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Whimsy Child

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Melissa

things they are-a-changing...

ele-ahbaant is coming of age...

what do I mean?

well to explain, I need to start a bit from the beginning,
I promise I'll try to keep it brief!

so here, in a nutshell, is the journey so far...

I have 3 children.

my son (10 yrs old) mister blister, although I guess he's nearly too old for that moniker

1st daughter (8 yrs old) chicken-licken, more often than not, the chookin', although she did announce at around 4 yrs old, that she was no longer "chicken", but would henceforth be known as "chicken chicken running rooster"

& the 'baby girl' who is really not a baby, "I is little girl mummy" (2 & 1/2) known as Arwi-la, or la-la

When my son was born, all those years ago, I was pretty disappointed & frustrated by most of the clothing readily available,

things hadn't changed by the time my second daughter was born.

I experimented during this time with making a few simple pieces of clothing & screen printing some tee's

pretty funky I might say, but just to amuse myself really :)

then the 'big gap' & the decision to have another child led to late nights spent on the net, most often with a sleeping baby on my lap

again, I was frustrated by baby clothes that were too pink/purple & garish, too covered in advertising, too many trucks, superheroes, cars & dumb slogans... (I'm sure you know what I mean!)

well, long story short, I began to make some simple clothing for my daughter, dabbling in some applique` which drew much admiration from those who saw it, so off to market we went!

Perth Upmarket was where it all began with ele-ahbaant, the name supplied by my husband's childhood.

but along the way I had discovered some other labels that I just 'had to have' & so I went on to grow the store, expand the range & scour the www for anything new, interesting, quirky & covetable!

so, the coming of age bit?

Mmmmnn, well that bit's coming very soon, but it involves a name change, a separation of my handmade line & my online store & a new direction for my blog, because you see, I haven't stopped looking! but honestly, there's only so much I can have (well, at once anyway) so my blog will become a broader, whimsical wish list of things I'd like to stock, things I may stock, & things I just like.

I'd love you to visit,

I'd love you to follow me,

& I'd love you to contact me if you have or discover something you'd like to see featured

see you there?

whimsychild

Funky Little Darlings

Always on the lookout for new & interesting things, 

with 'unique' & 'funky' being a high priority.

Well, need I say more, really these pictures say it all.

available now through ele-ahbaant

gorgeous prints:

Funky Wall Paper:

Wall Stickers:

& Wall Scenes: 

I think we might use this one for our youngest's room when we finally get to renovating it!

I love it!

Recent Arrival- Llum

It's been a while since I updated on 'what's coming in'.

There's loads of very exciting, beautiful clothing coming in soon to ele-ahbaant, but I thought I'd show one of our recent arrivals that I'm completely in love with.

Llum

“Llum” (pronounced "loom") means light:

light that dances on puddles, glows through pigtails and cowlicks, kisses tears as they fall, and breaks into radiant colors after a storm.  The light within the child is a pure, creative energy—one that organically cultivates individualism, personality, and style.  

Llum, creates harmony through comfort and simplicity, designing first for the child’s freedom of movement.

Adjustable pieces and relaxed cuts ensure an easy and long-wearing fit for each child.  Artful and functional forms encourage natural movement.

Reversible and interchangeable pieces create a custom look, and wear beautifully all day long, through spills and tumbles from breakfast to bedtime.

Llum clothing is rugged enough for play, but still very much dressed.  It transitions effortlessly from the sandbox, to the ice cream truck, to the main event.

Available now at ele-ahbaant

to trampoline... or not to trampoline?

It's school holidays (as I'm sure most of you know) & I'm sorry that this blog has been so sadly neglected, but in an effort to not neglect my children, I just haven't got there!

I wrote this around a week ago... here's just a slice of our holidays so far

To trampoline or not to trampoline?

In our house, that really is the question at the moment.

My sister & I had a trampoline growing up and we LOVED it!

We spent hours & hours bouncing our hearts out!

My husband & I decided to get the kids a trampoline a few years ago for Christmas. A joint present between parents & grandparents (a fun night had by all... Christmas Eve, in the dark, putting together a trampoline :)

The look on the kid's faces when they woke in the morning to a massive tramp was priceless! Straight on, & have probably been on every day since. We have a tiny yard, so our initial reaction after setting it up was 'oh no, what have we done!' It takes nearly a quarter of our yard, but after seeing how much they use it, and how much they love it, we decided it was absolutely the best use of that quarter of the yard.

So... to not trampoline?

well, there's always that thing of broken limbs isn't there?

Eldest daughter, the chookin' was the first.

Ankle.

Nice clean break.

Tendon pulled the bone till it cracked.

Friends said: "see they're dangerous"

"that's why we'll never have a trampoline"

"I bet you wish you didn't have one now"

& multiple variations on this theme.

We defended it of course.

Despite the broken ankle, we believed the fun, enjoyment, exercise the kids got from that circle of anti-gravity was soooo worth it.

Terribly unfortunate that Kamikaze chick broke her ankle, but although we wished it hadn't happened, we didn't wish the tramp away.

A little bit harder to feel so convicted with the second broken bone.

Mister Blister.

Forearm.

Nice Clean Break.

40% of boys will break their arm... blah blah blah

As I write this I'm sitting in the ward at PMH (Can't thank the nurses & doctors enough for their treatment & care) waiting (a very long wait) to have his arm set properly.

Watching my son, pale-faced in pain.... I have to say, to trampoline or not to trampoline....

that really is the question.

a One-derful Birthday

A first birthday is always cause to celebrate, a milestone reached.

A first birthday for a business is no less cause for celebration.

Such a learning curve, such a journey of ups & downs, and I'm sure there'll be more to come, but a milestone reached nonetheless.

If you haven't already signed up for our newsletter, you may want to so you can find out exactly how we are going to celebrate- or check out the facebook page to catch up with all the 'goings on'

to all those who have helped ele-ahbaant along the way-

Thank you.

without you- there would be no celebrating :)

music, music, music!

It's hard to find the right balance- for any mum.

In my case, the balance has to be divided between my children (three of them)

my husband,

ele-ahbaant,

& my lesser known life as a musician.

yes, in my 'other life' I'm a musician.

a career in music is varied to say the least-

as part of my 'job' as a musician, I perform;

everything from performances with Orchestras, through to Jazz, to cover bands, to working in clubs with DJ's!

and I teach- music of course :)

primarily saxophone, but also piano, flute & clarinet.

I'm often asked the question by other mum's

"When should my child start to learn a musical instrument?"

to which of course the answer is,

"how long is a piece of string?"

There is sooooo much research now expounding the benefits of learning a musical instrument.

these benefits range from social, intellectual, educational, physical, emotional and many, many more, but when?

the answer lies within your child.

There are advocates for early starts, & advocates for late starts.

Personally, I advocate starting when the child is ready- & I guess this is the tough question.

I have taught 6 yr olds who have been diligent & focussed & I've taught 30 yr olds who don't practice, forget their music, fail to remember lessons & really don't seem to understand what their role in learning is.

Your child needs to be ready to take on responsibility for their own learning- to a degree of course.
They need to understand that it's not all going to be easy & they will have to work at it, but that it will be worth it in the end.
They need to have patience & perseverance.
tough call isn't it?

I also stress to parents that sometimes it may turn out to be

not the 'right time',

but it doesn't mean that it's the end.

sometimes, it may not be the right instrument,

but it doesn't mean it's the end...

Whilst we're not all going to end up being professional musicians, I could list many, many professional musicians who have broken the rules- started too late, changed their focus instrument, stopped playing for an extended period of time... the list goes on.
We might not all perform music, but we are all surrounded by music in various shapes & forms- just think of the impact music has on our mood, on setting the scene in a film or play, think about how much children love singing, dancing, clapping & moving to music.
A healthy understanding leads to a healthy appreciation.

I do encourage, for all parents, that they surround their children with music, play as many styles as you can!

surround them with instruments.

of course our kids are spoilt for choice with instruments- a perk of being in the industry, but it doesn't have to be expensive-

try filling a plastic jar with rice as a shaker- kid's love it!

lay out the tupperware like a drum kit- chopsticks are fun to use.

& cardboard tubes make great didgeridoos.

then there's the old favourite of filling glasses or jars with different levels of water-

experiment with the sounds you can get.

At the end of the day, really the only thing that counts,

the really important thing ~

teaching letting them enjoy music!

Perth Upmarket does Junior Upmarket

it all started with a lovingly stored matinee jacket & an appliqued` elephant tee.

It really did.

as I sit here tonight, cutting out elephant, after elephant, after elephant

I have to also say it all started with Perth Upmarket.

The first elephant applique` drew so many comments of where did you get that, & then requests of 'could you please make one for me?' that it led me to look into whether this was an option worth pursuing.

with a brand new baby on my lap I surfed the net looking for options & stumbled across the site Perth Upmarket. not really expecting to be accepted, I put together my application, attached my photos & waited to see what would happen... & it happened! I was accepted! & so I set out to create a suitable amount of stock for a novice hand craft marketer. how much? how much?

looking back I realise now how very lucky I was, one of those 'in the right place at the right time' kind of moments.

The first Perth Upmarket was a roaring success.

Exceptionally well organised, so much thought put into it from every angle & such high quality hand crafted goodies everywhere you looked, & then the crowds came.

I had friends who had come in to 'keep me company' who I never even got to speak to because I was run off my feet!

Since then Perth Upmarket has grown from strength to strength. Justine has crafted a hand crafted market so highly regarded that there are now huge waiting lists to be given a stall. Perth Upmarket has drawn rave reviews, from both the retailers involved & the customers who come, hoping to find something just a little unique, & are treated to more than they imagined. The quality of merchandise produced at Perth Upmarket is remarkable, and the variety of stallholders maintained through Justine's policy of rotating the retailers to keep the market fresh & active. Browse through some of the listings on the Perth Upmarket site to get an idea of the diversity or talent displayed at these events.

She has recently expanded to also organise and run a Junior Upmarket, catering to all things, well, junior & is now even being asked to select & co-ordinate stalls for other established 'special event' markets around Perth.

the next Junior Upmarket (where you can find me :) will be held at UWA Winthrop Hall undercroft from 10am till 2pm

& the next Perth Upmarket will be held on 29th Nov at the Town Hall, 10am to 4pm

If you live in Perth, this is one not to miss,
& if you do come, stop & say hi :)

Mathilda's Market

For those of you living in Perth, you may like to know that I will again be having a stall at Mathilda's Market.

Mathilda's Market gives me an opportunity to show off some of my funky, beautiful & unique clothing discoveries, in 'real life'

& gives you a chance to grab hold of some items that you wouldn't otherwise find in other stores.

Many of the lines I carry are either exclusive to me, or limited to only a handful of retailers throughout Australia,
so you can be sure to find something a little unique!

Come & see me at the next Mathilda's Market-

finding funky kid's clothes has never been so easy!

check this out, what a cool competition from Itch Design

getting kids to eat

complaints at dinnertime...

fussy eaters...

it seems to be an ongoing issue in many, many homes.

I must say we're pretty lucky. Our three are really great eaters.

Of course there are a few things that are 'sticking points', (like broccoli for the 9 yr old)
but for the most part I think they have a really healthy attitude towards food.

Whilst I do think that a certain amount just comes down to being fortunate,
I also believe that there are a few things that we have 'got right' that have led to our smalls being un-fussy eaters.

I think one of the best things we have done is to follow this rule *idea*

the parent is in charge of providing the food,

the child is in charge of deciding what to eat.

yes, it means giving up on 'total control' but really, who has total control anyway! (it's all an illusion)

 remember, the idea is, that if you only provide nutritious, healthy meals,

then your child will eat nutritious, healthy meals.

we have never subscribed to the idea of making special meals just for the kids, they are quite familiar with us saying
ok, you eat what you like, that's fine, but that's dinner.

occasionally this has been tested, but for the most part, they understand.

part of our approach to raising our children is to maintain a healthy respect for them as individuals.

this means that we do respect that they have different tastes & preferences,
but we also expect them to develop a healthy respect for other's tastes & preferences too.

whenever possible, we plan our meals for the week as a family.

everyone chooses a meal they particularly enjoy & then mum hehehe :) chooses the rest to balance out the rest of the week.

the kids (well the big ones) are then expected to help make their chosen dish.

This is working really well in our home for a few reasons.

the kids get to feel like they have a say, that they are respected, & they get to choose a meal that they love.

they get to see that other people may not enjoy their choice so much, but that to make it fair to everyone, we all take turns.

the responsibility of helping make the meal means that they have a greater appreciation of the time & energy involved in feeding our family

& of course they're learning some great skills as they go.

my son (age 9) now has around 10 meals that he can make with minimal assistance...

& we're not just talking boiled eggs & soldiers.

apart from making meal times a whole lot less stressful, we love that our kids really enjoy food.

That they are not scared to try new things, (blue cheese, snails in Paris!)

they love olives & anchovies, sushimi & curry, & they eat spicy food.

& now, rarely complain at mealtimes.

Swimwear for Summer

Living in Sunny Perth, in a suburb quite close to the coast (not quite walking distance... well, ok, a longish walk) we tend to spend quite a bit of time at the beach. In order to make sure the kids can all swim well & confidently, & of course for our own fitness, we also spend a fair amount of time at the pool. So it's fair to say that for us, swimwear becomes a Summer fashion staple.

I've been looking for  a while for a swimwear range that was gorgeous, well made, practical & child-appropriate.  

something that I feel would withstand the demands that my family would throw at it & yet look fun & funky. 

well... I've found it!

on it's way to us at ele-ahbaant as we speak is a gorgeous range of swimwear from Stella Cove.
a fresh take on swimwear, with simple clean lines & beautiful fabric designs.

A boys range is coming very soon also, don't worry, we'll be snapping that up as soon as we can too! but for now, here's a sneak peek of some of the girl's range on it's way

 

Twirly, Whirly, Dusky Rose Pettiskirts

More from Alejandra Kearl, these divine Dusky Rose Pettiskirts just seem to encourage dancing, twirling, whirling & much giggling.

Made popular (read; created a world-wide craze) by Dakota Fanning at the

Teen Choice Awards, Pettiskirts have now been elevated to a 'must-have' status.

Gorgeous for dressing up, for getting dressed up,

for special events & so, so popular for portrait photography-

who wouldn't look cute in one of these?

these pictures say it all really

Book Week

Book Week is the longest running children's festival in Australia,

celebrating its 64th birthday in 2009.

I feel very fortunate to have been born into a 'bookish' family.

My sister & I have always read, my parents read, & my grandmother read.

I remember holidays spent at grandma's house in the country where we (my cousins, my sister & I) would raid the bookshelves & settle down on the patchwork picnic blanket out on the sprawling front lawn to read,

or the early, early mornings when we would all pile into grandma's bed (yes, all of us!) for her to read to us while she sipped her English breakfast cup of tea...

no tea bags, a pot, of course!

As a child, I was a prolific reader & always had at least one book on the go, sometimes 2 or 3!

I still enjoy reading, very much, time seems to be my main barrier.

I love to see that my children find great joy in books & that the older 2 are already in possession of very strong literacy skills ~ the youngest is showing signs of being the same- she loves books, & will quite happily sit down to 'read them' to us.

My teaching background has made me acutely aware, that a positive, 'book-enriched' environment creates a positive foundation, leading to strong literacy skills.

so... more books, more books, more books!

Read to them, Read with them, listen to them Read to you & treat Reading with wonder...

you know, it can even be fun :)

in the words of Dr Seuss:

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go"

To support & encourage literacy in Australia, we at ele-ahbaant are giving away a

free book with every purchase made between the 22nd & 28th August 09.

enjoy!

one for the girls

I've been waiting a long time to introduce the following labels to you-

The unfortunate part about finding amazing labels from around the world is that they are generally a season out...

so whilst it may be a little early, I just couldn't wait any longer!

Alejandra Kearl

Alejandra designs gorgeous, yet affordable collections for girls.

Her designs are very original, & strongly feature embroidery & we love that she maintains a sweat-shop free company.

Of course I've already seen Winter (2010) & I'm equally excited about that!

Dan Dan

Aiko Decelles designs the Dan Dan collection: which means, 'gradual' or 'step-by-step'

Aiko places great emphasis on growing step-by-step with the child...

wait till you see what she has in store for next season.

for now, you'll be sweetly enchanted by the gorgeous styles on offer for Summer.

Capturing whimsy & innocence, all in a versatile, practical package.

Chase 'n Sky

Another one for the girls,

again a feeling of nostalgia & simplicity is evident in this line.

Perfect for Summer in gorgeous fabrics.

Going Dotty for Dotty Spot Designs

I recently had a stall at Mathilda's Market (in Perth)

Always a great day, & one where I can showcase some of the brands I carry that are not commonly found, including my own line of appliqued tees.

It's always lovely to meet my customers, to give some background on the products, to chat about my brands, to suggest items that may work with something they have in mind & now, to even say hi again to the customers who keep coming back.

It's also lovely to meet others in this crazy industry, & this time I was fortunate enough to have a stall right next to the girls from

Dotty Spot Designs.

I fell in love with their canvases, & just had to become a retailer for them.

I love the designs, the colours they use & I was really, really impressed by their attention to detail & the quality of their product.

Dotty Spot's personalised designs are printed on polyblended artist’s canvas & mounted on quality timber frames.

so, now available at ele-ahbaant,

I introduce you to Dotty Spot Designs

Breastfeeding 101

This week is World Breastfeeding Week, & as such brings contemplation & reflection;

I am a strong advocate for breastfeeding, & breastfed my three children till they weaned themselves- at 14 months, 11 months & 14 months.

I was one of the fortunate, to whom breastfeeding came easily.

This is not to say I didn't have my fair share of cracked nipples & other issues, but in the scheme of things, breastfeeding was a fairly natural, easy process for me.

Whilst it is commonly acknowledged that "breast is best" there are those to whom things don't always come so easily.

I have asked my sister Brooke to write about her journey with Breastfeeding,

please read her post below.

Breastfeeding 101

It’s been 3 weeks since I last breastfed my 1 year old daughter, and I have to say that I still feel a mix of emotions – some relief, some happiness, and a little bit ‘ripped off’. You see my breastfeeding journey was the equivalent of running Mt Everest with 1 leg.

After a Post Partum Haemorrhage hours after the bug was born I was left with boobs that didn’t exactly balloon with the liquid gold. Day 3 after birthing my amazing and gorgeous baby, I had my first of 3 blood transfusions, and hoped that aside from making me feel more like a human and less like a corpse, that my milk would ‘come in’, as was supposed to happen. It didn’t…and I began to panic. I hadn’t contemplated not breastfeeding – it wasn’t part of the plan. Whilst I felt a little anxiety about breastfeeding, I had done the research and knew it was better for my child if I could breastfeed, and good for me too. The decision had been made…how hard could it be? I was so wrong…

For months I undertook 3 then 4 hourly blocks of breastfeeding, pumping, supplementing with formula, and using a supply line – as well as settling my child to sleep, and trying to rest myself. In addition I used medication, natural therapies, took 30 tablets a day, visited Osteopaths, Naturopaths, Lactation Consultants, NGALA, Child Health Nurses, spoke with the Australian Breastfeeding Association and conducted hours of obsessive Internet research…and I still had a low supply. Apparently I was never going to be a ‘cow’ (as my delivery midwife and Lactation Consultant told me!).

So I stuck with it (out of sheer stubbornness and a will to do what was best for my baby). At first I thought… “I’ll try to make it to 6 weeks”, then 12 weeks, then 4 months and so on. I made it to 11.5 months and was keen to continue, however the bug had different ideas. She weaned herself and made it loud and clear that she no longer wanted to breastfeed – she was on to bigger and better things. I guess this is the first of many decisions she will make on her own that I may or may not agree with!

I have learnt a lot from this experience…about myself as a person and about having a baby. I have absolutely no regrets about working so hard to feed my child, even though I was incredibly sleep deprived and felt like a failure as a mother. Looking back – and it is only now that it has passed, I feel like a huge success. I’d do it again, but next time, I’d probably be a little easier on myself and accept that things don’t always go to plan…and when they don’t, you do what you can. I now know that although breast is best, it is better for a mother to be mentally healthy, and able to cope as best she can with such a huge life changing event. It is important to provide the best and healthiest start for a new bub, but there are so many other things that are equally important…such as ensuring that a new bub feels loved, safe and secure.

I write this whilst watching my daughter stuffing her face with scone, and send a big supportive congratulations to all Mums during World Breastfeeding Week – those who do breastfeed, and those who don’t, those who do it for 5 years, those who do it for 5 days…but also to those babies like mine who stuck with it, and don’t give up on their Mums…

Ooooh look!

I must admit I'm not really a celeb follower, but I did get a buzz out of seeing this image of Nicole Ritchie with her daughter Harlow wearing a dress by Pink Chicken NY which we stock!

another sneak preview- Havoc Denim

Havoc Denim has arrived!

the world's most difficult cake!

thing's can get pretty busy in our household...

combining different careers (musicians/ teachers/ small business owners) with 3 children,

yep, things can get pretty busy!

This weekend, I was out (pretty much the whole time) on a music camp, so in an effort to spend some good quality time with my daughter I suggested she could pick 'any' cake/ biscuit/ muffin recipe she fancied, & we would make it together sometime over the weekend....

little did i know that she would choose 'the world's most difficult cake'.

ok, allright, maybe it's not the most difficult.

it's just that, I don't cook cakes. or biscuits. or 'stuff like that'

i just don't have that 'cake cooking gene' or whatever.

I can cook food, honest i can, in fact I can cook some pretty good food sometimes (if I do say so myself!) but I cannot cook cakes.

I am the person who has actually managed to get packet cakes wrong.

yeah, really!

so, the chookin' picked a 'cake' that was a four layered, sculptural work of art featuring chocolate meringue, a hazelnut-choc mousse, berries & nuts.

and I was scared.

I spent 15 minutes trying to talk her into something else, anything else,

but you really can't break a promise when you're already feeling guilty about being out most of the weekend.

"I really want to make that one mum" was the (repeated) response,

& so we did.

& you know what? I think it even worked :)

a few issues with presentation, but for a 7 yr old with minimal help... not bad

I still maintain, that I can't make cakes, but maybe the chookin' can??