Uncategorised Archives - Page 13 of 16

Ivy’s Guest Book: Clare White, Owner, Calladoodles

Hi Clare! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

My name is Clare, I own an independent card and gift shop on Carshalton High Street called Calladoodles. When I set up the shop over eight years ago I wanted to bring a bit of the colour and the feel of Brighton to Carshalton. Although we have had to change and adapt over the years it’s stayed true to that dream in a lot of ways, but the children’s books and gifts have become more of a focus with the arrival of my children. I live in Carshalton, Surrey with my two children Chloe (5) and Zak (2).

Mon
27 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Claudine Scheer, Owner, Snuffles & Spud

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Hi Claudine! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I am Claudine. I am originally from Luxembourg and am now living in SE London with my partner Mike, our nearly two year old son Leonard and our black and white cat Sprite. When Leonard was 4 months old I started making baby clothes for him, as I couldn’t find things colourful enough in shops. As people commented on them everywhere we went, I took this as an opportunity to start Snuffles & Spud, a unisex super colourful baby clothing brand.

What is your son’s favourite book?

At the moment it has to be ‘The Queen’s Hat‘ by Steve Antony. It is a very simple story of the Queen’s hat being swished away by the wind and it flying over various London landmarks before it lands on Baby George’s head. He also loves ‘Shark in the Park‘, because he gets to shout out when the shark appears.

Mon
20 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Laura Wheeler, Owner, The Whistlebrook Clothing Company

Posted by Shelley Edwards - 1 Comment

Hi Laura! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Laura, I live in Buckinghamshire with my husband Simon and two children. Posey (nearly 5) and Gilbert (just 3) and two rather grumpy old cats Burliose and Toulose. I own a small business making children’s clothing – The Whistlebrook Clothing Company

What are your children’s favourite books?

Posey is reading the ‘You Choose’ books a lot at the moment, especially at bedtime. She loves picking out characters and using her imagination. We just got the ‘You Choose in Space’ book and we love it, the illustrations are so detailed.

Bertie is little and is a bit late to the party with his speech, so we are still working through the ‘That’s not my’ books. He is also obsessed with a Thomas the Tank Engine counting book which is always the last one before the lights go out!

Mon
13 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Stacey Grant-Canham, Founder, Black & Beech

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Hi Stacey! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do

My name is Stacey Grant-Canham and I am the founder of Black & Beech, a design-led brand that focuses on feminism and motherhood, with products ranging from slogan jewellery to fine art prints and ethically sourced sweaters and tees.

What is your child’s favourite book?

I think a firm favourite at the minute is Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph. It tells the tale of a dog who feels she doesn’t fit in so travels to the bright lights of another city to discover that being different is OK.

Mon
06 ^th

Cat Bateman, Owner, Little Folk Nursery Rhymes

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Hi Cat! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Cat Bateman, a mum of two very energetic & football-mad boys, 11 & 8. I met my husband 26 years ago (I know! I am that old!) and I have a business called Little Folk Nursery Rhymes. I hold weekly sessions singing nursery-rhymes to lovely little customers accompanied by my guitar. I completely love singing and sharing music and am passionate about spreading the word about Type 1 Diabetes as my eldest boy was diagnosed when he was 5 years old.

What were your sons’ favourite books when they were small?

I will answer all the questions from my memories of what they loved when they were your demographic of 0-5 years – I have totally enjoyed digging these books out and taking another look at them – haven’t been able to get rid of any of them in the constant battle to reclaim the house from the children’s stuff as they hold such gorgeous memories.

Mon
30 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Jo Love, Owner, Lobella Loves

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Jo, founder of Lobella Loves and mental health advocate. I live in East London with the hubby and my little girl who is three. I drink too much tea and wine, and not enough green things! I used to be a lawyer but decided I needed and wanted more to do more in my life. Suffering with postnatal depression (PND) after my little girl arrived, I knew I needed to help other women finding themselves alone and shamed.

What is your daughter’s favourite book?

She’s a real bookworm, so pinning it down to one is tricky. Right now, she’s loving, ‘You Can’t Take An Elephant On the Bus’ by Patricia Cleveland-Peck. It’s a fabulously silly tale about why various animals aren’t suited to different forms of transportation and without giving too much away, where they all end up is far more fun. It’s a delightfully energetic, beautifully illustrated, funny book and I love that it rhymes, making it a joy to read aloud.

Mon
23 ^rd

Ivy’s Guest Book: Sally Darby, Founder, Mums Like Us

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Sally Darby, founder of Mums Like Us – a network for disabled mothers. MLU is a facebook group exclusively for disabled mothers. I am also trying to open up the conversation about disability and motherhood @mums_like_us on Instagram and www.mumslikeus.org. I live in the Midlands with my husband and two beautiful and bonkers daughters who are 2 and 5.

What is your daughters’ favourite books?

The eldest currently adores Matilda by Roald Dahl. She loves that Matilda is smart and mischievous… a bit like her! The little one loves the Winnie the Witch books by Valerie Thomas. She has learned to say, ‘witch,’ and she loves repeating it as she points to every picture!

Mon
16 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Emily Lawler, Owner, Mama Needs A Mimosa

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

I’m Emily. I live in London with my husband Gavin and our 16 month old son, Max. I’m mostly a nurse but whilst I was on maternity leave I started the restaurant review site for parents ‘Mama needs a Mimosa‘, so my son and I eat out quite a lot. I love being a mum but my aim isn’t to entirely sacrifice the person I was before I became one.

What is your son’s favourite book?

Right now I think Max’s favourite book is probably Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. A time tested favourite in most households about getting someone to try new food that they don’t think they will like. It has not, as yet, had an impact on Max’s fussy eating. He frequently thrusts it into my hands and shouts HAM, even if we have only read it 5 minutes before. He loves anything that rhymes and sort of does a little dance if I recite it all fast enough. We take a lot of books out with us when we eat at restaurants and his favourite changes pretty regularly.

Mon
09 ^th

Ivy’s Guest Book: Bridget Da Silva, Owner, Lulu Loves

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family

Hello I’m Bridget and I’m a mummy to one strong-willed, independent 4 year old called Lulu (Lucia). We live in North West London. I run Lulu Loves, making headpieces for any occasion and other crafty stuff including children’s wear and accessories.

What is your daughter’s favourite book?

At the moment we have two favourite books – ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ by Andrea Beaty and ‘Hans and Matilda’ by Yoko Shima.. Lulu loves reading ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ because of the clever way the story is told through rhyming text. She also loves ‘Hans and Matilda’, the anticipation leading up to the unveiling of Matilda by shouting out very loud ‘MATILDA’ gets her every time

Which book do you most like reading to her and why?

I love reading ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ to Lulu as it’s a great book with great illustrations. Ada is a role model for young girls and especially for girls of colour. It is very important for my daughter to see positive images like these being represented. Ada is also a scientist, which as we know can be quite a male dominated field. She embraces her hunger for knowledge through questions and thinking and reassuring us that it is OK to question things no matter how big or small. By building self confidence with supportive parents by her side and embracing her uniqueness, she is ready to face the world of science.

What do you look for when shopping for a new book for your child?

I tend to let Lulu choose first then oversee if it is appropriate or not. She always tends to go for books with some sort of animal on the front cover. I do look out for books that have a positive message and are confidence building but not too serious. They also have to be quite short as she tends to get a bit bored toward the end if there are too many pages.

What would you like to see more of in kids’ books today?

I would like to see more of a representation of mixed children and families in books as my daughter is mixed race. Growing up as a mixed race girl and a black girl in this present time (with social media about) can be quite difficult as there will always be issues of not ‘fitting in’ to different groups or not ‘looking’ a certain way. The pressure is on young girls to fit in so if they see positive reflective images in children’s books from a very young age this will help them eliminate self doubt in the future and embrace self love

About Lulu Loves

Lulu Loves was created from my love of carnival, which I have been doing for over 21 years. The beads, the feathers, the gems, the jewels, the vibrant colours – I absolutely love it and thought I will create all this glamour and glitz on a smaller scale through my headpieces so people can enjoy all year round. This is followed closely by my other love – pom poms. I enjoy making them and find it very therapeutic so I incorporated these onto jumpers, t shirt’s, swimwear, and socks. They are so quirky for children and adults.

You can find me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lululoveslondon_

Older Posts →

← Newer Posts

Category

Uncategorised