Reading time: 4 min

Martha is an energetic and fun loving 3½ year old.  She loves bunnies, Babybel and her best friend Astrid.  Martha enjoys dressing up and insists on wearing either her ballerina dress or Piglet costume on a daily basis. Henrietta her mother is the co-owner of Belle Enfant.  She loves “her daughters Martha and Margot, her husband Richard, good Champagne, a sleeping baby, Art Nouveau enamel jewellery – beauty in all its many forms”.

Martha

What do you want to be when you grow up A knight or an ice skater

What is your big dream?  Sausages and peas!

Someone you admire? My best friend Astrid

Are you scared of anything? If so tell me what and why Dragons because they blow fire.

What makes you laugh When mummy does a funny face or tickles me.

Your favourite films and books Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom and Tiddler and the Troll (anything Julia Donaldson).

Something you did recently that you really loved Making sandcastles at the playground.

The best holidays you ever had My holiday with mama Sheila and papa Peter (grandparents). We saw lots of fish (at the aquarium in San Francisco) and ate lots of ice-cream.

A place that you would dream to visit A field with flowers and rabbits

Your favorite belonging My little sister Margot and my cats Bert and Susie.

The next item you would so dearly love to get A pet rabbit

If you had a magic wand, what would you do with it right now? Make people into rabbits

Henrietta

A place you saw when you were a child, and that made its mark on you? May Hill which is in Gloucestershire where I grew up.  The walk is invigorating and the view from the top breathtaking, if the weather is good it’s possible to see five counties from top. It captured my imagination the first time I went up as a child and we still go back every Christmas day and now I get to take my girls.

The place you love near your home My local greengrocers, Newington Green Fruit & Vegetables. You can get the most amazing seasonal fruit and vegetables. Martha loves to come particularly as the staff always give her free bananas.

Where do you dream to go for your next family holiday We’d love to take our girls to Corsica which is where we had our best holiday before they arrived.  It’s a beautiful place with a distinctive landscape and ambience; the smell is incredible, in summer it’s like walking through a herb garden.

A film that you saw recently and that staid with you? I recently re-watched The Lives of Others. It’s such a moving film and the cinematography is subtle, yet beautiful.

The film that you love to see with the whole family? I’m looking forward to introducing my girls to the Anne of Green Gables which I utterly adored as a child and still do!

The book on your bedside table I’ve had Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie on my bedside table for what seems like years but somehow life (and Grazia) keeps getting in the way!

The children’s brands your cherish Pepe for beautifully crafted leather shoes, Brio wooden toys (great design values), Kiehl’s Baby, especially their miracle diaper rash ointment which is sadly not available in the UK anymore so I always stock up when in the US and Belle Enfant of course!

The children’s stores you love to visit and buy from Mudpie, San Francisco, the store is beautifully curated with vintage children’s furniture and toys used to offset and enhance the pieces. Liberty. I love the shop for myself and now there’s a Little Liberty for my girls.

Last thing you bought for your child Dagmar Daly Degas dress. It’s silk with a tulle skirt in dusky pink and grey, the perfect ballerina dress.

Favourite pieces in your child’s wardrobe Marc by Marc Jacobs mouse pumps (I have a pair too!), and an embroidered sheepskin gilet bought from Helsinki for Martha when she was less than a year – it’s a classic piece and the amount of use both our girls have had from it is astonishing

What do you buy online? I love the convenience of shopping online. I buy clothes for myself and my girls (my favourites are my-wardrobe for me and Smallable for the girls).

A website that inspires you thecoolhunter.net for a daily dose of the latest trends in fashion interiors, art, travel and Pinterest – the ultimate reference point when looking for inspiration for any number of creative undertakings.

What are your main current concerns I’m sometimes daunted by the sheer amount I have to squeeze into my waking hours. More broadly, the situation is Syria is utterly tragic and seeing pictures of children the same age as my own subjected to such violence and tragedy breaks my heart.

Something that made you laugh out loudly recently? The first song of the first episode of the Flight of the Conchords never fails to make me laugh out loud.  It’s called The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room).  @TwopTwips on Twitter also raises a laugh at least once a week.