just for luna

Super cute wall clock

2009-12-10T19:08:00.001-08:00

Just got this for Luna.

So cute!!! Great design from Decoylab.
I wanted something really cute and minimal, yet have all the numbers written.
Can't wait to see it in her room!

Holiday Gift Ideas

2009-11-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous stamp set from Yellow Owl Workshop.

Great feature on Inhabitots

2009-09-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Inhabitots Link Roundup of the Week

the cutest rattle EVER + how to make homemade laundry detargent + free art for nursery.
Great stuff!!! Thank you. I have to re-blog this.

ArtsCetera - Music for Aadvarks

2009-09-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

We took a summer session in Park Slope on Friday morning.

I really liked the class. Luna loved it. Very fun and energetic, sing-along, dance, playing with instruments, balls, scarfs, there was not even 1 minute I felt the class was boring.
The teacher Liz is very nice and have great energy and the class had nice vibe with parents and caregiver involved.

They are moving this fall to another location, which i think it's great because this place looked like someone's basement. I can't wait to find out if this class is available and with the same teacher. we are definitely in!!

http://www.artscetera.com/bklyn_index.html

Swimming class @ YMCA Park Slope

2009-09-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

This time we took Inea class at 10:15am on Sunday.
It's the first swimming class ever for Luna and we were hoping it would be a fun class.

Huge dissapointment.

their swimming pool is small. only 3 lanes. then they close half of the pool(i just wonder why. because there was no one there!) and there are about 15 pair of babies and parents back to back. very uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

And the teacher sucked!!! it took me a while to realize there was someone leading the class. No energy, no fun, just straight up boring.

So we skipped a few classes towards the end and just headed out to the beach.

the class is only for 30 mins but worth sacrificing precious summer weekend.

Art of Flying Clock

2009-08-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

how pretty! this wall clock is gorgeous...

Personalized Name Hangers for Children’s Clothing

2009-08-05T20:25:00.001-07:00

Nice feature on Inhabitots.
Simple and stylish.

I used make barbed wire jewerly using 5mm aluminum wire. I can relate to this.
Maybe one day I'll make something like this to Luna.

How to make a beach ball lantern

2009-08-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

I found this cool craft tutorial on Zakka Life.

This is what you use to make.

This is traditional and ordinary paper toy from Japan. Growing up in japan, I always had this around when I was little, but never relate this to a beach ball.

I always thought this paper ball is kind of pointless because 1. it's made of thin paper. breaks easily. 2. doesn't float in the air like baloons. boring.

what a cute idea. thank you Zakka life!

Counting 1.2.3

2009-08-05T12:42:00.001-07:00

Books.

Charley Harper 123's - beautiful board book. Luna loves this one.
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123 New York.
I like Kevin Somers's bold and simple illustrations. Yellow cabs, subway train, bridges.. living in NYC, this is something Luna can relate to.

I'm curious to check out this book too:

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123 California. also illustration by Kevin Somers.

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Posters

Gorgeous letterpress print from Sycamore Street Press.
11x14, small but so beautiful.
Check out other beautiful letter press stationaries at their site.

Ribin Rosenthal
18x24. how cute. it comes in green too.

Counting Birdies
Lad and Lass on Etsy.

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by Isak UK. (sold out )

Conscious Blankee

2009-07-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

My Friend Leila Astarabadi's new baby blanket line, Conscious Blankee.

"Conscious Blankee is a special and beautiful keepsake blanket that is made with the most delicate and luxurious fabrics, the finest cashmere, silks and organic cotton. Each blanket carries with it a very pure and heartfelt intention, and that is to bring love and light and healing to the child."

See Conscious Blankee site. I have art directed this site and also conscious cloth site.

Reinventing Kids' Playgrounds/Spaces

2009-07-29T08:52:00.001-07:00

Amazing feature on The Cool Hunter.

Wood Camera

2009-07-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Adorable.
Available at Twine and also Romp.
Romp has amazing selection of wooden toys. I want them all!!

Tea

2009-07-10T11:10:00.001-07:00

My friend gave us this really pretty dress from Tea on Luna's 1st birthday. That's how I got to know this company.

ruffles around the neck, embroidery on the edge of the dress. it's a simple dress with beautiful details.

I like their new "street style" collection. inspired by the energy of Tokyo. very cute. love the prints.

there are a lot of cheesy, ugly and superficial asian inspired design done by someone who doesn't have a clue with the culture. These are so pretty. Japanese mom approved!

Beautiful Alphabet Drawers

2009-07-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous handcrafted drawers by Kent and London.

£2700.00(!!!!!)

Tori Rocking Horse

2009-07-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

By Plan Toys. Sold at Design Within Reach.

This is stylish, eco friendly and foldable. very nice! great design and perfect for small NY apartments.

featured on Inhabitots.

Baby Bonnet

2009-07-07T11:48:00.001-07:00

Adorable!!
The urban baby bonnets on Etsy.

RaeGun's Retro Ruffler

2009-07-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

The cutest jumpsuits ever!
She sells her stuff on Etsy.

architecture - carl bolle elementary school

2009-06-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

die baupiloten: carl bolle elementary school - feature on designboom.com

How cool!!

"hidden corners, built-in hiding spaces, the notion of mysteries and spies were the guiding principles for the carl bolle elementary school designed by die baupiloten. it looks as if the school has been reconstructed to look like scene out of children's spy story - communication, movement and research facilities have been developed to give children areas in which to retreat, climb walls,
perch on observation posts. "

Alexander Girard

2009-06-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

House Industry has gorgeous toys based on Alexander Girard's design.

Shinzi Katoh - Illustration

2009-06-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Super cute and stylish illustration of Shinzi Katoh and great product line.
http://shinzikatoh.com

Lunch box and stainless bottle.
I want this bottle NOW!!!

Notepad

Mugs

Adhesive tapes

Great tutorial for baby hand painted card

2009-06-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is great!. I definitely wanna try this with my girl.

Tutorial featured on Tiny Decor

Rainy Day Suggestions and Brooklyn Summer Fun

2009-06-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Great tips from A Child Grows In Brooklyn.

I love this blog. very useful, up-to-date local information.

Squeaky shoes

2009-06-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

We bought this from a gift shop of Butterfly world in miami.

I lost 1 shoe a few weeks ago. Luna took 1 off and threw it out on the street and never saw it again. I walked back 10 blocks but no luck.
But found a online store who carry this and more squeaky shoes :)

squeakmeshoes.com

flower sandal

ladybug

poker dots

cute boy shoes too!

Story Time @ Postmark Cafe

2009-06-20T11:14:00.001-07:00

It's on Tuesday at 11:00 or Friday at 10:00.
I've been going there on Fridays and I really like it.
the teacher is very nice and the class is well thought out. I've learned lots of children's songs and books from this class with my daughter! the class starts with sing-along then book reading and craft, and even snack for all the kids!

Only bad thing is it's so popular and crowded. sometimes the small room is packed with people sitting on top of each other and there's no window or vent. no air to breathe. packed with kids=germs. ewww.

They have pretty good coffee. very nice small local joint.

Brooklyn Poster

2009-06-18T21:26:00.001-07:00

from Three Potato Four

Nairobi's Knapsack

2009-06-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.nairobisknapsack.com

A beautiful store. Nice selections of toys and books. They have a great play room and they host playgroup and classes. you can also rent it for birthday parties.
we were just there for a birthday party and i really liked their playroom. everything is clean and modern, the layout of the room and decor is very nice.
They are located in Prospect heights close to Crown heights.
I wish we had something like this in Park Slope!

Here's feature on splendicity.

Halter Pantsuits

2009-06-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

sooooo cute!!!
I fell in love as soon as I saw this.
it's 1 piece and so easy to put on and off, great for active girls.
I really like the fish print. how adorable!!! I want one for myself!!!

nonchalant kids - blog post
nonchalant mom website - designer clothing and kids stuff. stylish selection.

Sing-Along @ Perch Cafe

2009-06-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the one on Tuesday @ 10:00. It's such a popular class and it's $5. and it's 5 minutes away from my place. I always wanted to try it out.

I really like Perch as a cafe/restaurant. I love their cobb salad and nacho. very cute interior and nice backyard during summer time.
But I don't think I'll go back to their sing-along class. Very uncomfortable.

the area in the cafe for the sing-along is very small. probably about 100 square feet. and it was ridiculously crowded. there's 3 sofas there and there was about 20 kids + 20 adults crammed into that tiny space. I would say maximum 10 kids + 10 parents or caregiver would fit there comfortably. small space with full of kids = germs. i felt like pouring purell all over myself.

kids sitting on adults lap, no space to move or walk around. how can you interact with music like that? there was just too many people talking over the music and it was so noisy and distracting.

my daughter loves music and loves to dance to it. I'd rather pay for small music classes where she can interact with the teacher and instruments, walk around, jump and dance around.

Sweets for tea time

2009-06-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

They are so cute I know I'll have hours of tea time with these!

Haba biofino. moolka has great selections.

also a lot of cute handmade fake sweets on etsy.

onenonly88

DaisyDaydreams

NiftyKidstuff

cherylasmith

Toy Tea Set

2009-06-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

It's tea time!
my girl is 20 month and she's into kitchen stuff and pretend play lately, so I thought it's a good time to start looking for a nice tea set for her. I found out most of these are age +3 but I don't think I can wait that long...

My first choice, Plan Toys.

$25 bucks, reasonable, comes with everything in the picture above and suger cubes. cute!

Erzi is cute but only come with a teapot and 2 cups. and a little more expensive than Plan Toys set.

This is beautiful if we had space! the birthday cake, the colors.. everything about this is so cute!
Djeco B-day princess tea set.

Design-wise, this doesn't really appeal to me, but simple, minimal, colorful in safe recycled plastic. so why not?
Green toys tea set.

This is super cute too. Handmade tea set!
NiftyKidstuff on Etsy.

Toy Kitchen

2009-06-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't think I have a skill or guts to hack Ikea for my girl's toy kitchen.
So I started looking around.

I have a few preferences:

1. small enough for NY apartment
2. price $100 or below
3. prefer wood
4. comes with lots of bells and whistles.

My first choice is Educo.

1. Educo

this looks great. it comes with all these tools. I love the look and feel of raw wood and a touch of green.

they have a little smaller version too:

This also comes with the same tools above.

2. Plan Toys. I liked this a lot till I see the price. beautiful. but pretty expensive. about $250. no accessories.

Their fridge is beautiful. this is around $250 as well.
I don't wanna spend $500 for toy kitchen set.

Pottery Barn has gorgeous toy kitchens and accessories. this looks so professional. for top chef kids! unfortunately this is over our budget and it wouldn't fit in our small living room.

This is gorgeous.
Momoll Lili Play kitchen
from switzerland. 215.00 € + 125€ for shipping... not for us..

John Crane kitchen combo. from UK. not sure if you can get it in US.

Little Things Toy Store

2009-06-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

A great local toy store in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I love it. they have great selections for infants to big kids. very friendly, personal and helpful staff.
I usually shop most of the stuff online but I enjoy shopping experience at this store.you don't get that in a huge retail store like toys r us.

review on Yelp

Area Kids

2009-06-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is a good local store to check out and look through but not to buy from.
good selections of toys and some clothing.
Every time I go there, I get a obnoxious sales person with attitude and had no idea about the products they carry.

now, they don't offer you a shopping bag and instead, you are stuck with an option to buy $5 eco bag. and the sales person preached me that they care about mother earth and we don't have that luxury for plastic bags.

guess what, $5 eco bag is a luxury we don't care, and taking advantage of the "go green" ideas and trying to squeeze little cash out of people doesn't seem to be a positive intention.

and they only gift wrap with ugly purple tissue. if you want it to be gift wrapped in a wrapping paper, you have to buy from them.

So just look at stuff here and go online. you find the same things in better price anyway.

Calla high chair

2009-06-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

http://callachair.com/
how cute!

Recycle crayons

2009-06-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

I started wondering what to do with pieces of crayons Luna keeps breaking.
Zakka Life had a great tip.

using candy mold to create a new crayon! what a great idea.
I definitely wanna try this one day!

Coolest wooden bike

2009-06-10T18:24:00.001-07:00

Early rider mini cycle on inhabitots | Early rider product page

nice!

Apple Jacket (!?)

2009-06-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

what a nice idea!
Very cute knitted accessories from Handamade on Etsy.

I love this one too. Water bottle cozy!

Bad ass bib & blanket

2009-06-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

sleep, drool and rock'n roll!
http://www.rockabibbaby.com/

Eames elephant chair

2009-06-08T13:01:00.001-07:00

featured on design you trust. How adorable!

"To celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames, Vitra is introduced a limited anniversary edition of the Eames Plywood Elephant, a legendary furniture sculpture that was designed in 1945 but never produced for general distribution and sale. "

more info here.

Amazing kids room

2009-06-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

by h2o architectes (paris). featured on Dezeen.

Cutest toy kitchen

2009-06-06T21:33:00.001-07:00

Everyone says girls have to have a kitchen set one day. So i'm thinking about getting one for Luna's 2nd birthday. It takes so much space and it'll be used for a while, so better be something nice. and I don't wanna spend ridiculous amount of money for toys.

This just blows my mind!! I came across this on Ikea Hacker site.

What's amazing is it's custom made with ikea parts. look at these details. it's made with so much love. Lucky girl!

More details on the original post.

I love Ikea Hacker blog. they have amazing tips and smart ideas to pimp out Ikea furnitures.

Kaiko

2009-06-06T21:18:00.001-07:00

My friends started this amazing kids clothing brand in NYC.
The designers are 2 super talented Japanese moms with professional background in fashion world in Japan.

Details and quality is awesome and I love the handmade buttons. which also handmade by one of their mommy artist friend.

Check out their website. (I've worked on their website. yay!)

here's summer/fall 2009

fall 2008

Catimini

2009-06-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

Catimini

My favorite kids clothing brand ever since my mother-in-law gave us this pretty summer dress. fun and playful, beautiful vivid colors, details and quality.. I'd love to wear this everyday if i were a little girl.

When i walked into the store in Miami, I just wanted to buy the entire store. I saw a few perfect window display and for the first time in my life, I asked the price of entire set.
I bought these.

They also have a store in NYC. upper west side.

Cute bento

2009-06-06T20:45:00.001-07:00

insanely cute bento(lunch box) is sweeping the nation in japan. these moms create these well-designed, healthy lunch for their kids everyday? wow!

luckysundae's photo stream on flickr
"i'm female and taken" in her profile. hahaha

and some other cute bento design from japan.

browsing flickr, i found this girls bento diary. cool.

Best happy birthday song

2009-06-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday - The Ting Tings
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The Ting Tings on Yo Gabba Gabba

this is the original:

Lighting

2009-06-06T18:10:00.001-07:00

Ceiling lamp.

My favorite is Toby house.
beach ball! so happy and fun. I would totally want this if we had high ceiling apartment.

In reality, we settled with Ikea.
I really like this. looks good and cheap.

Wall or Ceiling. Slide Design. so cool!

Night lamp.
When i was looking around online, i really liked this one.

but it's big. it's 20 inches tall. i wanted something small.

this bear lamp is also cute but also too big for luna's room. 11 inches high. I wanted something a few inches tall.

This table lamp is gorgeous, but also tall. 45.5cm. bummer.
koko table light. Slide Design

kidslovedesign have great lights. it's a european site and they do deliver to US, but the shipping cost for something like this is 55 euro. $$$$$. not for us.

my next pick was candeloo.

rechargeable and portable. perfect. comes in different colors too. they have a new rocket lamp coming out. cute!!

This gummy bear lights are super cute but expensive. i didn't wanna spend $125.

We ended up getting this from Ikea. which I'm really happy with. it's $14.99, rechargeable, portable,small and just enough light. perfect.

comes in different colors and shapes too.

ABC

2009-06-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Learning ABC?

Beautiful handmade book by SheepDreamPlay on Etsy

Charley Harper's ABC book. We love his artwork.

ABC pop up book. Amazing! I want this once Luna is big enough not to rip the pages and eat them.

Posters from Petit Collages.

Animal A-Z poster. tarahogan on etsy.

Decoy Lab A-Z poster

twentytwentyone's alphabet poster. not that readable, but love the type design and colors.

Stuffed feld alphabet from MiChiMa on Etsy

Alphabet magnet from graffiti2 on etsy.

ABC chart by The Small Object

Wood toys

2009-06-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

I've already put away a lot of baby toys like rattles and teethers, but here are some nice ones Luna still play with. I love the look and feel of wood toys.

1. Play Toys Xylophone - last Christmas gift from a friend.
2. Plan Toys - fruits and vegetable set - also a Christmas/Hannukah gift.
3. A beautiful handmade rattle with moon in the middle. A gift from grandma's friend in Japan.
4. Yoyo from Japan
5. Wooden truck. a gift from a friend. for luna's 1st birthday. Koko Toy from Japan. handmade wooden toys. beautiful stuff.
6. Spinning toy from Japan.
7. Matryoshka maracas. from Russia. a gift from grandma.
8. Fish rattle. from Germany. baby shower gift from a friend.

I just bought this from stoop sale in front of our building. beautiful matching game. $1
Park Slope has the best stoop sales for kids stuff!!

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these are some of my favorite I've seen. I really like Ikea toys for the price and quality.

Ikea:

beautiful and great value. $39.99

$5.99. can't beat this!

this is designy and fancy.

Naef: from Swiss. Amazing design. fawn & forest has great selections.
I appreciate and admire toys with artistic quality and craftsmanship like this...

ImagiPlay: I love their puzzles!

Plan Toy: so many good stuff. easy to find in local stores. stuff for babys and also for preschoolers.

Kid O: they have nice wood puzzles. they have a new wood book coming out in July.

Haba: I like their blocks. baby toys are nice too. easy to find in local stores. moolka and oompa carries a lot of their stuff. don't they have a website?? I can't find it..

Little Allouette: for little babies. they also sell on etsy. I like the natural look and feel.

Mobiles

2009-06-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Mini Jake has great selection of Flensted from Denmark. they are all so amazing and it was hard to pick one. We bought butterflies for Luna's room.

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This is gorgeous... designed by Helene Ige

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Mini Jake also carry Petit Collage's very pretty bumboo mobiles.

Frazier & wing is also nice.

Luna's room

2009-06-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

Toy and book shelves: Ikea. this is cheap and great storage solution. the drawers are made safe for little fingers and have just enough space on top. those plastic buckets are only a few bucks each and comes in different colors.

White table with 2 chair: Ikea. I love it. simple and cheap. easy to clean. why would you spend hundreds of $$$ when it's all gonna be full of scribbles and paints? it's for little kids. meant to be destroyed.

Wall Stickers: we bought this at Mini Jake as well. I forgot who makes this.

Crib: We bought this at Schneider's store on 25th st. don't be fooled by their ugly website. they are so much better than buy buy baby or babys r us when it comes to baby furnitures. I forgot what company makes this.

Playmat: by Children's Factory. bought via amazon. My friend recommended this to me. it has 1 inch cushion and the surface is super easy to clean and durable. I used to use skip hop form mat. these form mats are so staticky and gets so dusty and gross. especially if you have pets. I had to use adhesive roller every day all the time. hated it. and babies love to chew on those pieces of forms. ew.

Huge dog: by FAO. Luna's 1 year birthday present from me and danny. so soft. she loves to jump on top of it after taking bath all naked. it's so big it can be used like a bean bag.

big blue cat: by blabla. a gift from a friend. love it.

Mobile : Flensted Mobiles - bought at Mini Jake store in Williamsburg.

Ceiling light: Ikea.

Trash can. I bought this for myself about 10 years ago! still in great shape.
I love Makoto Takahashi's illustration. He's been drawing beautiful little girls since 50s.