Liberty of London Loveliness

Loving Liberty and Little Swans

Liberty of London has long been a favourite hidey-hole of our's just off London's Carnaby Street.  The trademark tudor black and white beams, bowed staircases and intricately carved wooden lifts welcome you into a world of luxury.  Housing a gluttony of designers, sadly far out of my post-baby pocket, we can waste many an hour in the top floor Haberdashery.  From buttons to ribbons to fat quarters...we fall in love.  Therefore, when it came to designing accessories for Milo, we relished in the opportunity to flaunt the florals! 

Find images below of some of our 2011 fabrics, which are currently in stock.  We will be selling these items at our Craft Fairs, as well as taking orders via email.

Our drawstring bags and bibs are lined with waterproof fabric and our bibs fasten with metal poppers.  Our toy catchers faster with velcro to enable a swift swap from toy to toy.  Having both worked with young people and children throughout our careers, we feel duty-bound to add that babies and young children must not be left unattended at any point with a toy catcher.

We welcome your feedback on all of our products and look forward to receiving your emails requesting more information.

NB We use a 'Vignette Blur' effect on some of our images.  Our fabric is not blurred.

We look hearing from you.

Love,

Little Swans



On The Go Change Bags

'On The Go' Changing Bags in oil cloth Fabric

After Milo was born, we struggled leaving the house with bags sized to take the kitchen sink.  We found that the bigger the bag, the more we took!  Having a trendy changing bag with a variety of compartments and cool bags, not to mention mobile phone holders and cappucino cup holders, is great in theory and ideal for being at someone's home, but a quick walk around the park doesn't usually necessitate a wheely bag with a fortnight's change of clothing! 

From here our 'On The Go' Changing bags were born.  Made in stylish and durable oil cloth fabrics, we also offer a limited edition range in either duckegg blue spot, or Union Jack oil cloth.

We needed bags that were wipe clean, shower proof and sized for a change mat, couple of nappies, wipes and all the bare necessities a carer on the go requires!  Worn across the body, so that access to the bag was much easier and less strenuous on the shoulders, the bags look fashionable and don't scream "Mummy on the Move"!

See our images below for the 'On The Go' bags in Union Jack oilskin, lined with a matching canvas.

On The Go Change Bag, £20.

Please email us at: littleswansoflondon@gmail.com for more information about any of our products, or check out our online shop, follow the link to the Little Swans Little Shop!

Are you following us on twitter yet?  @littleswans_

Love,

Little Swans



Autumn Days...

Yet another wonderfully indulgent craftacular of a weekend afternoon, spent making autumnal wreaths after a supermarket sweep of Lavenders of London, Isleworth, fuelled by mugs of hot tea and flapjack.

Love,

Little Swans

We Made Here!

Look what we made here, at We Make Here in Ealing!

www.wemakehere.com

Hidden away in leafy residential Ealing lies the studio of artist and teacher Claire Palfreyman.  In addition to the locations in Fulham and Open Ealing (Ealing Broadway), Claire's Ealing studio provides the base for both day and afternoon workshops in craft.  Claire also runs 6-week courses in craft, from screen printing to lino printing.  If, like us, you're not able to commit to a long-term course but still have a desire to learn new skills you can choose from paper cutting (think Rob Ryan), fabric printing, cross stitch and much more... Let's cut to the most important part here though...the afternoon courses include the most delicious of afternoon teas! 

Arriving at Claire's studio, we immediately felt comfortable and welcome and after being given a walk-through of how to achieve the fabric printing process, we were given time and inspiration to conceive our own creations. 

Both my friend and I being Mothers to babies, we relished the chance to have some uninterrupted time to indulge in our love of craftiness.  We were greatly relieved by Claire's tongue-in-cheek attitude to craft, banish from your mind any ideas of ladies sitting around making doilies or macrame hats, here we are encouraged to embrace an ironic approach to craft.

Claire's afternoon courses start at £40. which (especially as they include a scrumptious homemade afternoon tea) are an absolute steal.  Classes are a maximum of 6 and are ideal for christmas gifts, mothers' day, fathers' day, birthdays, baby showers and (a pole-free) Hen party!

Find out more details at www.wemakehere.com or tweet Claire @wemake here

Love,

Little Swans



Once upon a yarn of wool...

Limited edition knitted toys are available in time for a homemade, unique and beautifully presented christmas gift.  We're also waiting and willing for commissions to make the knitted toys...
Our knitted fairytale toys come with a copy of the fairytale or story from whence they came! (Whilst stocks last)  Prices on Application.

My favourite story as a child, The Owl and the Pussycat features as our signature piece, followed by our Frog Prince...

We also have a menagerie of knitted animals available for purchase: monkeys, giraffes, lions, hippos, and mooses (or is it mice?)...Mr Moose also comes disguised as one of Santa's reindeers with a shiny bright red nose.

Durable (they have withstood Milo's eleven teeth and eleven months), washable and loveable...a gift for any time of the year...Remember, our knitted animals are for life, not just for Christmas!

Love,

Little Swans

Santa Swan

What a difference a year makes! 

As we look forward to a trawl of the shops, for this year's festive fancy dress, we bring you news of another Little Swans appearance at a Christmas Craft Fair in Richmond, Surrey.  We will be holding a stall at the Christ's School Christmas Craft Fair on Thursday 15th November, 2011, from 4pm 'til 6.30pm.  Entrance to the Fair is 50p for adults and free for children.  There will be a visit from Father Christmas, and the opportunity for young and old to make a last minute plea to Santa for their heart's desire... Stalls will be selling homemade Christmas gifts including baked goods, wooden "Shaker" christmas decorations, lavender hearts, knitwear and items made by the talented students at Christ's School. 

If you would be interested in having a table to sell homemade goods at the Fair, tables are £5. each (proceeds to the school).  Please contact me for more details.

We look forward to meeting you there!

Love

Little Swans

littleswansoflondon@gmail.com

All Saints' Day

In honour of All Saints' Day, I'm including a picture from today of Milo sporting one of our ghoulish bibs, rather suitably playing "Boo!".

So as not to scare you all off, I'm also including one of my favourite recent photos of him in one of our "Digger" bibs...