Creativity and Ecology from Knallpulver design

I just find this lovely clothing label Knallpulver design and I’m hooked! Just look at the unique and imaginative prints and it is like you are transported into the mind of a 5-yearold. In addition, all garments are made out of 100% ecologically produced cotton and the prints are made by hand and with water based paint. If you want to get one yourself, you can find the garments at FreshMilk.

Beautiful Patterns by Sandberg

I want to redecorate my oldest son’s bedroom. I think that children rooms should be colorful and happy and right now his room is just blue. I love patterns on walls, curtains and beddings and I find intended mismatching irresistible. But it takes time and energy to find the perfect color, wallpapers and curtains, and right now there are days it is even hard to find time for a shower. But today I did some successful web surfing and find Sandbergs fantastic children collection Kaspar & Saga. I love it! It is a collection of wallpapers and textiles that brings you directly into a fairytale. The patterns are inspired by pedagogic Swedish children TV shows from the 1970’s and encourage children to be curious and creative. What more do you want a room to “teach” your child?

Bonkeli: Children Clothes with Beauty and Soul

 I really feel good about this post! It is fun to blog about something that is more than a product. The Swedish children clothing label Bonkeli has managed to create beautiful clothes that are completely environmental friendly as the garments are made from compostable cotton. Bonkeli explain there design strategy as a process in which they “avoid toxic emissions, chemicals on the skin, eliminating the waste and concludes thus a biological cycle.” In there online shop you can find both there totally eco-friendly and recyclable collection Cradle to Cradle and other garments that and all are made of ecological fabrics. 

A Perfect Chair in a Perfect World

I'm not a big fan of plastic colourful children furniture but my son is. He likes those chairs and tables in bright colours that seem to scream "please little child play with me". If I could decide, but that right vanished when he turned 3 and got an opinion of his own, his next set of furniture would be made of wood and be classic but yet modern. I just came across Gärsnäs beautiful children chair Milla by awarded Swedish designer Åke Axelsson and I’m head-over-heels. This charming chair almost looks like someone’s handy grandfather has made it, but its functionality and impeccable details reveal that it is made by a master. I can really see it in my sons room next to the mountains of Lego and home made spaceships. But to have just one would be a pity, just see how beautifully they are piled up together! 

I stopped writing...

…for a while. It has been Easter. My mum has been visiting. And the baby has entered the phase I call “don’t you dare put me down even for a second” and has been glued to my (or my mum’s) hip for almost the entire week. I think it is soon time to start using the baby carrier on a daily basis. The 4-year old is calling it the “baby bag”. He is really into bags right now. He put everything he sees in bags, so why not a baby he might reason. It is something with small children and bags. They love to carry things with them and most often they don’t even care what they carry or what bag they use. In our house plastic bags and small wallets are the favorites. But, even if my son and many kids with him couldn’t care less, there are really cute children bags out there. My favorites right now are the cute children’s suitcases from Bigso. The monkey prints are adorable! However, if I want to make my son super duper happy I have to get the fishing bag with toy fishes and fishing rods from Oskar and Ellen. Here below you find them and other cute bags from Swedish designers. 

From the top: Bigso, Oskar and Ellen, Camilla Martelius, Kids Concept, Lapp på lapp, Johanna form och design, Micki, Klippan Yllefabrik design by Bengt Lindberg and Skip Hop by Amvina.

Bug Time!

I suspect we got an unwelcome visitor in our house; this years first mosquito. Our 4-year old has a few bites on the hands and face and unfortunately he will soon have plenty. I truly love the summer but I really hate those dreadful bugs that come with the hot weather. It is not only the mosquitoes I dislike, even though they top the list as they leave that mean itch after them, but I hate most bugs that love to find there way into our house. Even though my son gets badly bitten by mosquitoes every year he doesn’t seem to be bothered by bugs. I can’t say he loves them and thank god he hasn’t yet started to collect them and kept them in jars. But he seems to be able to coexist with them without being freaked out or killing them. Maybe being annoyed by bugs is solitary an adult practice? Plus, bugs are generally somewhat beautiful. This year many Swedish kids clothing labels have put bugs on their clothes, and it looks fairly nice and, I must say, very summery. Look for yourselves! From the top: Cmig, HM, Kade, Lindex, Småfolk, Snoffs, Mini Rodini.

Bake with Me

In a couple of days my dear mum will come and visit us from Sweden. This morning I was trying to plan things to do together supplementary to the lamb scented Easter Sunday in our garden. On the top of my list I put baking cinnamon buns. Not something that you imagining doing when on holiday in Greece, but something I’m longing to do with my mum. It might sound silly and housewifely, but baking with my mother makes me feel happy. It is the whole process that brings me joy, from preparing the dough, to spreading the cinnamon butter and feeling the heat from the oven to see the buns swell and then to take that first bite of a hot bun. The keyword here is to do all of that together. When I share the cinnamon-bun-practice with my mum I travel back in time and I’m a little girl again. Sometimes it feels good and therapeutic to lose that “mother apron” that is so tightly tied around my waist. For me those moments are precious. Truthfully, since I left home and became an expat far away from my Swedish family, those moments are like fuel for me.

I have come across this fantastic Swedish company Bombadill that makes toy-cakes and food. In their range they also have cinnamon buns. I’m seriously thinking of getting a couple of those and some of their other pastries to my son’s imaginary café in his play house. They will go very well with his make-believe coffee and tea made of dried grass. 

Lovely Keyrings for Big and Small

I just had to show you these fantastic keyrings from renowned Swedish artist Lisa Larson. Cute, eh?

Sleep Tight Little Baby

I’m very happy the baby likes to sleep in the pram; it makes it easy to take those walks to the playground that the 4-year old loves. Now when the spring is here and the summer waits in the hallway I think I will invest in some nice beddings. When it comes to beddings for the pram there are not many cute designs to choose from here in Greece, so I will try to order some of these from Sweden:

palidesign

 Klippan Yllefabrik

 Gunila Axén

 Duktiga Annika

Play with PLAYSAM

I just had to share with you these fantastic toy cars from Swedish PLAYSAM. These three cars are an example of Swedish design when it is at is top. The unique design, the minimalistic shape and color makes these cars desirable not only for kids but adults too. PLAYSAM that was established in 1984 by Carl Zedig has through the years received several design awards for their toy cars.