“We love to design products that make people happy. Nothing more, nothing less” claims the website home page of Dutch brand  Colorique. I haven’t had a chance to buy one of their cushions yet, but I really enjoy seeing them in picture. The Colorique collections are produced by a little factory in Jaipur, India. To find out more, visit www.colorique.com.

Among the brands that I am looking forward to discovering at Bubble London next month is Olive’s friend Pop. This new Australian label was created in 2009 by Julia Ferguson & Lea Walker. “The naive charm of Olive’s Friend Pop evoke a strong sense of nostalgia: of days spent outdoors making mudpies; of teddy tea-parties; of running until the point of collapse in fits of giggles, and the high quality fabrics and construction ensure that these will become heirloom pieces that you can pass down to your grandchildren.” (KidsStyleFile). The brand is designed in Australia and the production is facilitated out of Hong Kong. Available in about 30 boutiques around the world, including  Kido Store (Sydney), Kawaii Kids (online) and Bambie (South Korea).

“Mellipou makes pregnancy look easy“. Specialized in clothes for babies and moms-to-be, the brand brings an element of fun with this tee-shirt. It comes with a hazard free coloring pen to customize, create special messages…and give an end to the eternal question “it’s a boy or a girl ?” that the view of a round belly inevitably provokes. www.mellipou.com

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Classic, timeless shapes and delightful prints capture the innocent and playful spirit of children making Dagmar Daley‘s designs a big favorite of Pirouette. Don’t miss the key items of the season : patterned vintage-inspired bikinis, the return of the “sun suit,” and cool-for-summer dresses. Available at Sweet William.

Yellow boots (Mini A Ture) to step into puddles, retro-modern sneakers (Pippo) for a long walk in the forest, deep sea blue sandals (Theluto)  for beach time…that would make the perfect trio to pack for the summer holidays. All brands available at Bubble London (S/S 2012 collections, trade only) - Business Design Centre - 52 Upper Street, Islington – London, UK.

This second edition of Playtime New York featured about  60 children’s brands and some maternity wear. A fair amount of excellent US brands : Dagmar Daley, Atsuyo et Akiko, Jess Brown, Kicokids, Lucky Fish, Lucky Wang, Makie, Nico Nico, Winter Water Factory, Wovenplay, as well as cool Europeans ones : Bakker made with love, Bensimon, Bobo Choses, Caramel Baby & Child, Ketiketa, Lale, Le vestaiaire de Jeanne. Among the newcomers with (on my opinion) good potential for growth, were A for Apple (Hong Kong), Esp no.1 (NY), Goatmilk (NY), Kutie Protocol (Australia, the owners are Columbian), Lamantine (France, the owner is Italian), Pale Cloud (Sweden) . I was pleased to see products from Namhee, a brand that I had seen online (and written about), but never actually seen in real life. And I thought it was great for shoe designer Nathalie Verlinden to have her collection presented on the Kicokid booth. Nathalie’s shoes are beautiful, very well made, quite unique.

A for Apple – www.aforapple.net

The brand is doing a collaboration with cult store Opening Ceremony in New York

Esp no.1 – www.espno1.com

Simple pieces + gorgeous fabrics (very heavy cotton, from Japan)

Goat Milk  - goatmilknyc.com

To see the article published on Pirouette last October click here

Kutie Protocol – www.kutieprotocol.com

A cool new denim, very creative, made in Columbia in a sustainable way, by small factories

Lamantine – www.lamantineparis.com

Very chic, very elegant made between France and Italy. The line is sold at Le Bon Marche, and Yoya New York, two great windows!

Pale Cloud – www.pale-cloud.com

Very creative ; innovative fabrics, shapes, details

Bonpoint just announced the imminent opening of its shop-in-shop at Selfridges & Co, London – 400 Oxford Street.

That’s good news, however it would be marvelous to get a bit more : a real section dedicated to designer’s labels, to balance with the massive presence of Dior, Dolce Gabbana, Burberry. Selfridges is my local store (5 minutes walk from home), but i have to go to Harvey Nichols to find exciting/creative children’s brands…a pity for Selfridges, isn’t it?