PerryWinkles Kids Blog

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

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

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

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

If you are a start-up company in the apparel industry, I highly recommend a site called Fashion Incubator. Fashion Incubator offers great advice for apparel manufacturing and the fashion business in general, particularly for small businesses. It has been an invaluable source of information for my business of girls’ stylish smocked dresses. I have found very useful resources on how to build a line sheet for my Spring/Summer line of little girl dresses, advice on the role of sales reps in the clothing industry, and comments on the pros and cons of having a website when you are also trying to sell to retailers. Kathleen Fasanella, who has nearly 27 years of experience in the apparel industry, writes nearly all the material on the site. Subscribing to receive their emails is free. Along the same line, I recommend Toronto Fashion Incubator. This site, with a focus on Toronto, ‘nurtures and supports fashion entrepreneurs’. The content is nevertheless not free; you can become a member for $130…..which I still haven’t done. I’m tempted to join to gain access to interesting seminars and information, such as a list of retailers in Canada and the U.S. and Sales Reps. As a small business in the children’s clothing business, with limited funds for professional advice, these sites have become extremely useful as a source of information to guide me through the intricacies of having a small business designing and manufacturing little girls’ dresses.

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids

Fine Children’s Clothing

As I spend my Summer with my 2- and 4-year old daughters in Toronto, I’ve come to realize how many great outings there are for kids in the city. We’ve spent endless afternoons playing with the hose in our backyard and going to the local parks, but for those days that we need a little more adventure, my 5 favourite spots are:

1. Riverdale Farm. A great (and free!) destination for little kids and located in the heart of Toronto within historic Cabbagetown. Riverdale farm was the site of Toronto’s first zoo. You can tour the Farm’s scenic 7.5 acres along pathways through wooded areas, around ponds, and into butterfly-herb-flower-vegetable gardens. Cows, horses, donkey, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, rabbits, and farm cats may be seen along the way in the barns and outdoor paddocks. There is a great picnic area just outside the farm’s doors that everyone is welcome to use. During the Summer, the farm hosts a Farmer’s Market every Tuesday from 3pm to 7pm.

2. Toronto Zoo. One of my family’s (year round) outings. This a gorgeous zoo, with all the usual attractions with over 5,000 animals, and is set in the beautiful Rouge Valley, with over 10km of walking trails. During Summer months, make sure to visit the Kids’ Zoo, a great interactive area for little kids, and the Splash Island (although this gets quite busy on warm days). The Season’s pass offers a great value if you plan on going at least twice during the year.

3. Centreville Amusement Park on Toronto’s Centre Island. Nestled in over 600 acres of parkland just across the harbour from the city, it offers over 30 rides and attractions for little kids - from antique carousel rides to pony rides to motor boats…and my little girl’s favourite, the mini train that circles around the amusement park. And just the ferry ride over to the island is a great experience on its own for most toddlers and little ones. There is no admission fee for Centreville, but all-day ride passes are available for the attractions.

4. The Toronto Beaches. This is another one of our favourites. We like to spend a few hours on the beach, playing on the sand and relaxing by the water. Once my little girls get bored, we stroll up to the playground at Kew Gardens (in my opinion, one of the best playgrounds I’ve seen in the city) or grab some lunch at Lick’s on Queen Street. Bring lots of beach toys and snacks and just relax on the beach; weekdays are your best bet to avoid the crowds.

5. And on a rainy day….the ROM. I like to visit the ROM during colder months, but on a rainy day in the Summer, this is a great destination for little kids. Once again, the Membership offers a great value if you plan on going more than twice during the year and you won’t feel guilty spending just an hour or two if that’s all your little ones can handle. My 4-year old daughter just loves the new dinosaur exhibit, while my 2-year old can’t get enough of the CIBC Discovery Gallery with lots of interactive activities for kids. Make sure to visit the new cafeteria as well, with great options for little ones (and yummy food for grown-ups!).

Enjoy the warm months while they’re here!

Maria

PerryWinkles Kids

Life with a six month old is challenging.  Spending time with my daughter is the most rewarding way I can think of spending my time but at six months it feels like every minute of the day she is discovering something new, her world is expanding and she wants to explore and be stimulated every single moment.  She doesn’t crawl yet so I am her means to her ends and she obviously doesn’t talk yet so I need to constantly be interpreting her moods and signs to know what she needs next. 

Entertaining a six month old is even more difficult when you have to do it in the middle of winter in Canada.  Not only do you have no time to shovel your sidewalk and dig out your car in the morning but parking anywhere else than at a shopping mall is nearly impossible when you have to first maneuver the snow so you don’t hit the cars around you, try not to get stuck in the snow (I’ve already had to shovel my way out of one parking attempt), and avoid parking next to any snow banks that will make it difficult for you to get in to remove your baby from the car.  Going for walks with your stroller is out of the question, as not everyone is diligent about cleaning their sidewalks so you end up having to carry your stroller every few meters.

So I was not impressed today when I had been looking forward to finally getting out of the house to take Clara to music class and it had started snowing.  Again!  There is literally no place to shovel snow out of my driveway anymore, the snow banks around my house are so tall.  Apparently, they’re calling for another 20 cms. of snow in Toronto today.

I was determined not to get stuck inside today but Clara decided today was not a good day for napping.  So I shovel the snow and clean the car while she’s screaming inside.  I quickly bundle my baby up, get her in the car and maneuver my way out of the driveway managing not to hit the snow banks.  “Beep!”  No antifreeze left for the windows.

We glide our way to music class through the snowy, slippery streets and Clara has a wonderful time.  The effort pays off.  Clean the snow off the car.  On the way back I decide to make chili for dinner.  Stop at the grocery store, get the ingredients, clean snow off the car again and get home.

Finally, baby is asleep, I’m into my cooking and not thinking about the stinky weather anymore.  Then, “Slit!”, I cut my finger chopping an onion.  I never cut my finger when chopping vegetables!  Two seconds later, “Snap!”, the mousetrap.  Wonderful.  It’s so cold outside that mice have decided it’s cozier inside.  “Knock, Knock.” Someone’s at the door.  Must be important, if someone’s out on a miserable day like today.  You can imagine my disappointment when I am faced with a pushy kid trying to convince me that I must switch hydro plans.  Honestly, I’ve gone through this before and I’m not interested. 

Chili is done and I pour myself a glass of wine.  Ah!  There is no moral to this story other than to say, Can this day be over already?!  Let’s hope for sunny skies and warmer weather tomorrow!

A trunk show is a special sale in which vendors present merchandise directly to select customers at a retail location, a private home or another unique venue. In many cases it allows retailers to preview and/or purchase merchandise before it is made available to the public. It is also particularly desirable for the vendor to be face to face with potential customers - it is a great market research tool for the vendor. It is so valuable to be face to face with a customer and get their feedback straight on. You can find out the things they like and dislike about your product, what things your product is missing (certain sizes, styles, material, etc.), and what they think about your price points.

Toronto’s Trunk Show circuit for “Mompreneur”-made products really gets going in early November. If you are looking for great holiday gifts, these shows are a great way to find unique gifts for everyone (not just kids) and support local entrepreneurs. The events are usually also a great fun outing, with speakers and activities for everyone. Most trunk shows usually also sponsor a charity so this is also a great way to support a local group (Sick Kids Hospital, Jesse’s Foundation, among others).
Also, if you are someone in the process of launching a new product that targets moms and families in particular, these shows are a great chance to be in front of your potential customer. The costs are reasonable and the market research is of huge value.
Two of the bigger shows we are participating in as vendors in Toronto are the Children’s Trunk Show at the Distillery District and the Mom2Mom Toronto Show at the CNIB Building in Toronto. We will also take part in a number of shows in Toronto’s private schools, but these types of shows take place all over the GTA (another one we know of is the Mommies Lounge, with shows in Vaughn and Richmond Hill).

Finally, one useful tip if you are thinking of attending one of these shows, is to bring cash as some of these businesses are in their early stages and do not accept credit or debit.

Have fun and come support local mompreneurs!

Maria

Perrywinkles Kids

The 2007/08 school year is now well under way and it’s been a very busy few weeks trying to get settled into the life of a mom of a school-aged child. My eldest, Keira, is only 4 years old, but her first year of every-day school has started with Junior Kindergarten. Luckily she is a very out-going little girl and she loves going to school every day so the transition has not been a big deal. She can’t wait to get to school every day and squeeze in a few minutes of playing in the playground before starting her day in JK.

After a half-day in school, I then have her signed up in a number of organized activities in order to keep her occupied and introduce her to new things (I chose this over the option of all-day school).  In looking for things for her to do, I found an amazing array of after-school activities for kids in Toronto.  I settled for things close by to my home as to avoid driving around too much during rush hour.

She practices gymnastics on Tuesday afternoons at CFCC in Leaside. CFCC has an assortment of program for little kids (starting at toddlers) and the staff are extremely dedicated and friendly (Frank, the Director, is an ex-East York Gymnastics staff). This is Keira’s second year at CFCC and I highly recommend the centre.  On Thursday afternoons she attends the Avenue Road Arts School.  From the minute she stepped into the classroom, she was hooked.  The room is just the most inspiring place for a little kid, up on the third floor of an old Toronto house (she calls it a castle), with lots of windows and a tree made of paper in the middle of the room that kids have painted.  This is another program that I highly recommend, despite its steep price and poor parking facilities.  Aside from these things, Keira is busy swimming and skating at a local club, and of course, playing with her neighbours and favourite classmates.

I can’t wait to see what I’ll find for the Winter months.  The selection of programs in Toronto is amazing!

Maria

www.perrywinkleskids.com