Guest Post on Modern Kiddo

I'm thrilled and honoured to be Guest Posting over at Modern Kiddo today showcasing five of my favourite Australian kids fashion designers. Can you guess who they are?

Hosted by Alix and Dottie, two stylish San Francisco Mamas, Modern Kiddo is full of glorious colour, fabulous fashion and vintage finds. Alix is working in Prague at the moment and I am so happy to fill in for her; she is one of my favourite friends online - sweet, sassy and super-stylish. Make sure you check the site out and say Hi.

And a big hello to all the Modern Kiddo friends visiting Bondville today. Please have a look around, stay awhile and leave a comment below so I can return the favour. Enjoy!

Stylish Kids: Peregian Beachwear

We live in an environment where being sun-smart is not optional; it's essential. That great big hole in the ozone layer means that skin cancer rates are super-high in Australia and we all know that prevention is most important at a young age when it's easiest to burn and the sun's rays do most of their damage.

Peregian Beachwear provides a great solution to keep our little ones both sun safe and stylish with a lovely collection of kaftans, beach tunics, dresses and loose-fitting pants as well as high UV protection shirts for extra insurance against the sun.

Based in Sydney, Josie Gilbert has created sun-wise beachwear that is also great for the park, backyard and any outdoor activity. Most pieces in the range are made from luxurious pure cotton, linen and silk-cotton blends to fit sizes 00-5, for both boys and girls.

I got a chance to check out Josie's range at the Mathilda's Markets and was so impressed with the quality of her products (that are incidentally also made in Australia). My favourite pieces were the linen tunics with contrasting voile pockets for hiding beach treasures. Thanks Josie for helping us be sun-safe and stylish!

You can find Peregian Beachwear in the online store, at Sydney's Paddington Markets. Keep an eye on the news section of the website for more stockist and market details.

For more great Australian-designed clothes for kids, check out Bondville Kids.

Images: Peregian Beachwear

Featured on Hip Hooray!

I was thrilled to discover today that my big girl's 3rd birthday was featured on the fantastic Hip Hooray! blog on Monday.

Have you checked it out yet? Hip Hooray! is written by Siobhan Watkins and Vanessa Baird who manage the excellent Details, Details online party boutique. Their blog is one of the preeminent party websites in Australia and features lots of inspiring birthday parties, baby showers and events to make you drool.

Stop by and say hi (although I must warn you that you might be there a while checking out all the gorgeous posts). Thanks Siobhan and Vanessa for including our party too!

Image: Hip Hooray!

Australian Artist Spotlight: draw! pilgram

You know the way the web works. Your online friend who you met through an e-course has a blog with a great logo and design that you admire. Said friend tweets about artist who designed logo and with great interest you click on artist's blog. You immediately fall in love with everything on the site, discover another mutual online friend in common, read dozens of archived posts, get all fan-crazy over it all, then discover that artist is also living in Australia!

And voila - another Australian Artist Spotlight is born, profiling the ridiculously cool draw! pilgrim.

Now this is my kind of art. Folksy, bold, graphic, retro and sweet as can be. Born in Adelaide and now living in Melbourne, Pilgram is a freelance artist with a love of all things 1960's-70's. Her influences include "heinz edelmann’s yellow submarine, the designers behind push pin graphic, marimekko, alexander girard and the bold fabrics etc. of the era".

Pilgram's signature style can be found gracing A3 and A4 prints/posters, tote bags, mini cards adn tags. Her bright colour combinations and fun designs lend themself to children's rooms (how can you choose just one?) but are cool enough for any room of the house. My absolute favourite pieces are the individual letter prints from the alphabet series. I think I've found my new go-to newborn gift idea.

If you love Pilgram's style, you can find draw! pilgrim artwork in the etsy store. Check out the draw! pilgrim blog for more art and lovely things.

Images: draw! pilgrim

Lola's 3rd Birthday Party

We LOVE birthday parties at Bondville and were lucky enough to attend a simply lovely party on Sunday for our friend Lola's 3rd birthday. It was such a gorgeous day at the park and all the kids went ga-ga over the amazing rainbow cake that Lola's Mum and Dad made together (Mum made the cake, Dad did the icing). And how about gorgeous bunting that Dad also made? And the cool tent? A lovely, sweet day for a lovely, sweet girl. Happy Birthday Lola!

Images: Steph Bond

Stylish Kids: Buttons By Lou Lou

Clever Louise from Buttons by Lou Lou specialises in Flair. Not the Jennifer-Anniston-on-Office-Space kind. We're talking stylish fabric-covered accessories for kids, adults, and everyone in-between.

Check it out - the Buttons by Lou Lou range includes buttons/badges/brooches, hair clips, hair bands, earrings, headbands, cufflinks, necklaces, rings, bookmarks and... buttons! The hair accessories are a no-brainer for sweet little girls, but check out how cool the badges look on the little boys' hat (above) and I will be buying a bunch of the fantastic cufflinks for Mr Bondville.

You can find Melbourne-based Buttons by Lou Lou in the Madeit (Australia) store online, at various markets and at stockists around Australia. Louise also has an excellent blog that is fun to read - go say Hi and see what you like.

Images: Buttons by Lou Lou

Bondville Interview on ShoppeGirls

I'm excited to be featured on the ShoppeGirls blog today! The lovely Vicki (blogger, online boutique owner and cool hunter extraordinaire) interviewed me about family life for her Mum Revelations column. You can read all about it here.

I'd love for you to take some time to visit ShoppeGirls; you'll find lots of great posts on fashion, handmade, shopping, decor, baking, books and fantastic insights into mini celebrities.

Images: top: ShoppeGirls bottom: Steph Bond

Hip Products: Made by Maisie dolls and softies

I met Catherine from Made by Maisie at the BrisStyle markets last year and immediately fell in love with her lovingly hand-crafted dolls and softies. Each piece is made from wool felt, Japanese, homespun and 1930's reproduction fabrics with hand-embroidered faces; little pieces of art!

The current Made by Maisie range includes Maisie dolls, Big Sister Maisie dolls, Bears, Kokeshi dolls and custom-made dolls. These dolls would make a stunning gift for any little girl (and the bears are super-cute for boys too). Something very special to be handed down.

You can find Made By Maisie dolls and softies in the Etsy store and at markets around Brisbane. Check out the Made By Maisie blog for market information, updates and new releases.

Images: Made by Maisie

Stylish Kids: eeni meeni miini moh® Spring Summer 2010

It's always such a pleasure to share with you the amazing new collections from Bondville sponsor eeni meeni miini moh®, and the Spring/Summer 2010 pieces for 0-5 years are more gorgeous than ever.

Some of my favourites are shown above. We're all about ballerinas and fairies at the moment, so the tutus, angel wing tops and fairy wings in fresh gris grey, pure white and peony marle are a hit with my big girl.

For boys, the kombi van is a classic that Dad's will love too, and what I call "The New Superhero" is a welcome change from polyester spiderman costumes.

I just adore the cascading ruffles for girls, especially the asymmetrical pinnies with a little pocket for treasures. The layered look is key at eeni meeni miini moh®, and the bloomer-style shorts look great over striped leggings, and how cute is the little shrug!

You can find the Spring Summer 2010 eeni meeni miini moh® collection in the next few weeks in the online store, and at stockists across Australia and the Asia-Pacific. In the meantime, check out the new season catalogue for both eeni meeni miini moh and e3m (2-12 years) on the website.

For more Australian-designed clothes for kids, check out Bondville Kids.

Images: eeni meeni miini moh®

Leonhard Pfeifer Picks Up Maison&Objet Award

Australian/Kiwi furniture designer Leonhard Pfeifer is a long-time Bondville favourite. I've been following his career since the late 90's when I first met Leon (a QUT Industrial Design graduate) and his talented collaborator and wife Karla.

My personal connection made me extra-proud of Leon's win at Maison&Objet in Paris last week. Leon's Farringdon Laptop Desk won the "les Découvertes" award for Loft category for its sleek design and small footprint. “les Découvertes” or “the discoveries” is selected by a jury of home fashion experts to recognise the most impressive new products of the show.

Apart from looking pretty fabulous, the Farringdon Laptop Desk was designed for apartments and small living spaces, featuring an extendable work-top, solid Oak legs, an open shelf for papers and sliding worktop that integrates cable management. The desk accommodates laptops / flat screen monitors, external hard drives and phone chargers.

The Farringdon Laptop Desk (manufactured by European furniture masters Woodman) will be available across Europe from late 2010 for AUD$499 (£299 / €349). For more information, check out the Leonhard Pfeifer website.

Images: Leonhard Pfeifer

Funky Monkey sock monkeys

There is something about sock monkeys that makes me smile. Maybe it's the cheeky face, or the crazy long arms and legs. Certainly, it's great to know that they are handmade, and often crafted from worn-out socks. And they are a great American folk art tradition reaching back 100 years.

I was excited to find these fantastic Funky Monkey sock monkeys at the Eumundi Markets today. Hand-crafted locally, these cuddly toys had particularly groovy duds, including sock monkey-print pants, embroidered vests and pearl jewellery. The monkeys are fashioned using a vintage pattern and made with love. They would make a fantastic gift for a newborn, and are certainly an heirloom toy.

You can find Funky Monkey sock monkeys on the Funky Monkey online store, on Madeit (Australia) and at various markets including the Eumundi Markets. Stop by the Funky Monkey Facebook page for updates.

Images: Funky Monkey