Yes, ‘green’ is everyone’s new favorite color. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that pop culture is beginning to embrace eco-stewardship - I just have a little migraine from Ed Begley Jr. beating me over the head with it this week. But who knows, with hype like this maybe they’ll actually make Earth Day a federal holiday and give postal workers extra time off to garden.

Ahh, now I’ve done it. I’ve gone and made myself sound cynical. I’m really not (that much). How can I be when faced with the kind of sincere and joyful upcycling exhibited by indie businesses such as rikrak whose line of bibs and blankets, purses and patchwork is pure sunshine. Kristal Davis‘ clever use of bright vintage fabrics gives new and modern life to material that might otherwise end up in the rag bag. One item I think particularly brilliant is the reusable wrapping cloth - a product created from vintage material, crafted to beautifully wrap and re-wrap small gifts like cds and books - and in doing so prevents wrapping paper and ribbon from being trashed. A great way to green it forward.

1. quilted fabric cards, 2. cutie little tags, 3. felt gift card pouches, 4. sweetiepie little lovenote mailbox….full of lovenotes!, 5. reusable wrapping cloth part one, 6. reusable wrapping cloth part two!, 7. new card holders!, 8. little toy quilt - little ted modelling, 9. finished bibs!, 10. almost ready…iron-on heart patches, 11. little stars play mat, 12. little soft blocks

There’s a lovely online shop that’s been getting some much deserved attention in the blogosphere recently (thank you housemartin), Bailey’s, a home & garden shop at Whitecross Farm in Herefordshire, England. Their beautifully vetted selection goods are created largely from recycled goods - all of which are so brilliantly photographed you’ll want one of everything. Below is a selection from the kid’s department - a mini band set, bear coat hangers, rope ladder, jump rope, over-sized dice and wooden xylophone.

Also noteworthy are Bailey’s bird offerings including an apple feeder, peanut cage (shown with sheep’s wool for nest building), nesting pods and edible peanut wreaths.

I am completely taken by the work of English artist Fiona Hewitt and her special retro Asian imagery. Inspired by vintage toys, communist-era propaganda, the Fifties, the Forties, sweets and Chinese packaging she has perfected this highly stylized design style. Fiona has several fine art prints available for purchase on her site and has also developed an absolutely gorgeous line of children’s activity kits under the name Dumpling Dynasty. They’re so simple in concept (when was the last time you saw a kid’s shoe shine kit?!) but meticulously detailed with lush colors, text and illustration. Find all of the Dumpling Dynasty kits here.

If the title of this post didn’t ring a bell, it’s from the old English nonsense rhyme:

Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John,

Went to bed with his trousers on;

One shoe off, and one shoe on,

Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John!

Ok, so you’re looking for a high end line of bedding and decor that’s not over the top, cute but not cartoonish and classic without being intimidating - and in walks Serena & Lily. I really think these two women have done an admirable job of designing products that strike a much needed balance in kid-dom. Below are a couple of combinations I particularly like, including chips of their coordinating paint colors. Visit their site for a much broader selection.

The talented folks over at Mignes have firm grasp on the concept of joyful design. This kid-centric Dutch line of diaper bags, backpacks, storage cubes and pillows is beautifully handcrafted from wool felt, cotton fabric and canvas with a charm that stems from exuberant flowering vines, bouquets, colorful animals and nesting birds in a fantastically happy palette of colors.

Like many, I’m a sucker for Japanese cute. I know it’s borderline Hello Kitty, but even she’s gained some street cred in recent years, making ironic appearances on punk and goth clothing not to mention Fender electric guitars. Today’s obsession is the world of Aranzi Aronzo whose cast of characters are marketed to the hilt on everything from washcloths to tote bags to stationary to the following selection of glasses, cups, plates and canisters. I have no idea if the perspective is different in Japan, but from where I stand it’s nice to have the option of kiddo kitchenware that’s not plastered with the usual suspects. And I’m speculating that my coffee might actually taste sweeter in a smiling milk mug.

What a long way we’ve come from the gelatin mold craze of the 40s, 50s and 60s that produced such culinary delights as the Garden Salad Mold seen above. I love the photographs and the recipes make me giggle, but I can’t imagine serving what appears to be jelly encased barf at a dinner party. Visit the ridiculously funny Gallery of Regrettable Foods for such great pictorials as Knox Gelatin as Seen on TV! and Jell-O Confronts the Depression.

What got me started on this wiggly path was the fantastic personalized gelatin mold posted by the lovely ladies over at Cool Mom Picks. Come on, molded Jell-O with your name on it - how great is that! And then delicio.us featured the equally ingenious happy birthday molds, with each letter being it own, stand-alone dessert. Pretty cool for the kid that doesn’t care for cake (although personally I don’t know any of those kids). Both are from the great Brit shop urchin where you’ll find they’re called ‘jelly moulds.’

And then over at Moudlings they have a whole cavalcade of molds, a few of which strike me as having a kind of seventies feel to them. Super cute and sized for individual servings. Of course they’re perfect for Jell-O, but the shop also shows them being used to mold Rice Krispy Treats and I imagine they could even make charming mounds of rice - although you’d lose a little of the detail. At $3.00 a pop, how can you go wrong?

And lest you think gelatin molds are strictly for the short set, may I introduce the work of San Francisco based artist Liz Hickok. She describes her recent series San Francisco in Jello this way:

“This project consists of photographs and video, which depict various San Francisco landscapes. I make the landscapes by constructing scale models of the architectural elements which I use to make molds. I then cast the buildings in Jell-O. Similar to making a movie set, I add backdrops, which I often paint, and elements such as mountains or trees, and then I dramatically light the scenes from the back or underneath. The Jell-O sculptures quickly decay, leaving the photographs and video as the remains.”

lt just makes me so stupidly happy.

There is a great little Scottish shop that I love called Papa Stour. They specifically feature the handcrafted work of Scottish artisans and while not specifically a children’s store there are a number of things that would look fantastic in a nursery or would make really lovely shower gifts. It’s a very manageable site and as such I haven’t listed individual links for all of the many products featured below.  However, a few of the highlights are the gorgeous blankets by Kate Samphier knit from Geelong Lambswool, the terrifically simple and elegant hangings created from beach nuts and limpet shells strung on hemp - an option to the traditional mobile, and the adorable handmade cards of Claire Nicolson.

Well, I have to confess I got a little out of control with this post. What started as a small survey of non-traditional color nursery bedding quickly expanded when I kept stumbling into great orange colored products over at Modern Nursery. Orange? I know. The new black? Mmmm…doubtful, but I am happy to see another member of the ROY G BIV family take center stage. This sunny color, properly applied, makes for kid quarters that are absolutely cheerful. A full dose of vitamin C.

Forgive for not linking to every single product below, but considering they’re all from the same shop I’ve linked you to the corresponding category so they shouldn’t be hard to find.

Modern Baby Bedding:

Wall Art:

Furniture and Rugs:

Highchairs and Strollers:

Toddler Gifts:

There’s something about thick industrial felt that is both primitive and modern at the same time. And few designers do industrial felt better than the team at ParkHaus. They’ve created their entire line around this durable material with several very kid friendly applications.

Below:
I’m all for the reusable ‘happy birthday’ banner below. Also offered are holiday greetings and sets to spell out Junior’s name.

The cut-out play sets are light weight and easily portable in their own drawstring bags: sea life, farm animals, jungle beasties, transportation and numbers.

While their felt boxes could be used for numerous applications, personally I think they’d make swell toy bins (with no sharp corners to knock into!)

Below:
A playful donut shaped seat/ottoman and coordinating rug’s flexible design allow them to work in a nursery, a teen’s room or the living room.

And check out their modern take on the door stop, preventing Junior from locking himself in the bathroom.

Above:
ParkHaus’ industrial felt color line.