Summertime, market success and buying handmade.

It's been a busy time for Georgia's Closet and so unfortunately the blog has taken a back seat. We had our first market stall at the wonderful Hide & Seek market in Sydney's Hills District. The market is full of fabulous handmade goodies for babies and mums. It was hard work to not spend all my money on the gorgeous wares on offer. Georgia's Closet had a successful day and we'll be back in February for another stall. Take a look at our little market setup....

I've been thinking a lot about the range I'm going to offer at our next stall and the fabrics I'll need to stock up on. I always head straight to Etsy for my supplies as I can get some great stuff at great prices - particularly given how great the exchange rate is now. Etsy is like eBay for handmade goods, it's full of brilliant one-off wares made by very talented individuals, have a look at http://www.etsy.com/ to see for yourself. I came across some beautiful Japanese fabrics which will be perfect for soft, flowing smock tops that will be on offer in Autumn, as well as some Amy Butler basics that will make some stunning one-off toddler dresses which will be at my February market.

Somewhere amongst all of this, I made Georgia her Christmas outfit, a cute little shirred dress in a gorgeous Alexander Henry Christmas print. Check out the picture below, taken at a get together with friends....I love this photo!

With summer in our midst, I'm keen to sew up some lightweight cotton dresses for Georgia, especially for our trip to Singapore next month. Lightweight cotton is a life saver over there, as the humidity makes it really sticky and uncomfortable for little ones. Georgia's got so much hair she really feels the heat too. The pillowcase dress is perfect because it's loose fitting and will grow as she grows - which is incredibly fast these days!!

If you're shopping for your little one this sale season, go for lightweight garments, in light colours that will also keep mozzies at bay. They also dry quickly when you're on holidays so can be worn more than once while you're away. Email me at georgiascloset@gmail.com to see our latest range of summer dresses, in great lightweight fabrics.

Enjoy the festive season and summer with your loved ones, see you in the New Year!

Vanessa xx

A world of handmade

It's been a while since my last post, and a lot's been going on. I'm looking at running my first market stall for Georgia's Closet, which has me very excited but also very busy making enough stock to get there in November or December.

Along the way, I've been researching markets of all kinds, but in particular handmade markets. If you hadn't noticed, there's a flurry of handmade markets, stores, websites and articles about handmade goods, born out of everyone's love for unique goods that are made with love and offer something special.

It just so happens that we've also been doing a few road trips this month and have managed to stumble across some fabulous stores that appealed to my love of handmade. My ultimate favourite is My Place at Bowral, in NSW's Southern Highlands. I LOVE this shop, it's full of beautiful fabrics and ideas that I could have spent all day there. Check them out at http://www.myplacebowral.com.au/

We also visited a couple of handmade kids markets, these are relatively new in Sydney but I can tell they're really going to take off because the stallholders these markets attract produce beautiful things and the market 'owners' are really passionate about what they do. With Christmas coming up, if you have the time check out one of these markets and you'll find some great buys for Christmas. A few of my faves are Hide and Seek, Poppyseed Markets and Billycart Markets. Make sure you check out their websites for market dates and maybe soon you'll see Georgia's Closet there too.

On another note, you may have noticed we have a new logo!! I'm so happy with our logo, I think it perfectly represents the look and feel of Georgia's Closet. Fantastic work from Kim at Boutique by Design, she designs beautiful work for other WAHMs (Work-at-home-Mums) and small businesses.

I'n working busily on summer dresses, skirts, shorts and bloomers. To order any of these, email me at georgiascloset@gmail.com

Enjoy this warm weather and dressing your little one in beautiful Spring-inspired clothes!

Vanessa
xx

Shoes are a little girl's best friend

I've been thinking a lot about how I can give my customers more value out of this blog and somehow (yes unimaginably so!) my mind wandered to shoes. Since Georgia's walking...or should I say running...so confidently now, I've started putting shoes on her whenever we leave the house. But I must say that it's hard to find the right shoe for a little one - and very importantly, shoes that will match gorgeous party clothes as well as casual ones you won't mind getting wrecked in the event of toddler mischief.

I'm addicted to buying soft soled, leather shoes for Georgia. Not only are they light on her feet, they're flexible too, which is super important when toddlers are learning to walk. Check out this guide to buying baby and toddler shoes for some great info on what to look for, how to buy and some great links too. Soft leather shoes come in so many styles and colours that you'll be sure to find a pair to perfectly compliment any outfit and will probably find it hard to choose just one or two!

I recently went into a beautiful little baby boutique for some dressier shoes for Georgia as she previously only owned these heavy, thick soled black Mary Janes. I ended up choosing a gorgeous pair of chocolate brown moccasins by Bobux that will match any colour outfit and still looks quite dressy. I now officially love Bobux shoes, they have so many styles to choose from and are a great price too, given how quickly Georgia's little piggies have been growing lately. Check them out and choose a pair to match your little one's favourite Georgia's Closet dress!

Speaking of dresses, I've been feeling guilty that I make all of these dresses to sell and poor Georgia gets left out....I guess it's like a mechanic who never services their own car, in a way! I had a beautiful piece of fabric which I had wanted to make something for her out of, so I set about putting together a gorgeous peasant dress for her....and here it is.

I'm also taking orders for this style of dress in sizes 1 to 5, at $45 it's a bargain for a party dress, and if you prefer a more casual look, I can make it without the bow for $40. As the Aussie dollar's been so strong lately I've stocked up on fabrics and I have some stunning fabrics that will suit this dress perfectly too. Email me at georgiascloset@gmail.com to place your order.

I'm loving that the sun is shining and Spring is nearly here, so here's to plenty more sunshine!

Vanessa
xx

Spring fashion fever takes hold

With all of the talk about David Jones and Myer launching their Spring collections, I couldn't help but get inspired and started thinking about what looks I'm going to put out there for Georgia's Closet this Spring, especially when today was such a gorgeous sunny day. And while we still have a few more weeks to shiver through, Spring is only around the corner and I'm looking forward to creating some of the cutest Spring looks for 2010.

Another inspiration came to me when I took a trip to my favourite store today, Country Road and I'm loving all of the gorgeous bright colours for this season. If you're familiar with our clothes already, you'll know that Georgia's Closet tends to favour lovely printed fabrics - modern patterns that really stand out and have people asking you 'where did you get that?' So this season won't be any different, but I'm bringing out some unusual pieces, gorgeous dresses, bold floral prints, girly twirly skirts in our popular patchwork style, bright, happy PJs and bloomers....

...yes bloomers. Last year, before Georgia's Closet was created, I scoured the shops high and low to find inexpensive, cute bloomers in plain and pattern for Georgia. Rather than spending upwards of $20 for these, I (or actually Georgia) sadly went without. When thinking of my Spring/Summer collection, bloomers instantly came to mind so keep a look out for bloomers in plain and patterns - and we may even have a special deal where you can buy a dress and bloomers set.

And of course, not forgetting the boys this Spring - I'm working on super cool shorts in funky fabrics that will make yours the best dressed little man at the beach, playground, anywhere!

Keep and eye out for the Spring collection via our Facebook page and online store....here's to a quick few weeks of Winter and bring on Spring and all its sunshine and good fun!

Til next time,
Vanessa
xx

mini luke, online shopping and more!!

So yes it's been a while since my last post, but with good reason. First of all I was busy finishing Georgia's jacket for her 1st birthday party. I'm so happy with the result, it has little red apples on it and suits her perfectly! As well as this, there was tons to prepare for the big day but all went off without a hitch and Georgia had a fantastic day.

I've also been super busy launching our boys' range of clothing.....and deciding on a name for the boy's stuff - you'll remember the online competition held in June. Amelia McKee, mum to Oscar, suggested 'mini luke' which I absolutely love and so there you have it......mini luke by Georgia's Closet is born! Keep an eye out for hoodies and PJ's both on Facebook and at http://www.madeit.com.au/georgiascloset

Speaking of Facebook, I'm very excited to be launching our online Facebook store! Many people have asked how this will work and it's really pretty simple. Through the Georgia's Closet fan page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Georgias-Closet/335599849932?ref=ts), I have a tab 'Shop Now' where fans will be able to purchase directly online. It's all ready to go, I just need to build up some stock to place up on the site.

This week I discovered another reason to love Georgia's Closet, so am very pleased to share this story with you. Georgia has had this little rash on her neck, a red, raised blotchy patch which I put down to the tags from her PJs and clothes rubbing constantly. I removed the tags off all the offending items and got some ointment so it's on the mend....however the point of my story is this. All Georgia's Closet and mini luke pieces come with iron on dot labels (I use those from http://www.mooo.com.au/ and love them!) so never will there be a huge chunky tag annoying your little one and causing irritations.....see just one more reason for you to love Georgia's Closet!

On that note, time for me to go. Keep checking our Facebook page and be the first to experience online shopping at Georgia's Closet. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve for the coming weeks too so stay tuned!

Vanessa
xx

Boy's hoodies are on their way!

Due to popular demand we're soon to be in the business of boy's clothes! So in light of this exciting new venture, we need a name for our boy's line of clothing....and we need your help!! Put your creative hat on and come up with the best name for our new collection and you'll win a boy's hoodie in the size of your choice (sizes 6 months to 5 years). Email your entry to georgiascloset@gmail.com by June 20.

Aside from this exciting development, I've been super busy organising Georgia's first birthday party and making her jacket to wear on the big day....this got me thinking about what's practical for kids to wear to parties. Aside from the fact that they're likely to get ice cream, chocolate and cake all over their gorgeous party clothes, you also want them to be comfortable and not pulling at their clothes all day....or worse taking them off!!

Opt for nice, soft fabrics to suit the weather (soft cottons in summer, cord or denim in winter) and preferably go with long sleeves in winter so you won't have to chase after your little one with a jacket all day - have you ever noticed kids hate wearing jackets when it's 10 degrees outside?

For colour choice, obviously avoid white wherever possible, printed fabrics are great because they don't show stains as much - and you're more likely to spot your dearest running off if they're not wearing something common like black, blue, red, pink etc....which is where I put my sales pitch in about our new hoodies - made in cute, designer printed fabrics they'll keep him warm, it can be dressed up or down and you'll spot him a mile away since he'll be the best dressed boy at the party!

Have fun and stay warm.....and don't forget to enter your name suggestion before June 20!

Vanessa
xx

Back online and busy making jackets

Well the weather has been pretty awful this week, so it's no surprise I'm flat out making three jackets this week. I love this jacket and have been hanging out to make one for Georgia to wear to her birthday party and finally it looks like it'll be started next week. I'll post photos when I'm done, I've chosen a gorgeous fabric with little apples on it....very sweet.

I'm about to pick up some new patterns too. Finally the pyjamas that I've been promising should be appearing soon, just in time for the coldest part of winter; as well as some gorgeous tops and pinafores for your favourite little girl.

And I'm planning on getting more stock up on my madeit.com.au site....www.madeit.com.au/georgiascloset. Stay tuned for that and lots more in the coming weeks. Winter is the perfect time for sewing!!!