

3. First Impressions
We utterly cherish the bronze baby feet and hand casts we commissioned First Impressions to do when the girls were both teeny weeny. The north London-based company has been immortalising baby's tiny hands and feet in bronze, silver and crystal for the past 25 years. Now, they can even create a 3D moulds of your little cherub's face and put turn them into cufflinks. Not surprisingly, they have a vast celebrity following including stylish mums Stella McCartney and Victoria Beckham, who got baby Harper's feet cast in solid gold.
www.firstimpressions.org.uk

Petit chic at new-in-the-UK French website Melijoe.com
4. Melijoe.com
We're really excited about this well-established French kids' designer website launches in the UK this week. Stocking a well-edited selection of pieces by labels like Little Marc Jacobs, John Galliano Kids and Rykiel Enfant, it is tres tres chic.
www.melijoe.co.uk




BMW does a buggy with MacLaren. A match made in engineering heaven?

5. BMW for Maclaren
Bring together a German car manufacturer and a British buggy company and what do you get? Possibly the zippiest, smartest buggies around. In a range that promises to deliver luxury, elegance and sporty elements, we can be sure these will be a hit with dads and car-loving mums everywhere. Available exclusively at Harrods from the beginning of February.
www.harrods.com





Delicious organic baby products by Child's Farm

6. Child's Farm organic children's products
The CLB household is IN LOVE with this glorious smelling product by Hampshire-based brand Childs Farm. Free of nasty chemicals, they feature delicious ingredients like tangerine oil, sweet orange and strawberry and mint. Yum-mmmy. From £4.69 for bubble bath.
www.childsfarm.com




Little Puggle's exciting craft boxes

7. Little Puggle gift boxes 
We are looking forward to buying themed boxes at Little Puggle. The online company offers a special subscription service where they send a new monthly activity box for budding craftsters, tailored to age and interests, but you can also buy one-off boxes as gifts. From £16.95 for a Mini Surprise Box.
www.littlepuggle.com




No Added Sugar's fab new shop in Notting Hill
8. No Added Sugar's newish kids boutique 
Located in Notting Hill's lovely Ledbury Road, No Added Sugar's first shop showcases the super-cool London kids brand beautifully. We look forward to exploring properly ASAP.
57 Ledbury Road, W11 2AA (0207 221 3212/www.noaddedsugar.com).




 

Kids will love these Gruffalo plaster

9. Gruffalo plasters
We'll be taking the pain out of grazes with these cute Julia Donaldson-inspired plasters. Can't think of a better way to spend £4.25. www.bodieandfou.com








10. Tales from the Shed
We've been meaning to visit our local theatre, Chickenshed, for the past year, and finally we've booked tickets to see the colourful, lively and interactive performance 'Tales from the Shed' performance next month. Can't wait. Tickets from £5.50.
www.chickenshed.org.uk 






CLB ♥ Kigu animal onesies



The festive season is almost upon us and what better excuse than to indulge your little ones with some dressing-up fun. Kigu animal onesies have just launched in the UK and we LOVE them. So silly, cute and comfy. And in case you were wondering, yes they do come in adult sizes too. Children's sizes from £34.99 at Kigu






CLB ♥ Stella McCartney's 'Little Miss Stella' kids collection

Stella McCartney hooks up with Roger Hargreaves to create 'Little Miss Stella'



Oh, look! One of our favourite children's authors, Roger Hargreaves, creator of the timeless Mr Men and Little Miss series, has joined forces with the fashion force that is Stella McCartney. There's a super-cute range of T-shirts, sleep suits and sweaters with 'Little Miss Stella' scribbed on available in baby and girl sizes. We are hankering after the sunbeam sweatshirt (from £40 for babies). The limited edition 'Little Miss Stella' book, all about the endevours of a cartoon version of the designer, is free with purchases of over £150.

The range is available online at StellaMccartneyKids.com





Pjs, £60


Sleep suit, £50


T-shirt, £30

Draw-it-yourself kit


CLB ♥ Bobobows hair bows

Shooting star hair bow, £8.99

With two little girls in the CLB household, hair bows have become the most sought-after accessory in existence. We were delighted to discover new brand Bobobows, especially as each one is handmade in a variety of luxurious fabrics: layers of organza and grosgrain ribbon and decorated with crystals. Girly? Oooh yes, unashamedly. We even had one especially made for Little Lola's baptism recently in a chic off-white sheer ribbon while big sis Evie wore a grosgrain hairband in hot pink. They looked a dream (pictures to come!)

Organza bow, £10.99 


Grosgrain ribbon with crystal, £8.99
Striped hairband, £14.99
Grosgrain hairband, £12.99

NEW! Rice DK home wares at Sistersguild



How delicious are these brightly-coloured lampshades? CLB discovered them on a recent trawl of our favourite fashion and decor website, Sistersguild, which specialises in beautiful, handmade and hard-to-get kids clothing and home wares. The charming site also happens to stock a fine range of Rice DK, the Danish home brand known for its handmade toy baskets and bold-hued plastic bowls and cups. Check out the wonderful new collection at Sistersguild




NEWS! The Conran Shop's new 'Kids' Shop'

Marc Newson's White Rocky, £642



Gone are the days when the focal point of a child's bedroom was the Danger Mouse duvet set. These days you little ones' bedrooms are the ultimate showcase for your own style and flair - who cares if the rest of the house is a mess? The Conran Shop have been listening to their style-mad parent customers and from Sept 20 will launch a special new 'Kids' Shop'. Shoppers will find over 650 children's interiors products at the very upper end of the designer scale from Marc Newson minimalist white rocking horse (above) to the charming Canal House wardrobes (pictured below). The ground floor will be transformed into a fantastical children's wonderland with neon-painted play sheds, candy coloured sheepskin bean bags and tree houses bunk beds. CLB is happy to hear there will be a fine range of haberdashery (buttons, sweing kits and fabrics) with oil cloth and ribbon to buy by the metre.

The Kids Shop at The Conran Shop, Michelin House  81 Fulham Road, London, Greater London SW3 6RD (020 7589 7401/www.conranshop.co.uk)




Hand painted tiger wall light, £120

Hand painted animal wall lights, £120 each

Canal House wardrobe, in various colours

Sheepskin bean bag, £110, in a selection of colours