The little shop of images

"Chez Violette and Lolo, the little shop of images" is the idea that sprung from the encounter of photographers Violaine Rogasik and Laura Farrell. The two graduates from ICP (NY) decided to create a small agency specialized in Kids Fashion Photography and to compose images in which imagination, dreams and happiness of childhood converge with adventures and fears. The two are currently casting a small network of emerging photographers from the Americas, Europe and Asia that share a passion for childhood in their art. Meanwhile they already have beautiful selection of images available that can be seen on www.violainerogasik.com.

Preppy-Boho from Chicago

Benny & Moon, based and produced in Chicago, is a collection of stylish, preppy-boho clothing for children ages 2 to 6 years old. Launched in 2009, the design inspiration is drawn from influences of art, photography, film and vintage wardrobes. The founder also has two lovely nieces as well as several other little boys and girls in her life who continually inspire her to create comfortable classic pieces for their everyday adventures. Benny & Moon will be showing at Bubble New York in August.

Glow in the dark wall sticker

At day time, the Cocoboheme stickers decorate the walls discretely. At night, they start to glow, bringing magic to the house. Don't miss the animals chalk stickers and the animal bibs...all fun! www.cocoboheme.com

Bling bling!

Iceing on top is a must-have jewelry collection for baby, child and teen. It’s loaded with sparkling gold facets and comes in pretty colors like rose, yellow and white gold. A line of fine jewelry with a signature eye-catching look that has also incorporated eco-friendly values into every facet of the collection, from the product to packaging. Iceing on top will be at Bubble New York in August.

News from Salone del Mobile

A new cool product has been added to the Magis’Me Too range of children’s furniture. Villa Julia by Javier Mariscal was launched at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan last month. The black and white Villa Julia comes with stickers so chidren can personalise their playhouse. Villa Julia will only be available in the fall, so we recommend to save it for Santa's list.

Okey, Kid!

Launched in 2007, Okido (hybrid of “ kid” and “okey”) is a science and arts magazine for 2 to 7 years old children, published four times a year. Each issue has a theme and is illustrated by contemporary artists. With the help of the unforgettable characters Messy Monster or Yoga Monkey, Okido is all about inspiring our children with games, stories and recipes. Don’t miss Okido Magazine at Bubble London for exclusive workshops and activities.

New comer in Miami

Located in the heart of the Bird Road shopping district in Miami, The Nest & Cradle is a light-hearted and fun boutique, much like the collections in display. Newly opened (August 08), the Nest & Cradle offers a wide range of products, "good designer products rather than designer labels". The owner Carmen Uriarte confesses her clients particularly like the colorful modern dresses from Pink Chicken, the sophisticated look of Chase'n Sky and Jasper Wren's jean birdie dress, which Carmen calls a "window stopper". Besides from clothing, clients have a preference for the Orbit stroller, the store's best selling product. We wish a long life to The Nest&Cradle!

Paraguay produced, fair trade of course

Aravore (meaning 'a piece of Heaven') produces organic baby wear and accessories for babies and toddlers from 0 to 5 years. Aravore produce the collections in their own workshops, and work with small-scale farms in Paraguay to produce the cotton they use, which is certified fair trade as well as organic. Yanina Aubrey, social entrepreneur and founder of Aravore Babies, ensures that her business model not only helps parents in the UK to provide luxurious, yet ethically produced, clothing for their children but has made a real difference to many women in Paraguay, where the products are made.

Happy shelter

Native Play Designs tipis will be on display at Bubble London in June. Handmade in Wales from 100% cotton, the Native Play tipis provide a refreshing antidote to the garish polyester pop ups. They are cooler inside as well, and available in different versions of colors/patterns. The company owner says : "Give the children an imaginative play environment and a few simple toys and watch their imaginations run away with them". We are sure that those tipis will provide many happy playtime memories!

Dococo @ Colette

May stands for Play at Colette, the famous Paris adults'concept store. "Dococo", a one month concept for kids will take place in the mezzanine of the Rue Saint-Honore store with a selection of clothing from APC, Balouga, Bonpoint, Cacharel, Little Marc, and the latest creation of Matali Crasset : the "Composit'" couch for Dunlopillo. Each Wednesday and Saturday kids will be entretained at the store with events around arts and crafts, starting with an animation from Make It Magnetic by Laure Fischbach.

Fashion Bible

Kids Fashion Designers is a Must Have for everyone who is interested in kids fashion. The 400 pages book features a great selection of international designers. Each designer is introduced through many different photographs from articles, catalogues and look-books, as well as various sketches and moods. Most of the designers presented have shown or are showing at Bubble, The Kids Trade Show, some of them in exclusivity. Check out Babybean, Dagmar Daley, Finger in the nose, Flora and henri, Ismodern, lemlem, Mor Mor Rita, No added sugar, Oeuf, Pink chicken, Tzawa, Wovenplay and more.

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