fawn&forest

I can't believe that February is almost over! Such a lovely month it has been. We featured a burst of sunshine in the Forest Finds this month with Sundrop's charming felt hair clips.

Sundrop hair clips are made in the USA by a mother of 3 kids. Each clip is handmade using high quality wool felt with embroidered detailing.

While i love the birds & the flower designs, my favorite is the Mini Cherries, shown above, right.

Today's project is all about giving, the best gift of all.

There are many ways to give: time, money and things. Have fun connecting with your children on what giving means to them and how you can give as a family.

Here are some ideas:
First Books :: First Book provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books.

Oxfam America ::  Oxfam is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.

Voice of the Martrys :: The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide.

Soles4Souls :: Soles4Souls has a simple mission: To impact as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes.


Also, ideas for giving time: We Are What We Do, Raising charitable children and an exhaustive list of service ideas.

While I am happy to say fawn&forest works with numerous companies who give to charitable causes, one that particularly stands out is Barley & Birch, who is today's pick.

B&B  makes organic cotton clothes for children, and really goes the extra mile in their process. :: they give 15% of profits  to several carbon-reducing initiatives in order to fully offset the carbon emissions that result from the production of their garments... and another 15% is donated to organizations that improve people’s lives around the world. Truly fantastic.

Keeping a memory book of the Holidays is such a cozy idea and is today's project. I've been keeping a Christmas memory/scrapbook since my first son was a newborn. Some things, as precious as they are, are easily forgotten. Take notes!

Any journal type book will work -- Moleskine, traditional scrapbooks, or even photo album.  I use a Mokeskine.

What to include in your Holiday memory book?
- hand tracings of the kids
- snippets of giftwrap and ribbon
- cards & gift notes
- lists: what you did, what you made, where you went, things you ate
- christmas card list, or new people to add to your list
- list of gifts received, so you can be sure to write thank you notes!
- memorable moments
- photos & drawings
- recipes

With our days filled with all things digital, it's refreshing to sit down and do something on paper.

Today's Pick is something that's fully fancy and instant heirloom for your little girl: Periwinklebloom's Organic Sherpa Capelet.

fawn&forest is excited to be included in Instyle Magazine's "Best of the Web" --as one of their favorite websites for shopping. Excellent!

Here's what they said about fawn&forest:

Check out the November 2009 issue of Instyle to read all about it & get an exclusive 10% discount code.

I'm in love. periwinklebloom makes me want to be a little girl.... or have a little girl! While there are a couple pieces that a boy could wear, it's all about the cute dresses (bubble!) and organic girly-ness! Tyler Stallings (designer of Periwinklebloom), I am impressed.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An architect. I also wanted to drive an 'el camino' because it was half car/half truck. I was terribly indecisive. I still find decisions painstaking and tend to research to death. I believe with better taste in cars however.

Your collection of clothing is cohesive + incrediably thoughtful. What sparked you into making children's clothes?
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I've tried to be thoughtful both with regards to design and production. I've worked as a graphic designer and educator for many years. I also have a passion for art history. When I became a mom, I wanted to blend these roles which naturally led me to designing for children. I have always been inspired by tactile design whether textiles or paper, the use of whitespace found in Japanese forms, and the aesthetics of vintage American ephemera. I suppose these things all found their way into my work.

I also, like many new parents, became hyper aware of the things we put in and on our bodies, of our family footprint, and of the excessive 'stuff' we accumulate with kids. I wanted to contribute to the way things were made for our children, thoughtfully and worthy of handing down, emphasizing a 'less is more' approach.

What does the rest of 2009 hold for you?
Hmmm, I've given in to the idea of feeling in control or actually planning some time ago. We are expecting our second little one this autumn which will only confirm my afore mentioned thoughts. periwinklebloom will offer a small collection for autumn/winter with a little more color than this first year. I've also got some fun pieces being created out of the loads of scraps I've accumulated coming soon. And I definitely plan to finish my letterpress designs for summer which have sadly been put on the back-burner for too long. That and squeeze in a vacation or two!

Thank you Tyler!

If you have 2 boys like I do, Periwainklebloom will make you want to have a girl ...because, check out those dresses! They're simple, beautiful and thoughtful designed using sustainable and organic fabrics. Transitional pieces that are perfect for spring.

Okay, okay. Periwinklebloom does have 2 pieces that my sweet boys would adore: the Organic Sherpa Hoodie and the Organic Trunks.

The organic kimono dress by Kate Quinn Organics is the ultimate layering dress. Wouldn't it look crazy cute over leggings or jeans, with a sweater and scarf? I think so. 

2 sizes, 2 colors, 2 sleeve lengths. We've got options. 100% organic goodness on sale for $22.22. Now that's fun.

Time to get cozy, kids. By Kina, lambswool baby, toddler and kid's slippy-tips (as my grandmother would call them), booties, slippers. Whatever you call them, they are crazy cozy and come in 5 colors and 7 sizes: 0-3m all the way up to 3-4 years. 

Winter snuggley coziness at it's finest. 

And if your kid can handle the style, check out the Kina outerwear: vests, coat + hat.

October's International Forest Finds has been a real treat. I have been blessed with the chance to work and communicate with such an interesting bunch of designers + creatives. I think if I were to not have fawn&forest and actually know how to knit (well, at least!) I would want to be Angelique and run Benk. I am crazy crazy about all of her knits. Modern, yet nostalgic.  Love.

When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a kid i always was busy with making clothes for my Barbies. I thought of nice dresses and crocheted and knitted. When i was older i for example took a picture from vogue/elle and counted the pattern and made another sweater with that pattern on it. My grandmother (named RIEK) tought me how to knit and I was addicted! Unfortunately i did not follow any designer-school.  It is ok so far. Also i wanted to work for KLM (Dutch airlines) as my father did and i wanted to become airline hostess.

What inspired you to start BENK?
When my second child was born, one evening i started to make her a little hat. And thought 'wow' this maybe is something to do. When i gave one as a present to a friend, she was at a babyshop with her little baby and the owner kept on saying she loved the babyhat. That was my first shop and from there it started growing !!

What does 2009 hold for you? 
For now i have all the hats and items handknitted by Dutch woman but as it grows and grows (Japan asked for a few hundred) I want to make something good from this and have them knitted by a Group of women in other poor countries and let them make some extra income for themselves being at home with their babies. Or being together with other women in their village and knit for BENK. This is difficult to start as how to get the merino yarn there, and check the knits etc etc. Hopefully 2009 i can work on that plan !!

Thank you Angelique! That cute image above is not the present day Angelique, but of when she was a cute little girl!

Where it's at: Fauna Collection for Areaware. Bolts of lightening on a black hooded jacket. C'mon already.

The hoodie itself has a perfect fit. Not too wide and slightly long. Solid black that does not fade much when washed repeatedly. A mighty fine high quality zipper. The material is not too thick and not at all bulky. Basically the perfect hoodie. Dang.

Love love Fauna's simple yet witty take on children's apparel. Want one in my size.  But then Eliot and I would match, and we don't want to go there.

Earlier this week I took my boys out for lunch + cookies at an insanely tasty bakery in Hillsdale, Baker and Spice. I ended up having a conversation with myself (I think) as Eliot was much too busy staring at people in line + watching the man next to us eat his lunch. And baby Owen? He was asleep in the sling (PSNY in dark brown cotton)  + is currently not talking. Cutey smiles, though. 

We had a delicious time. A bite of a pizza-ish flatbread thing, a bite of chocolate cookie. All in the same mouthful. Eliot was wearing a "It wasn't me" tee by Droopy Knickers.... totally fun all-over printed tee. Slightly sassy? Is it "it wasn't me who got the pizza-ish flat bread on my shirt"? Hmmm...  

Which leads to my never ending question: how to get tomato-ish stains out of clothes? White clothes? Organic clothes? It's never ending. My husband says the answer is bibs. I bought a bottle of bac-out after lunch.....

Ahh, yes. The Tiny Tank by KLT works. We had scorching 100+ degree weather last week in Portland. Owen stayed cool (and cool!) in his KLT owl Tiny Tank in green. How stylin' is he?

The Tiny Tank is available in 2 colors (orange + green) in a variety of sizes. Even though Mr. O is only 7 weeks old, he sufficiently fits in the 3-6m size. Pure chunky goodness at it's finest.

And see those eyebrows? Man, the kid gives the looks! Reminds us of CNN's Anderson Cooper.... AC 360 "keeping them honest" look. Agree?! 

Kit+Lili: it's in and it' up. The spunkiest modern baby rompers + onesies you've ever seen. My favorite is the navy blue dot romper with orange trim (shown above, left). Total style. 

I will note the sizing on the rompers runs a bit small -- the listed size is 3-6m or 6-12m. And while Owen is not a huge baby, the 3-6m size fits him well at almost a month old. The onesies on the other hand seem to run a bit big.....?  

Kate Quinn Organics covers all the basics in clothing for the youngins' in the coziest color palette + simplest designs. Instant classics + totally comfy. And all pieces are made from 100% organic cotton. Hello green!

Kate Quinn Organics prides itself on their commitment to fair trade and the earth. Using only certified organic cotton, grown using sustainable farming practices that maintain and replenish soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. KQO garments are made of ultra soft, all-natural, organically produced cotton certified by Control Union Certifications (formerly SKAL), a USDA Accredited Certifying Agent. KQO is also certified Fair Trade. Every little garment supports their vision and hope of a cleaner, kinder earth.

And as a little FYI on organic cotton, click here. 

Oh, yes, that is Kit+Lili! I am quite thrilled about carrying their rompers + onesies for the little ones. Big color + all-over print. Fun + very urban.  

Each Kit + Lili piece is hand printed on soft white cotton. Onesies + rompers available in 2 short-sleeve sizes, 3-6 months + 6-12 months in a selection of prints + colors, shown above. My favorite? The red cherries with olive green trim.

We have so many exciting changes that will be happening in the next couple weeks + mass amounts of new products to reveal! Exciting times. So, all this week will be a 'just a peek' week.

The first peek is of an organic onesie by Salvor. This organic kimono style long sleeve onesie is made of the softest organic cotton and is available in 1 size, a generous 3-6 month. A large fluorescent orange penguin is screenprinted on the front. The organic onesie will also be available in 4 other screenprinted animals. 

Fresh!