All Kids Can Fly! August 3, 2008

For years on Sunday mornings my family heads to to the Farmer’s Market in Hollywood for fresh produce, soy candles and flowers. There is one booth in particular that I have always loved, and I’ve watched it blossom into a successful business in recent years. Doris Oswald-Burrell began creating her ‘All Kids Can Fly’ clothing line in 2002 and has been making uplifting, multi-cultural, character driven clothing based on her daughter and friends ever since. I have bought numerous things for my boys and Doris is my go-to girl for unique, quality baby and kid’s gifts. (She also makes super soft adult versions!) My faves are the Original ‘I Can Fly’ and ‘Punk Rock Animal’ tees of which Z and R have many. I also love the ‘Circus, Circus, Circus’ collection including the ‘Monkey on Bike’ onesie shown here in Chocolate Brown for $27. Not only are her clothes visually distinctive in a sea of look-alike kid’s stuff, more importantly I love the inspirational message that they send. Allkidscanfly.com.

Twig Kids’ Shoes at Gumshoe.com June 30, 2008

Not only have I been receiving lots of reader inquiries, I’ve recently been combing the net myself looking for a cute pair of boys’ sandals. Everything that I found was either an aesthetic disaster or a hundred bucks. Then I happened upon Gumshoe.com and came across the Twigs. WHEW! I just purchased the ‘Bran’ sandals in brown for Z ($34.95 marked down from $48.95) and I love them! (As does he since he keeps showing me the ‘trees’ on the soles of his shoes) Not only are they adorable, I would have to say that they’re as well made (if not better) as some European brands with bigger price tags. The cherry on the cake is that Twig is a small family owned and operated company. They create ‘functional’ shoes with ‘emotional appeal’ and I would have to agree. Ken Proctor along with his VERY supportive wife and three kids, started Twig a year and a half ago after selling their house and moving to another state in order to do so. Ken’s twelve year old son is creating their website, while his nine year old sister helps in making color choices. Their other sister, 3, is the fit test model. Twigs retail for around fifty dollars at Gumshoe, whose customer service is stellar. (Free shipping both ways!)

Twig ‘Bran’ Sandals in Brown $34.95 at Gumshoe.com

Loehmann’s For Kids June 22, 2008

Being that I have two boys under four, I’m always hard pressed to find clothes for them that don’t have a) A piece of sporting equipment b) A mode of transportation or c) Some type of reptile, either prehistoric or present day. Since most of you know that I am a huge Loehmann’s fan (I was practically raised in their communal dressing room, much to my horror) I often split my shopping time between the two L.A. locations nearest to me. I have been most pleasantly surprised by their ever expanding children’s section. In addition to the C&C California Skulls Tee pictured here (retails for $35, I paid $7.99) they also carry brands such as Tea, Zutano, Small Paul, Charlie Rocket, Monster Industry, Ralph Lauren and Hurley. (And if you have girls? Don’t worry - as usual there are TONS of girls clothes, Seven, Juicy Couture and Harajuku Lovers amongst them) Due to demographics, the location in Hollywood has less kid’s stuff than the more suburban Burbank store; something to bear in mind if you have a choice of locations near you.