Kids with attitude

You might have come across the work of Photographer Lesley Semmelhack, who has recently worked with Small Magazine and Marilyn Tov. Lesley says her inspiration has always stemmed from the raw and honest energy of children. This former Conde Nast girl casts all her shoots herself and finds it to be almost as fun as taking pix. We love those "kids being a little less stereotypical" or, in other words, kids with attitude.

Ferd goes online

A couple of years ago, Ferd launched a "boys only" collection that drew a lot of attention. They have grown since, adding a beautiful girl's line. Today they are launching their online store. As a welcome gift, 25% discount is offered to the readers of this blog. www.ferdkids.com, promotion code Bubble25.

Stella roars

Stella McCartney's shop in Mayfair, London exhibits such an exciting window display this Spring. We couldn't help sharing it here: Dinosaurs have taken over in a multicolor fantasy-land. And if you're in town, check out also Dover Street Market's celebrating Barbie's 50th birthday.

News on the costume side

Freshly arrived at Sweet William are some beautiful new costumes from Wovenplay. Bronagh Staley, owner of the Brooklyn store and former editor at Cookie Magazine says: "it is one of our most popular lines; Wovenplay makes exquisite handcrafted costumes for special occasions or everyday play. Terrific for a very special gift". We have tested and we can only agree.

Portraits at Pomme

Pomme, the uber-stylish and very-unique kid's store in Dumbo/Brooklyn strikes again with one of their coveted events. On the weekend of April 25th, Davina Zagury will set up a temporary photo studio at the store to capture siblings. "Playmates, role models, conspirators, and tormentors: siblings form the only relationship that is as long as life itself". The photos will be exposed at the store for a month and parents will be able to buy prints. By appointment. Pomme 81 Washington St, at York. DUMBO, in Brooklyn Tel 718.855.0623

Rock'in color

Perludi, the Austrian company that provides great design for small people (they have the best bunk beds!) has recently launched the Constantin rocking chair in new colors : orange, green, brown. Made of birch plywood and covered with loden, a warm, wear-resistant woollen fleece fabric. Constantin rocks!

Palates and palaces

The work of Bompas & Parr operates in the space between food and architecture. How cool...and what better way to introduce kids to shapes and taste? Their current project focuses on jelly: the perfect ingredient to examine food and architecture, a fusion of form and flavor. Bompas & Parr have also launched Alcoholic Architecture: take a walk in a cloud of breathable cocktail, step inside a gin and tonic mist full of giant limes and massive straws. But shhhh, that's only for grown ups!

China Express

According to the China Daily, 132 billion tourists will visit China this year.
If you are going, don't forget to bring back Faubourgs Saint-Denis'tees with bilingual French-Chinese texts and featuring the iconic tricycle, Panda bear or bird's market. And for those who aren't traveling, the tee-shirts are available online at faubourgsaintdenis.com. We've heard there's a 20% discount at the moment!

Make it your own way!

We love Make it Magnetic and you will surely do too. Make it Magnetic is a great concept that allows you creating a large scale magnet with the image of your choice. You photograph (your child), then you receive the pix mounted on a soft magnetic surface that you can place where you want (fridge, magnetic wall, even your car when it's sunny!). You can say bye bye to the silver photo frame and hello to lots of fun : your little one will spend hours placing/replacing the magnet upside-down, decorating it his own way. With Make it Magnetic you are an artist, your child is a star, and you can finally cook in peace.

Parisian wonderland

A new concept store is shaking the retail world. Called Merci and created by Bernard and Marie-France Cohen (founders and ex-owners of Bonpoint), the store is located near Bastille at the border of Le Marais. At Merci there is something for every wallet and every age; for children there is a selection of products from Bonpoint at 30 to 40% off. A large amount of items are custom-made for the store and all the profits, (production costs deducted), are going to a children’s charity in Madagascar. Everyone is going to Merci or is speaking about it. That proves that creative new projects can be extremely successful even in hard times. Merci, 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris - Tel +33-55353390.

Phaidon News

Freshly arrived at Phaidon, The Three Robbers is a delightfully woven tale with unforgettable illustrations that tells the story of how a little orphan named Tiffany turns three scary robbers from fierce to friendly. An award winning classic children's book by master illustrator, Tomi Ungerer.

Beyond coloring

We have become addicted to Rosie Flo's coloring books. The sophisticated and humorous drawings are unfinished, which allows children to use their imagination to finish them whatever way they please. Good news, UK born Rosie Flo's books are now available (almost) all over the world. For the US, visit chroniclebooks.com.

Sher&Sher

Two of the photographers that caught our eye this month share the same surname. We thought that was a funny coincidence!
Angelika Sher (1st pix) and Tamir Sher (second pix) are from the same generation, they both live in Israel but they don't know each other. Either theatrical or more intimate, we love the way their photographs convey emotions.

The wild things...

Good news for the fans of beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak "Where the Wild Things Are" : a film adaptation is on its way, to be released in fall 09. The director is Spike Jonze, known for creating the music videos of Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk and Weezer, also director of "Being John Malkovich". The film will follow the adventures of Max who creates his own world in his mind inhabited by fabulous strange creatures. The images are exactly as they should be : wild!

Rugs for kids

A still relatively untapped market in the children's world: Rugs! Is it changing...? The famous Rug Company has a few models that can fit very well in a kid's room, such as the smarties, and Pappelina from Sweden is increasingly popular with its plastic rugs (the Viggo is on the picture above), found on several designer-focus online stores such as www.kidslovedesign.com. We have a particular crush on Katvig's new line of rugs (we always had a thing for this Danish brand..remember them at the first Bubble New York in March 2006!). Their rugs have recently arrived on the European markets and promise to be a great hit. Who's next?

Organic growth

Lorena Siminovich from Petit Collage is launching yet another beautiful piece in her collection of modern accessories with a vintage twist: the Tree Friends bamboo mobile. Beginning with various styles of collage on wood, the brand has evolved into wall pieces, posters, mobiles and even a book published by Chronicle. And if you order today April Fool one of her mobile, you will receive a free matted "Owl Love" mini print on wood (value US$28)! Petit Collage is truly a story of organic growth. www.petitcollage.com