I suppose it’s an understandable assumption.  I own and operate an online shop and this blog so I must know all there is to know about the web. “What’s a web host? Do they do birthday parties?” Who is FTP? Do they deliver flowers?” “What’s a ’stat counter’ and why do I need one?” “Where can I find an SSL certificate? Is it something you pass an exam to earn?” And so on…you get the idea.

While I am able to answer most of these questions with some degree of certainty (five years into the business) I am light years away from being an internet expert.  So where did I turn when I first needed to learn the basics of operating a web presence?  

When I was initially interested in launching an ecommerce site I spent hours surfing the web, looking for sites that appealed to me both in their design and function - and at a certain point I realized that several sites in my ‘top 20′ were built by one design firm in the Pacific Northwest.  I figured this was a good sign and sent off an email. Contacting Arianne Foulks and her brainiac band of buddies at Aeolidia them was one of the best business decisions I’ve made - seriously.

These folk held my hand and patiently walked me through the web design, construction and maintenance  - hurdles that would have left me ripping my hair if left to my own devices. The design of the sites was a collaboration between myself, the respective artists/illustrators and Aeolidia - but in the end it was Arianne and company that did all of the tech stuff that makes the sites work and my head spin.  So if I’ve ever extended a whole-hearted, unsolicited and truly genuine recommendation/referral/endorsement it’s for the amazing services and results I’ve received from Aeolidia.

On this, the advent of their own adorable site redesign I want to send out three cheers to this brilliant little company.  Below are just a sampling of the sites they have worked on and there are plenty more to be seen in their portfolio.

Sophie & Toffee

Present & Correct

Three Potato Four

Super Buzzy

Rifle Paper Co.

Tidiworld

Bamboletta

Renegade Craft Fair

Drum roll, please. The winner of our Vintage Paper Parade St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway is:

Sakina Says:
March 11th, 2010 at 10:54 am
“The Safari Adventure birthday invites are so cute!!!!! Would be great for my Godson’s birthday!!”

Congratulations Sakina! Please email me at grandpoobah@juniorsociety.com with your mailing address and we’ll send the prize patrol your way.  Many thanks to Debra Norton of Vintage Paper Parade for hosting this swell giveaway!

“I’m a great believer in luck,
and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
- Thomas Jefferson

What better way to start the week than with a giveaway! Junior Society sponsor Debra Norton of Vintage Paper Parade has kindly designed a prize package sprouting with St. Patrick shamrocks.

The giveaway package includes:
one set of 10 St. Patrick’s Day cards (including custom text if desired)
one set of cupcake toppers
one $25 gift certificate for Vintage Paper Parade

To enter kindly visit Vintage Paper Parade, browse their charming collection of custom papergoods and then return to this post to leave a comment including your favorite Vintage Paper Parade item. And, if you feel so inclined, share one of the ways you celebrate St. Paddy’s Day!

You have until 11:59 p.m. this Thursday, March 11th to leave a comment. One winner will be randomly selected and announced on Friday. Good luck!

Sure signs of Spring? Crocuses poking their heads up through the snow, adjusting our clocks for daylight savings and the spring issue of Small Magazine! I always look forward to latest release of this favorite US indie online quarterly of great independent childrens design curated by editors Christine Visneau and Olivia Pintos-Lopez.

Stand-out favorites include in the new spring issue include Gemma Correll’s spread of quirky fashion illustrations, an interview with Roberto Gil designer of the amazing kid’s furniture line CASA KiDS, a beautifully art directed fashion spread by Jen Altman called Road Trippin’ and a delicious strawberry chocolate cupcake recipe by Cheryl Porro. And if for no other reason, you’ll want to peruse this particular issue to see the small finds feature by your truly! Excellent book reviews, handcrafted finds, commissioned artwork and smart selections of clothing, toys and decor are all presented in an aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly (paper-free) way. Subscriptions are free! Sign up here.

And I want to draw your attention again to the Small Magazine blog called Smaller. It’s a wonderful behind the scenes look at the making of the quarterly and daily inspirations compiled by Christine and Olivia. Go visit!

I couldn’t resist sharing these sweet supplies for note-taking, list-making or simply doodling. Adorable, eco-friendly wooden jotters are journals from Night Owl Paper Goods available in a wide selection of designs that couldn’t be cuter.  And for the smarty-pants in your family, the Know-It-All from Paper Pastries pencil set is a must.

Enter promotional code DOODLE and receive 15% off all Night Owl Paper Goods wooden journal and jotter orders placed before February 15!  But wait, there’s more! Enter promotional code MAILINGLIST and receive 10% off your entire Paper Pastries order!

I always look forward to the latest issue of my favorite US indie online quarterly, Small! Editors Christine Visneau and Olivia Pintos-Lopez curate this inside guide to great independent childrens design.

Stand-out favorites include in the new winter issue include a peek inside Molly Meg’s amazing collection of classic chairs for kids, gorgeous illustrations by Miki Sato, a beautifully art directed fashion spread by Rebecca Drobis and Tiffany King called From Out the Golden West and a delicious pumpkin cake recipe by Jennifer Causey. And if for no other reason, you’ll want to peruse this particular issue to see the small finds feature by your truly! Excellent book reviews, handcrafted finds, commissioned artwork and smart selections of clothing, toys and decor are all presented in an aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly (paper-free) way. Subscriptions are free! Sign up here.

I also want to draw your attention to the Small Magazine blog called Smaller.  I love this behind the scenes look at the making of the quarterly and daily inspirations compiled by Christine and Olivia.  Go visit!

NOTE: As we’re currently traveling to spend spend Thanksgiving with family in Portland, OR , I thought I’d re-post a few favorite ‘old’ posts! The following is from March 29, 2009.

Ever find yourself washing your hands and realize that the sink is looking back at you - with handle eyes, spigot nose and perplexed O-shaped drain mouth? Or perhaps you’re daydreaming with your cup of cocoa and find it grinning back at you with marshmallow eyes and foamy smile?

You’re not alone.

Join fellow searchers on the Faces in Places blog and check out the Founds Faces photo pool on Flickr (scroll down for examples from this.)

And consider adding this pursuit to your arsenal of ‘anytime, anywhere’ activities to play with your kids…when you’re in line at the post office, driving in the car or when faced with one of those inevitable “I’m bored!” moments. Looking for faces in the objects around you can be addictive - they’re everywhere!

Francois Roberts is a photographer/designer that has taken this idea and run with it, publishing the following books:
Faces, 2000;
Find a Face, 2004 (specifically written for children);
Face to Face, 1997 (written with his brother Jean).

And, just released is the fantastic Happiness Print at Present & Correct - a wonderful UK based online shop. “It is always fun to spot a face somewhere random and we have picked our favorite happy faces for this print. Each object is labeled and the location is listed too. Printed by hand onto 220gsm acid free stock, and we made only 30.”

Train your eye to start seeing the world in a new way and you may find it looking back at you. Below are examples found by creative Flickr folk.

1. Face A, 2. found face 001, 3. Tree Beard Face, 4. Found Face, 5. More found faces, 6. Untitled, 7. Stripey toothbrush holder face, 8. Grumpy in the morning, 9. strange face on a strange place., 10. Dustbin face in Jerez, 11. 3 smoking switches, 12. cheeese!, 13. Untitled, 14. ‘.’, 15. Sad clock , 16. face, 17. meh. ‘_’, 18. TOTO Smile, 19. Yellow smile, 20. Kitten, 21. Happy Coffee or Coffee of Death?, 22. Face 115, 23. metroo, 24. Red Face Cable Guy

Personalized gifts have always been popular with parents and kids: mom has a necklace with her daughter’s name on it, child has a backpack with his name embroidered on it, dad has a mug with son’s picture on it, baby has a blanket with her name and birth date printed in the corner. All well loved ideas. What’s really caught my attention though are a growing number of items personalized not with text but with kids’ artwork. Here are a few examples.

The Graf family business “brings your child’s imagination to life” by recreating their artwork onto pillows and transforming them into dolls. While it’s easy enough to have your kiddo draw directly onto a solid color pillow with fabric markers, art2believe takes the idea to another level recreating childrens’ artwork through embroidery, applique and fabric painting. And they’re not afraid of complicated drawings - see some amazing examples below.

Designer Mia Van Beek’s Formia Design reconstructs your child’s drawings into handmade key chains in durable titanium or jewelry in gold or silver. Brilliant detail with lovely results.

I am a long time fan of Lizette Greco and the amazing body of artwork she and her family collaboration Grecolaborativo have created.

“Our plush art is based on the children’s drawings and made using only thrifted and recycled materials. We also accept commissions for pieces using drawings from other children. Our aim is to create artwork that celebrates a child’s perspective of the world and will hopefully be passed from generation to generation.”

And they do it so well! Just take a look…many of the examples pictured here were based on drawings created by the Greco family children.

It’s not often that a new species is discovered in the arboretum of family trees, but the brilliant genealogy botanists over at  My Tree & Me have uprooted something distinctly modern.  Their non-traditional ancestry charts are surprisingly fresh and would make a great family gift.  Order yours customized or DIY allowing you to fill in the blanks yourself. [via KidCrave]

With a show of hands, how many of you grew up reciting the ‘whoops, bunny!’ rhyme, complete with hand choreography? I have to confess it’s one I had never heard, quite the opposite experience of Maude Humphris who listened to her son recite the rhyme over and over again while on a family vacation - so many times, that the she couldn’t get it out of her head and eventually embraced it as the name for her new company!

Whoops Bunny’s colorful bunny and hand motif can be found hopping across most items in their eco-conscious line of children’s goods. The product range is ambitious including everything from ‘tree-free’ wall calendars to stainless steel water bottles to the adorable rain boots (seen below)

But the product that really caught my eye was their All Natural Make-Up Sticks - five bright colors, biogradable, safe for little faces and even created using wind power here in the US. You may remember my quest last Halloween to find a safer alternative to standard issue children’s face paint - which made me all the more excited to have found the Whoops Bunny alternative that is easily accessible and affordable!

Well the nice folks over at Whoops Bunny have kindly offered three Junior Society member the opportunity to win a set of All Natural Make-Up Sticks. To enter, pay a visit to the Whoops Bunny web site and then come back and share your favorite find by leaving a comment on this post. I’ll accept entries through 11:59 pm this Thursday, October 1st.  Three entries will be randomly selected on Friday.  Good luck!

And as an aside, while I was reading up on the ‘whoops bunny’ rhyme, I came across the following version which is presented as a “quiet game” - AND it was accompanied by animated graphic to illustrate the hand motions.

OBJECTIVE: To discover the hidden action in the chain.

DESCRIPTION: Sitting in a circle, the leader tells the group “YOU MUST DO EXACTLY AS I DO.” with the index finger of one hand, the leader touches the tips of all fingers and thumb of the other in order saying “BUNNY.” Between the index and thumb the leader slides his finger from one tip to the other than goes says “WHOOPS.” After touching the tip of the thumb he does the reverse back: (Baby finger : “BUNNY” ring finger : “BUNNY” middle finger : “BUNNY” index finger : “BUNNY” space between : “WHOOPS” thumb : “BUNNY” space between : “WHOOPS” index finger : “BUNNY” middle finger : “BUNNY” ring finger : “BUNNY” Baby finger : “BUNNY”) Then right after the leader crosses his arms. This should be done discretely since this is the action that the group is trying the figure out.