Our Third London ShopUp Starts Tomorrow!

Our third London ShopUp event starts tomorrow and we couldn’t be more excited to share the fun with you! We have so much going on this year, so we want to give you a quick overview of what to expect. Let’s start with the most important part: the shopping!

Shopping:

We have gathered fifty incredible shops together for you this year. You will find everything from pyjamas, to books, to stocking stuffers, and more! You can start and finish ALL of your shopping in one fell swoop!

Santa’s Grotto:

Santa’s grotto will be open from 12:00-17:30 on Thursday and 12:00-18:00 on Friday. Santa has been shopping at Hedgehog so you know that his toys will be especially good this year! There is no need to pre-book; just sign up when you arrive. Tickets are £10 and include a gift and photo.

Workshops:

The Mamahood has done such an incredible job of putting together our workshops, that they have all sold out! That being said, we will still have two, super fun, mini workshops running in the cafe both Thursday and Friday. You can read more about those on the Mamahood site.

Wrapping Station:

We have paired up with the incredible charity mothers2mothers to bring you a gift wrapping station! If you like brown paper packages tied up with string, then this will be for you. The best part is that your donation will help this truly exceptional charity in their quest to prevent and treat mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Braid Bar:

Both kids and grownups can enjoy braids from Ruuby! They have prepared a special braid menu just for us, with styles that are picture perfect for a mini photo shoot with Maud!

Activity Centre:

The incredibly creative minds behind Starting With Art have put together the most amazing interactive art project for your little ones! They have also organised a gorgeous colouring sheet for our shopping guides.

We know that many of you aren’t free during the day, which is why we have planned an evening of late night shopping tomorrow (Thursday) night! Bubbles from our favourite German winery Weinreich will be flowing, and we will be handing out festive mini cupcakes from Primrose Bakery (who will be selling cupcakes in the cafe!). We will be open until 21:00, so please stop by! Entry is free!

xxx the Babyccino team

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Olivier Baby and Kids, at the ShopUp this week!

Olivier Baby and Kids is one of my favourite places to find cosy cashmere products for the kids. Last winter Marlow lived in her little bonnet and all the kids had one of their snoods, each a different colour to keep things easy when bundling up before leaving the house. This year they’ve added hand-knitted pom-pom hats (with ties!) to their collection and they’re so great! I love all the colour combinations.

In addition to cashmere, they also have pretty Liberty-print blouses and shirts. How cute are the floral blouses layered under the cashmere rompers (pictured above)?! So, so sweet!

Look out for Olivier Baby & Kids who are joining us at this year’s ShopUp event, taking place this week (Thursday and Friday) in London at the Chelsea Town Hall.

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The Ladybird books for Grown-Ups

Have you seen these books yet?  If you are in your 30s / 40s and grew up in the UK I’m sure you will recognise ‘The Ladybird Book’ series – if we didn’t own them ourselves our school library certainly had a few.  They were an inescapable part of childhood and although wooden in their writing style and retro (even back in 1983!) in their illustrations they were the way many of us were introduced to a wide range of subjects and stories.

Now the clever publishers at Ladybird have had a genius idea to tap into the fondness we have for those small hardback books – to do subjects more relevant to adults but in the ‘ladybird style’.  Think ‘Mindfulness’, ‘Mid-Life Crisis’, ‘The Husband’, ‘The Wife’, ‘The Shed’ and the titles above that I just bought for my son’s Godfather (he’s single, works in the music industry and lives in Shoreditch – those 3 subjects basically sum up his life).

The books are hilarious.  Those kind of books that you want to read extracts from to anyone in your near vicinity and every time you turn a page you laugh and say, “oh listen to this one …”!

They would make very good stocking fillers!

They are available in the UK here and in the US here.

Mo

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Katrina Campbell Photography

A few weeks ago we spent a lovely Sunday morning with the talented photographer Katrina Campbell, who came from London for the day to photograph our family (and to spend some time in our lovely city, of course).

Katrina told me beforehand not to worry too much about a tidy house, perfectly posing children, well, not to worry too much about anything! And I didn’t, and it was just the perfect state-of-mind for a relaxed photoshoot — my kids were running around, playing, and while I was making coffee, getting Casper dressed and chitchatting with Katrina (who really is such a lovely lady!), she was taking snapshots of our children. (I love that photo of Casper on our window sill in his underwear, with his sweet baby belly and his round little knees!)

We also went for a little walk outside, the kids on their bikes and climbing in trees like normal. Katrina just walked along with us, camera in hand, and took the most beautiful photos. I love how natural they are, and how the character of each child is captured.  On just two occasions, Katrina asked us to quickly pose as a family, because as she said: every family likes to have a nicely posed family photo every now and then. (So true!)

What I am most impressed about, are the beautiful portraits Katrina made of the children. Again, so natural, so well done. Pim and Sara both told me that these portraits are the most beautiful photos anyone has ever taken of them!

But, Katrina’s service doesn’t stop by taking beautiful photos. She will also select some of her favourite shots, and can have those printed on beautiful, matte photo paper. If you’re in England, she can even have them framed for you! (In my case, she sent just the prints and all I had to do is take them to the framer.) What a super fantastic service for a busy parent! I never find the time to select, print and frame photos — how nice that someone does this for you, so it actually gets done for a change, and beautifully so!

I can highly recommend Katrina Campbell‘s service to you — she really captures families the way they are, with her documentary-style photography. Plus —  she also puts the icing on the cake by selecting, printing and framing those family favourites! If you’re in London this week, you can meet Katrina at the ShopUp where she is one of the sponsors, and she can tell you all about the (fabulous) way she works.

xxx Esther

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Great gifting from Sarah and Bendrix

I’m getting more and more excited about the London ShopUp this week! We have so many amazing brands joining us, I just can’t wait to fill that extra suitcase I’m bringing over : )!

Sarah & Bendrix is one of the wonderful shops setting up their booth at our great venue, offering a selection of very simple but beautifully crafted gifts. I love the darling children’s collection, with some beautiful wooden toys and gorgeous watercolour games (check out this sweet video here for gift inspiration — so sweet!). Sarah & Bendrix also offers pretty cards and complete gift boxes, to make gifting even more easy.

xxx Esther

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Flying Eye Books at the ShopUp next week!

It is nearly impossible for us to walk by our local independent children’s bookstore, Tales on Moon Lane, here in Herne Hill and not go in (or at least stop and admire their latest window displays!). My daughter, Charlotte, quickly makes her self comfortable on their couch with a big pile of books, while my young son, Peter, and I wander around browsing. They always have the most beautiful and interesting books on display, so it is really a treat for all of us to spend time there. (It is also a good excuse to stock up on gifts; I think books make the best presents for kids!)

A few weeks ago I discovered that Tales on Moon Lane carries books from Flying Eye Books. I was particularly excited to see them there, as Flying Eye Books will be one of our shops at next week’s ShopUp event! I admit I wasn’t very familiar with their books, so I asked the staff at the shop about them, and they couldn’t have given them higher praise.

The staff raved about the quality of their books and even pulled a variety of books out for me so I could feel the thickness of the paper. They truly are beautiful books. I learned that Flying Eye Books does more than simply publish fun and innovative children’s books, they are also quite active in supporting their communities, schools in particular.

The Tales on Moon Lane staff also raved about the ability of Flying Eye Books to share nonfiction for kids in an accessible way. This is certainly in part due to their commitment to champion lesser known illustrators and authors who have particular talent in this area. The award winning “Shackleton’s Journey” by William Grill is one that has received particular attention:

It is a truly beautiful book that kids and adults alike will return to over and over again. Kids will also love the accompanying activity book!

We can’t wait to see what Flying Eye Books brings along to the ShopUp! Mark your calendars for the 10th and 11th of December at Chelsea Old Town Hall to see for yourself!

Bethie xx

PS: A big thank you to the super lovely ladies at Tales on Moon Lane for letting me photograph these books in their gorgeous shop!

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Thoughtful and beautiful gift boxes from The London Gifting Company

To give, but mostly to receive a gift that was chosen with care, with love, with attention to detail, with just that extra something, is so, so special. A gift that has meaning, a purpose, that is (and becomes) an experience and a memory — those kind of gifts are the best ones. But which busy parent has the time to such organise such a very special gift?

Enter The London Gifting Company. Busy mama-of-two Annie started a service that aims to create perfect presents, consisting of beautiful products carefully assembled in a luxurious gift box. A service that is convenient, quick and easy to use for the giver, but never evidently so for the receiver. The products, which Annie sources from local companies (mostly cool East London ones), are always made by hand by talented artists, designers and makers — very often so on their kitchen table. Materials are mostly organic or recycled, but always sourced with integrity.

There are boxes for cooks, for bathers, for writers, for coffee lovers — boxes that encourage to create, to relax, to experience. The wooden boxes, which are so pretty by themselves, are wrapped beautifully in seasonal wrapping paper, ribbons and a flower posy, and personalised with a handwritten note.

Annie sent our family a Box for a Cosy Christmas, and we’re so impressed with what is inside — such pretty products, all collected with the aim to provide us with everything we need to get in the holiday spirit. A sweet Christmas tale to read, a handwoven woollen blanket to snuggle under. Hot chocolate with marshmallows. A hand poured soy wax candle. A bar of chocolate, spiced with clove, nutmeg and black pepper. And (so special) a gorgeous rag doll angel for the top of our tree, made from recycled materials — something to keep forever.

Receiving a giftbox from The London Gifting Company means receiving a gift that was chosen with care, with love, with attention to detail, with just that extra something — a gift that becomes an experience and a memory. I will certainly be using Annie’s beautiful service myself in the near future (in fact, I just ordered some for dear friends)!

xxx Esther

PS The London Gifting Company is one of the main sponsor of our London ShopUp event next week. Come and meet Annie personally there, and discover her beautiful gift boxes!

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