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

Georgia's Closet now has a blog!

Welcome to Georgia's Closet. We create handmade clothing for babies and children aged 6 months to 6 years. It all started when I decided to make a couple of simple dresses for Georgia. At the time being on parental leave still, I had some spare time and wanted to see where sewing would take me. After a couple of successful projects, I decided to see if I could sell some of my creations and so Georgia's Closet was born. I started by creating Georgia's Closet's own Facebook fan page and came up with a few principles......

I only use designer fabrics in all of my creations, I only make things I would happily dress Georgia in and I never make the same item twice. I think that with all the mass produced stuff out there, parents want to dress their little ones in something that reflects them and has been made with care and attention.

I'm constantly looking out for new ideas for my next creation. So I'll be throwing my ideas around and would love it if you let me know what you think. I'm particularly looking to expand into boy's clothing (lots of family and friends are asking!) so let me know what you want in a boys range and I'll get onto it.

Follow Georgia's Closet and if you like what you see you can shop with us by emailing georgiascloset@gmail.com. At the moment we're only small and so we don't have a website up and running but stay with us and we will hopefully get there. I also intend to get to some boutique markets towards the end of the year so stay tuned for that.