Changing Times, Kids In Style and Christmas SALE........

Well, we are gearing up for big changes at Little Chillies.......

Christmas Sale

Firstly...... After a little website neglect, we have finally updated our shop with all of our available products and are having a Christmas Sale - 20% off everything! :-) Bear with us while we update the pricing on the website (such a slow process!). Customers at our recent markets may have already noticed our sales! It's time to clear out the old and make way for the new, which leads us to the change......

Manufacturing

Up until now, we have handcrafted very small quantities (a few items of this and that) and enjoyed making garments with a variety of beautiful quilting fabrics :-). But we are very excited about shifting our little hobby's direction and taking a business approach. Over the course of this year, Little Chillies has been working with a fantastic pattern maker in Sydney, sourcing our fabrics from local textile companies, started working with a local manufacturer in Melbourne, and are now finally entering the world of selling wholesale.

Sizing

At present we have been handcrafting up to size 2. As of 2011, with the benefit of pattern maker grading and an external maker we will be extending our size range up to size 4 :-)

Kids In Style

Very excitingly (and similtaneously stressful ;-)) we will be attending our first trade fair in Sydney during Feb 2011, to show our first collection (Summer 2011) for wholesale. It's a little while yet before the customers get to see the new Little Chillies, but very soon we finally give the retailers a taste of what we have been brewing. We will finally feel like a real label!

Closing for Christmas Holidays

We will be closing down for Christmas for a two weeks over Christmas between 22nd December to the 9th January 2011. So if we don't respond to your emails during this period, we will get onto you as soon as we are back on the 10th January 2011.

Merry Christmas,
Little Chillies.

In the Media and Blogs......

We always love a bit of Little Chillies promotion! We have been featured in a couple of fabulous Magazines over the past two months. We had a page in the 25th edition of Studio Bambini (Let's Shop) and had a mention or two in LittleONE baby (a divine Magazine) and also in My Child.

Happy 25th Birthday Studio Bambini, you have such a fabulous magazine :-)


Our French Floral Outfit was featured in summer 2010/11 My Child Edition.




Our Party dress in Teal and matching Party Shoes were modelled by a bub in LittleONE baby. We think the outfit may have swallowed the poor little thing!



LittleONE baby also featured our Roller Girl gift pack, which includes a cute Kimono, pair of shoes matching shoes and soft toy (elephant or Owl).




Thanks also, to Handmade Kids for another lovely feature on our 2010 Spring/Summer Collection :-) Check it out:

http://www.handmadekids.com.au/?p=6986

Some more Little Chillies feature in Babiekinsmag a fantastic online magazine....check it out.....

http://babiekinsmag.com/one.html


Back to work............

Cheerio,
Little Chillies.

Come see us at Modish Market this Saturday......

Where: Malvern Town hall (Cnr of Glenferrie Road and High Street, Malvern)
When: Saturday 2nd December 2010
Time: 10am to 4pm

Come get your Little Chillies Christmas Shopping done this Sunday in Melbourne (Caulfield Racecourse)......

Come See us in Sydney this weekend at Magnolia Square

Belated Welcome to a new Melbourne stockist! Eco Toys in Hawthorn East.

You can now see some of Little Chillies divine summer dresses in the gorgeous children's toy store Eco Toys. We have even custom made unique dresses for the store, which you won't be able to find anywhere else. So hurry in, as I hear they are selling quickly! Eco Toys have both an online store and a bricks and mortar store at 651 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East, VIC (near Auburn village & train station).

Not only to find a Little Chillies outfit, but more importantly if you are organically and/or environmentally inclined, they have some beautiful and unique eco children's products to choose from.

Let's take a walk through the shop......






I just love this bike ;-) .....


We highly recommend visiting the store, where you will find some great products with a warm and friendly welcome from the shop owner Melinda, her husband, and toddler Safari.


Jo & Liz.
xx

Little Chillies Mumalicious Inspiration

Let me introduce you to Caroline Shearer (aka Mumalicious): registered and practicing midwife, pre/post natal educator, qualified personal trainer, and inspiring angel! Yes, I’m sure I can see little wings poking out in her picture ;-)

……when heavily pregnant sitting at my OBgyn’s office, I looked at a Mumalicious pamphlet on numerous occasions. Suffering from pelvic instability, I didn’t really know how to safely exercise and thought I should contact Caroline. Unfortunately, I chose chocolate and the couch, the easy way out! It wasn’t until I was six months post baby, that it occurred to me I wasn’t loosing the baby blubber, but in fact was gaining more! Huh? I had gained 30 kilos from my pre-pregnancy weight, Ugh! I had hit my ‘fat threshold’. The woman I saw staring back at me in the mirror was not the woman I identified with! So I called Caroline and went on the mumalicious journey.

Check Caroline helped with individual tailored exercises that suited my post-natal body.

Check I received personal training in the comfort of my own home (and yard!).

Check Caroline helped out with my baby while I worked out.

Check She provided tips for managing my new baby: sleeping, settling, feeding, etc.

Check She provided great encouragement and support for me as both a woman and mother.

But it was so much more than this.....

Little Chillies was starting up at the time I was training with Caroline. She watched it grow from my little shoe concepts and ideas, to roping my mother in to making matching outfits, to finally an actual business! She provided so much inspiration and encouragement to take it a step further and that Little Chillies was something special.

In light of our unique relationship with Caroline and Mumalicious, Little Chillies are offering a free pair of Little Chillies Shoes if you mention this article to Caroline and sign up to her personal training sessions within the next 6 months (offer ends 1st March 2011).

Little Chillies wants every pregnant woman and new mum to experience this inspiring angel :-)

xx

Come see us at the following markets.......

Come and see us in the flesh over the next few months in both Melbourne and Sydney at the Markets. We are attending the following (and maybe some more!):

Modish Market

Melbourne:
Saturday 2nd October 2010



Where: Malvern Town Hall (Cnr High Street and Glenferrie Road, Malvern).
When: Saturday October 2nd.
Time: 10am to 4pm.


Magnolia Square

Melbourne:
Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd & Saturday 23rd October 2010.




Where: Malvern Town Hall (Cnr High Street and Glenferrie Road, Malvern).
When: Thursday: 10am - 9pm
Friday: 10am - 5pm
Saturday: 10am - 4pm


Magnolia Square

Sydney
Friday 12th, Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th November 2010


Where: Randwick Racecourse, Sydney.
When: Friday: 10am - 5pm
Saturday : 10am - 5pm
Sunday: 10am - 4pm


Sisters Market

Melbourne
Saturday 11th December


Where: St Kilda Town Hall, 99 Carlisle St, St Kilda.
When: Saturday 11th December
Time: 10am - 4pm



We hope to be back at.........
Modish Market - Malvern Town Hall - 4th December 2011
Mathilda's Market - Caulfield Racecourse - 21st November 2011


Cheerio,
Jo & Liz.

Tiny Sneaky Peaky at Winter 2011

Well we are excited to announce that as of Winter 2011, we are supplying to some lovely children's boutiques, mostly in Melbourne at this stage! We can't wait until next Feb/March to get our deliveries under way and let you know who is stocking Little Chillies from next year :-)

We have been road testing the 2011 Winter garments for a little while now, and thankfully Melbourne offers a long and cold Winter (well into spring ;-)). So my 'almost' 2 year old (Amelie) and myself headed off to Collingwood Children's Farm this morning, joining two of her friends, Noah and Annabelle. Sadly, she was more interested in the steady supply of crackers from my hand bag and playing with, or on, inanimate objects rather than with the animals. But at least I got a few good pictures of toddlers doing their thing.......

A run of pictures with Amelie testing our wool blend red poncho style jacket for next Winter 2011.....

Amelie and the goats...

Amelie eyeing off the kids, but is she actually more interested in the log!

Giddy-up! Noah and Amelie enjoying a pretend horse ride on a log.



Amelie and Noah playing in the grass.


Oops down we go! ...and cracked-it!


You will just have to wait until the end of Summer to see the rest........!

Cheerio,
Jo.

A taste of the Summer 2010 Gallery........

Roller Girl....


Party Dress.....
Alice in Wonderland....
French Frills.......
Little Maiko......

French Flowers.....


and so much more :-) ........

In Transition

Girls Spring Summer range 2010
Our photo shoot for our girls Spring/Summer 2010 will take place this Saturday. So you can look forward to viewing it online by the end of the month and becoming available to purchase by the end of August. Some of our range we have made available at the last couple of markets - but there is soooo much more :-)

Transition into External manufacturing - Girls Winter 2011
Our Girls Spring/Summer 2010 range will be our last hand crafted garment range. We are just too busy and need to pass off the responsibility to people who can keep up! And we have just found out that we are expecting a new little chilli, and I'm sure I'll be struggling to reach the sewing machine towards the end! We will continue to handcraft our existing ranges until sold-out. We will also continue to handcraft our shoes for a while longer, but are in the works of finding a maker for these also.

Our garment manufacturer is in Melbourne, so we will be sticking to supporting the local manufacturing industry. We are very excited to be taking this next step and look forward to seeing our products in more stores :-)

Let us know if you are a retailer interested in viewing our Winter 2011 Samples!

Cheerio,
Jo & Liz.

New Stockist and great Coffee in Camberwell...

Welcome New Stockist

Folly Shop
Folly shop is located at my local shopping strip 1410 Toorak Rd, Camberwell. It opened a couple of months ago now, and is run by a lovely couple Ruth and Dave. They have the most adorable European provincial inspired homewares, furniture and collectables. .....and now they have a few Little Chillies garments, toys and shoes from our French fabrics collection (limited availability) to complement the baby furniture section. So if you are in the area, head on in to check it out, it's a beautiful store. Here are some pictures of the store......





Bubba Friendly and Dam Good Coffee......

Santucci's

A little off topic.... but just a few shops up Toorak Rd, is a relatively new Italian cafe in our area 'Santucci's' (1392 Toorak Rd, Camberwell). It's owned and run by the loveliest of siblings and they have employed equalling lovely staff. We frequently stroll over for breakfast, lunch or coffee with our toddler & occasionally the dog. They have great food and SUPERB coffee :-) :-) My 20 month old practically destroys the floor, covering it in layers of food (near misses aiming food and pencils at other customers) and at some point usually gets grumpy. They clean up our mess with a smile, give her a marshmellow to cheer her up, and let us back in the door time and time again!

So if you're looking for a great place to have a bite to eat, and/or a superb coffee, and staff that don't mind little rascals, head to Santucci's. They make you feel at home. You might just bump into me enjoying a coffee, Amelie enjoying a baby chino, while loosing myself in thoughts of Little Chillies next designs.

Cheerio,
Jo.

Recent Markets

Well it's just been a little crazy here lately, managing our 'other' jobs (both in the health sector), looking after a toddler, managing, designing and manufacturing Little Chillies, Ugh..... superwomen, we are not!

Here's a picture of me making shoes, in what was once our formal dining area.......

But some time aside, to catch up on the Blog......

Markets
Well, Mathilda's market at Malvern Town Hall in May was a Blast! We LOVE being busy! Our new blue reversible kimono was a hit and almost sold out. We are starting to receive a lot of orders for size 4 and 5, so we be looking closely into extending our sizing in future.
Magnolia square in Sydney during the first week of June was great fun! It poored with rain on the first day, but that didn't seem to keep the people away :-). Matty (husband) helped out for this market and we met some lovely people and had a great few days away. We were very happy to win the visual merchandising award. Thank-you fellow retailers for voting for us! We are booked into Magnolia Square during October 2010 and then again in Sydney during November.



Our last market for a month or so was in mid June, Sugar and Spice Children's Market in Woodend. It was their launch, and we were very impressed at the numbers that came through for their first Market. Good work Ali! We hope to be back at the next one on September 12th. This market is a must. It's the perfect day out in Woodend. If you haven't been to Woodend before think: tranquil, spa country, divine cafe's, coffee, and stylish shops! It's a great place to visit :-)


NEXT MARKETS

We are 'hoping' to be at:

Mathilda's Market at Hawthorn Town Hall, August 22nd.

Sugar & Spice Children's Market in Woodend, September 12th.


We will be at:

Magnolia Square at Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne on October, 21st, 22nd, & 23rd.

Magnolia Square at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Novemebr 12th, 13th & 14th


See you soon at another market,
Jo & Liz.

Mathilda's Market Melbourne, Magnolia Square in Sydney and Introducing New Stockists.....

Well we are excited to be selling at a couple of markets in the next two months. If you are local in Melbourne, come see us at Mathilda's Market at Malvern Town Hall on the 30th May.


Mathilda's Market - Melbourne

· On Sunday 30^th May we will be showcasing our products at Mathilda's Market. Mathilda's Market showcases and sells beautiful handcrafted and limited production baby and kids goods. Carefully handpicked stallholders to bring you the most divine and original clothing, accessories, homewares and toys for the little ones. Exquisite wares are lovingly made by some of Australia's most talented crafters and designers, many of them parents themselves. Please come and see our stand at Mathilda’s Market from 9am to 1pm at the Malvern Town Hall, Cnr Glenferrie Rd & High St, Malvern. Entry and parking is free. With almost 70 retailers, yummy cupcakes, and plenty of kids entertainment Mathilda’s Market is definitely one of Melbourne’s best shopping destinations for the little ones. For a sneak preview, have a look at the website (www.mathildasmarket.com.au) and enjoy a browse through the photos of all participants. We look forward to seeing you there!

Magnolia Square - Sydney

We are also heading up to Sydney for our first Magnolia Square from the 4th June to 6th June.

Randwick Racecourse - Sydney
June 4/5/6

**Be sure to visit us at either market as we will have some funky new products that won't be available on our website!


New Stockists

Welcome two new online stockist, Funky Baby who have a selection of our shoes in newborn sizes and to The Little Kidz Closet who are stocking a number of our matching outfits!


Cheerio for another day,
Jo & Liz.

Welcome new Stockist........

Just a quickie!

We have just shipped off an order to a new stockist in QLD, Style Aficionado. They will be heading on down to the Brisbane Mathilda's Market this weekend 17th April 2010. It's being held at Brisbane Racing Club at Eagle Farm, 230 Lancaster Road, Ascot, from 9am to 4pm. So if you're a Brisbane local, head down to visit Style Aficionado at Mathilda's Market on Saturday!

Oh sooo very soon we will be putting up some snippets, a taste of what little Chillies is brewing up next....

Bye for now,
Jo & Liz.

Mathilda's Market & Getting into the Media...

Just to start, thanks to all those who came down and supported Little Chillies at Mathilda's Market on Sunday. We had a great time and made great sales, and apparently it was a quiet day as far as Mathilda's Markets usually go! So we hope they keep having us back! Here is some pictures from Sunday. We are planning a little further dolling up of our stall - some white backdrops to stop too much visual distraction in the background, higher clothes rack so they don't get lost behind busy customers browsing though our clothes, and some more props..... basically white, white and little more white!

.....and remind me to try and be a little more artistic with the photography next time! ;-)

In the above picture, Liz in the back ground having her wake-up coffee after we set up our stall...


...and from the other side!

....and front on, displaying our antique pigeon hole cabinet with scrabble Little Chillies letters! The perfect display for our shoes, hair pins and small softy toys.


IN THE MEDIA

We have been doing our best to get our name out there and have been in the media a little lately. Thanks to a few blogs and websites that have given some of our products a mention also. In particular, Babybites in New Zealand wrote some very lovely words about our products! Check out their website. Kid independent has recently put a picture up of our French General overalls- - my favourite boys fabric!

One of our retailers Angelfish Dragonfly forwarded our Party Dress outfit to the February edition of 'My Child' magazine which was great. It's lovely to see your product end up in a magazine. See pictures:


Just in store now is 'Bambini Studio" magazine. There is a smaller book "Let's Shop Bambini" attached to the magazine. There is a little bit about Little Chillies in there on page 33. A very stylish magazine I must say - every coffee table should have one! Go get yourself a copy to see our pretty pictures :-)


That's all for now, back to the sewing machine to complete our extra orders from Mathilda's Market and get stuck into working on the patterns for our next range.......

Jo & Liz