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PerryWinkles Kids featured in urbanmoms.ca

Administrator — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:17:03 +0000

http://www.urbanmoms.ca/marketplace/2009/03/perrywinkles-kids.html

By Kath on March 31, 2009 8:56 PM

Our mission here at the Marketplace is to bring you the stories of businesses created and run by Canadian moms. This week we bring you Maria’s story:My name is Maria Montero and I am the owner of PerryWinkles Kids, a designer and manufacturer of fine children’s clothing, specializing in stylish smocked dresses for little girls.

We are a mother-daughter team, with myself and my mother the co-owners of this business. I am the mom of two beautiful girls who are the inspiration for many of our designs. We created PerryWinkles when we found a need in today’s market for dressier, yet practical, little girls’ clothes. As moms ourselves, with busy schedules, we value practicality and so our dresses are all machine-washable and comfortable enough for every-day use. Also, we use only natural fabrics like 100% pima cotton. We aim to dress little girls in upstanding quality dresses that they can run around in bare feet in as well as dress up for special occasions.

This year’s spring and summer lines feature delicate touches in the Babies line and playful elegance in the Little Girls line. The Babies line features a romper decorated with a dainty and feminine floral design for a baby’s first few months of life, and a delicate bishop-style dress in a thin 100% cotton fabric, also hand-smocked in a floral design. The Little Girls line includes Daniela, a sleeveless, hand-smocked dress in a feminine floral printed fabric; Evelyn, a classic, short-sleeve pique cotton dress with hand-smocked bodice and smart ribbon detail on the skirt; and Katherine, a fun, apple-green and pink dress in a soft Oxford cotton fabric.

As featured today at urbanmoms.ca

Maria – PerryWinkles Kids

fine little girls smocked dresses

Valentine’s Day – a great family tradition

Administrator — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:06:36 +0000

After sharing over 10 Valentine’s Days together, my husband and I have come to the practical, albeit very unromantic, decision that Valentine’s Day should be a celebration that includes our children. We’ve come to the conclusion that Valentine’s Day is a highly overrated holiday, when trying to make dinner reservations at our favourite spots is next to impossible, as is finding a babysitter. And after all, it is our kids who look the most forward to this funny ‘holiday’ – probably because it is hyped up too much at school and on television. But whatever the reason, our two young daughters really look forward to Valentine’s Day…..they prepare their valentines for their friends, enjoy the parties at school and look forward to the surprise they might find on the kitchen table the morning of Valentine’s Day from me (this year it consisted of valentines-themed board books and chocolates, and in other years it has included balloons or Valentine’s Day-themed cupcakes). And tonight, for the first time since I’ve known my husband, our dinner plans will not involve just the two of us, but will include our two little girls.

It is not that we do not enjoy each other’s company – we will just enjoy quiet dinners out on other occasions but Valentine’s Day. So tonight we have thought up a fun kid-friendly menu. It will consist of a fabulous meal where we each grill our own pieces of meat on a special ‘hot rock’ and for dessert we will make chocolate fondue, with strawberries, pineapple and bananas for dipping on melted chocolate. We are all just so thrilled about our meal, we can’t wait to spend tonight together as a family. And we hope that this Valentine’s Day will be the first of a new family tradition (interestingly enough this year Valentine’s Day weekend falls on the same weekend as the newly-introduced Family Day Weekend in Canada).
Maria

PerryWinkles Kids – fine girls’ smocked dresses

Come visit us at Bialik Boutique Market on December 1st

Administrator — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:38:48 +0000

Come and do some hoilday shopping at Bialik Boutique Market in Toronto this Monday. The 7th Annual Boutique Market at Bialik Hebrew Day School will take place on December 1st, between 2-8pm. Shop from over 60 vendors, this is the largest school Boutique event in Toronto. With over 60 artists, vendors and craftspeople showcasing unique giftware, housewares, clothing art & more, you won’t leave empty handed. PerryWinkles Kids, fine girls’ smocked dresses, will be there with our current collection of Fall and Holiday smocked dresses for little girls, along with our Spring and Summer dresses and cotton cardigans. Food & Refreshments available for sale at the Market Cafe. Bialik Hebrew Day School, 2760 Bathurst St., Toronto.

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids – fine children’s clothing

Great parenting advice from a Montessori pro

Administrator — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:33:28 +0000

Last night I attended a lecture called “Freedom of Choice & Development of the Will” at my daugther’s Montessori school in Toronto. The speaker was Sandra Girlato, who is the director of training at The Foundation for Montessori Education in Toronto, Canada. Sandra proved to be a very entertaining speaker who inspired me to want to be a better parent. Her parenting tips, for children between 1 and 6 years old, based largely on the Montessori thought, were just amazing.

The main theme of the lecture was the idea that children, even as young as 1 year old, need to be given the opportunity to make choices. We as parents cannot do everything for them. These choices that we can provide our children with come in the form of whether she will wear pants or a skirt today, to what colour socks he/she will wear, to what they want on the dinner plate from the choices you offer….just small choices, or choices about things that might seem trivial to an adult. The younger the child, the simpler the choices you give them of course. But by putting your child in a position where she or he will have to make such choices in their every day lives, you are promoting their ability to think and will eventually lead them to be confident, intelligent adults – with a strong will in them.

There were a few things that really brought the point home to me. She said, for example, that most of our homes are not built for little kids, which is pretty obvious. But she said if you want your children to be a little more independent and, for example, help themselves to (healthy) snacks, set up your pantry so that these choices are accessible to your kids. She also mentioned that small children do not deal well with too much choice – she said that, for example, having too many toys at home creates bored children because it presents them with too many choices and they are almost unable to make a decision as to what to play with.

Sandra’s insight, and delivery in a very engaging and entertaining manner, provided me with amazing practical suggestions to improve my parenting. All in all I took away the fact that children have a lot more ability than what we accredit them with…and slowing down can do wonders for little children and their families. Let them butter their toast (even if they butter it on both sides), let them choose their clothes (even if the clothes don’t match)…it might make for a slower morning at the beginning, but it should be well worth it down the road.

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids – fine girls’ smocked dresses

Some successful tips to feed vegetables to your kids

Administrator — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:32:43 +0000

My two young daughters are pretty good when it comes to eating, but I must say that it becomes challenging to try and feed them balanced meals every single day. I feel very proud on the days when I was able to be creative and provide them with a great-tasting and healthy meal. Here are a few quick solutions to include vegetables in your kids’ diets, especially for those children who are picky eaters that would rather think they are not eating vegetables.

Shredded Zucchini – I use zucchini on many things. One of my kids’ favourite meals are cheese rice cakes. I make these whenever I have leftover rice (or pasta). I beat a couple of eggs, add milk, cheese and the secret ingredient – shredded zucchini. Peel the zucchini and it will be even better disguised from your picky eaters. I fry them up like an omelette and my kids love them, while I’m happy that they are having a nutritious meal. Shredded zucchini is also great in muffins and breads (my favourite zucchini bread recipe is from 101cookbooks).

Shredded Carrots - Whenever I make spaghetti meat sauce, I shred a few carrots, very thinly, and throw them into the sauce. Even my husband doesn’t notice there are carrots in the sauce when I serve this meal. The carrots get disguised with the colour of the tomato sauce. Shredded carrots are also great in soups – my kids love chicken noodle soup, so I just shred a couple of carrots and throw them in while I’m cooking the soup.

Rice & Lentils - Although lentils are not a vegetable (they are a legume), I feel very good when I get my kids to eat some as they are packed with iron and lots of other goodness. I have a great way of including lentils into a meal – lentil & rice casserole. You can go low on the lentils so your kids don’t necessarily notice the lentils, but once you’ve baked the casserole, the taste is so great that they won’t even ask what those little brown spots are.

Hope this makes dinner time a little easier!

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids – fine girls’ smocked dresses

My latest purchase – A Mom Agenda

Administrator — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:59:43 +0000

I am SO excited about my new Mom Agenda. It took me a few days to decide to spend $40 on an Day Planner (sigh!), but as my days got busier and busier as we got closer to the very important back-to-school day, and since I hadn’t found 15 minutes to go over to my local office supply store in the last few weeks, I decided that I should cough up the $40 for something that I hoped would help me organize my life. I chose to purchase the 2008-2009 momAgenda Mini-Daily from momAgenda.

One of the things I love most about it is that it runs from August 2008 to August 2009, covering the academic year of my children so that I won’t have to write little notes to myself at the end of year before I purchase a new agenda. I have already filled my gorgeous new purchase with all the back-to-school events my kids and I have next week, from nursery and junior school open houses to birthday parties to last minute haircuts and dentist appointments, along with my work-related meetings with retailers of children’s clothing and my manufacturers. With two young daughters going to different schools in September, and a home-based business that is taking more and more time from me, I was suddenly feeling very disorganized and overwhelmed..that same feeling I get around December and June.

Funny how a simple thing like a Day Planner can give you peace of mind and in some way give you energy to you face the busy days ahead. I think the gorgeous pink I chose for my cover also helps!

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids – fine girls’ smocked dresses

A great find in Toronto – Evergreen Brick Works

Administrator — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:16:46 +0000

Last weekend, my family and I set out on a bike ride on a lovely sunny Summer morning in Toronto. We ended up at the Evergreen Brick Works, at the site of the old Don Valley Brickworks Factory in the Bayview extension in Toronto. It was a most pleasant surprise – a truly urban oasis right in our city. This ‘thriving environmentally-based community centre that engages visitors in diverse experiences connected to nature’ is sure to appeal to a wide array of Torontonians looking for unique, interesting and stimulating things to do without going too far. The location of the old Brickworks factory, which first opened in 1889, has been preserved and refurbished and is now a great destination for families with children. Entry to the site is free.
We enjoyed great food at the Farmer’s Market (one of my favourites were delicious Surkl organic empanadas) and great hikes through the area. My two young daughters were fascinated by the wild flowers, turtles and fish that they saw pretty much in their own backyard. The site offers lots of great nature walks and events throughout the year that include chef’s workshops, a farmer’s market every Saturday, and the ‘Farm to Folk Festival’, among many others. What’s better is that this great spot right in Toronto is still in its development stage, with lots more great things to come – The Discovery Centre, Demonstration Gardens, Native Plant Nursery, among other great projects.

My family and I will definitely be coming back!

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids – fine smocked girls’ dresses

PerryWinkles Kids – Announcing our new Fall/Winter Collection of little girl’s dresses

Administrator — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:36:46 +0000

We are thrilled to announce our Fall & Winter Dress Collection for little girls and baby girls, just in time for back to school and all their special occasion during the colder months. We have found gorgeous viyellas, heavy cotton, veloure and baby corduroy and have decorated them with stunning and unique smocking patterns, to keep your little princess cozy, comfortable and stylish during the Fall and Winter seasons. As always, practicality is was a key consideration and all our new designs are machine-washable, to keep up with today’s mom’s busy schedules.

Our new collection of little girls’ dresses include beautiful hand-smocked designs, like the Jane style in pink viyella. As well, your little princess will dazzle in her first day of school in one of our new blue or red corduroy jumpers and viyella shirts. We have other new additions to our collection, like brand new styles of cotton cardigans and nylon tights.

PerryWinkles Kids – fine smocked girls’ dresses

Great on-the-road snacks for kids

Administrator — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:53:23 +0000

It’s almost the end of August, which means by now I’ve had about 8 weekend trips with my kids and husband up to cottage country. A big challenge for me is always what to pack for the 2-hour car ride. My four-year old daughter, from the minute she sits in the car, needs a snack. She’s not a snacker otherwise, but once she sits in the car for the ride up to cottage country, her brain sends her ’snack signals’….and there is not much I can do to change her mind. Here are my favourite on-the-road snacks for kids (which work well with grown-ups too):

1. Popcorn: Just pop some the night before your road trip and put it in the different containers for each kid. Not only is it a healthy snack for growing children, but it keeps the little ones occupied for a good amount of time.

2. Cut-up pieces of fruit: Our favourites are peaches (specially now that they are in season!) and apples. I stay away from the berries since they tend to create a mess in the car (I say this from experience).

3. A special treat for those moments when nothing will stop them from asking ‘are we there yet’ again: My favourites are lollipops since they can keep kids occupied for a little while. I bring these out only when I really need them, but it’s always nice to have that ‘extra special’ treat.

4. Rice cakes: My little girls like the mini cheese flavour rice cakes. They are a lot healthier than cheesies, but the kids still feel like they are getting a bit of a treat.

Happy Trails!

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids

Vote Now for PerryWinkles Kids to be Canada’s top Mom Entrepreneur!

Administrator — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:44:10 +0000

PerryWinkles Kids has been nominated to be Canada’s top Mom Entrepreneur and we need your votes to help us win.

SavvyMom Media has put PerryWinkles Kids’ name into the ring to win The SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a reader’s choice contest designed to find Canada’s top Mom Entrepreneur. The winner will be announced in the fall, and will be rewarded with a $17,000 prize that was designed to help take that business into the next level.

PerryWinkles Kids, a Canadian-based children’s wear company, designs and manufactures fine children’s clothing, specializing in stylish, practical and comfortable girls’ smocked dresses from newborn to size 6T. Our daughters and grand-daughters are the inspiration for all of our hand-smocked dresses’ designs. Practicality to fit today’s moms’ busy schedules is a priority – all of our little girls’ dresses are made of 100% pima cotton and are machine-washable.

Go to the following link and make sure to cast your vote for us!
http://www.momentrepreneuraward.ca/MomBio.aspx?momID=286
Thanks!

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids