small things are always cute!

If you've read this blog before, or if you're one of our super-lovely facebook fans, you may have noticed that we love taking photos. We just love to document the many cute, funny, and plain wonderful things that happen inside and outside Carry Me Home. So you can imagine how excited were we when our good friends at the Lomography shop, just across the way from Carry Me Home on Newburgh Street, introduced us to their 'baby camera' range.

 

I hope I wasn't the only one who audibly squealed at the sight of the 'diana baby' and 'fisheye baby'. 

How sweet!

But don't let that fool you, and don't underestimate the power of these little lovelies to take fantastic photographs.

(I'm composing my Christmas list as we speak)

Of course, here at Carry Me Home, we have long valued the phenomena that is known as...'small things are always cute!' mainly because we are surrounded by incredibly small, incredibly cute baby grows, baby bibs, baby dresses, baby toys, baby t-shirts (you get the idea), all for super cute little ladies and little men.

And this blog, we have something small, cute and NEW!!! to share with you. 

Yep, it's that time of year, when the new season stuff starts arriving, and our first are these fabulous dungarees, by a great new brand called 'Grubbies'. Not only is it the bestest name for a kidswear brand, but they're also the perfect baby dungarees, made from super soft denim, right here in good old blighty. They are perfect for little ones to roam and play (and I keep on calling them goodies, because they have a certain 1970s feel about them) and come in all sizes from 0-3m to 12-18m. They'll be online soon, but until then do call or visit the shop, they're worth it!

And remember the golden rule...small things are always cute!

soho arts fair

Ok, it's Thursday. The inevitable day when that familiar topic is raised...

"So, what are you doing this weekend?"

If you're still not sure what you'll be up to, we've got a rather excellent suggestion for you, especially if you're interested in fashion, dance, painting, drama, mosaics, ceramics, photography and...Soho.

This Friday 24th and Saturday 25th August marks the inaugural Soho Arts Fair, and it's being held right here in our very own Kingly Court!

 

The Soho Arts Fair  will be a magnificent showcase of young British artistic talent taking place right in the heart of London’s West End. The event is founded by the Art Alive charity, which is based here in Kingly Court (they're Carry Me Home's neighbours!). Their aim is to help children, adolescents and young adults to realise their potential and find their place in society through the use of art.

You can watch a video all about it here: http://vimeo.com/47197982
 

There will be a number of activities starting from 12pm each day, including free running by Parkour Generations, mosaic and ceramics, photography, dance and drama, street artists and a youth choir. And all events are free!

While you're in Kingly Court enjoying the Soho Arts Fair do pop up and say hello to us here in Carry Me Home, we'd love to see you all down here enjoying and supporting such a worthwhile, fun and creative event.

These cheeky little monkeys are so excited about the Soho Arts Fair, they won't let go of the flyer! Only one more sleep to go, see you all there! :)

team gb

 

 I don't know about you, but here at Carry Me Home, we are in the midst of an Olympic fever!

It's probably because our lovely little shop is located in the heart of Central London, but it seems like every customer we meet is heading to the games, or has a new bit of Olympic news to share, which just makes the whole thing even more exciting!

Of course, we're a little bit biased toward team GB, who as we type are currently third in the medal table. What an amazing achievement this games has been for all of our Olympians!

We thought we'd champion our own team GB right here in the shop, by which I mean showcase some of our products that were 

designed and made right here in Great Britain...

 1. 'Rock Baby' baby grow
All of our Carry Me Home own label baby grows, hats, t-shirts and bibs are made from 100% cotton and manufactured in the UK. The designs are all lovingly made right here in Carry Me Home HQ in Kingly Court, London. And 'Rock Baby' has a union jack design as well, super patriotic :)

2. Thomas Bear
Thomas is just one of the fabulous Carry Me Home bears, which are limited edition, hand made in Yorkshire and come with a special personalised tag. A more special baby gift you could not hope to find.

3. Beau Loves Stripe Playsuit
All 'Beau Loves' garments are manufactured (with love) in the UK. This stripe playsuit is especially cute now that summer has arrived (and no-one can resist the tiny pockets on the bum, they're adorable!)

4. Happy Accidents Dress
Happy Accident dresses, toys and bunting are all handmade by one of our very favourite people, Steven. Now based up North, we are always excited to get a parcel in the post containing a riot of fabrics, colours and prints, lovingly crafted together to create one-off special garments, toys and decorations.

5. Arty and Bella
Handmade in London, Arty and Bella create the sweetest little hair accessories. Simple, cute and beautiful.

So, those are our 5 members of Carry Me Home team GB. Are there any of your favourite Carry Me Home items that we've failed to add? Which item should win a gold medal for cuteness? Do let us know on facebook or twitter, and enjoy the rest of the games :)

carry me...to the olympics!

 Thursday, July 26th 2012. 

This day will go down in history.

Why?

Well, because Carry Me Home (represented by the very proud Ella bear) saw the Olympic torch of course!

 

 Here you can see Ella herself, in amongst the massive crowds of shoppers, Olympic enthusiasts, office workers and passers-by. We're all waiting for the torch with baited breath, lining famous Regent Street in the blistering summer heat.

It was all very exciting, having THE Olympic torch pass so close to Kingly Court and Carry Me Home. All of a sudden London has gained a real sense of anticipation, and there is a lovely, lively atmosphere around the city. Over the last week we've had a fair few customers who've travelled far and wide to be a part of London 2012. From NBC news to American soccer fans, it has been great to meet lots of excited people, and it just makes us get more and more excited!

Which brings me back to the torch...

You see, the thing is, little Ella (yep I'm blaming the bear) got so excited by the prospect of the torch, she didn't manage to take any decent photographs of it. So overwhelmed by the crowds and the anticipation, and being such a little bear, our photos don't actually feature the flame itself (rather just beneath the flame-see the torch bearer in the bottom left segment). 

But I think we've captured a wonderful sense of the occasion, and of just how many people turned out to support the Olympics and join in the fun. 

(Ella's not giving up the day job to become a photographer, she's sticking to being a professional bear)

And it did get us thinking about what would be the perfect, gold medal winning outfit to wear for the Opening Ceremony tomorrow...

1.Medal T-shirt
yep, un-questionably the best t-shirt to wear for the entire length of the games, without taking it off. Ever. It is that good, and that appropriate.

2. Trainer Shoe Socks
Behind every great sportsman/ woman/ baby is some good equipment. Athletes need trainers. Babies need socks.

3. Happy Accidents Dress
Because even though we're supporting everybody, we're supporting team GB first, and this little London dress is a stylish way of flying the flag.

So... let's hope it's a games to remember, we can't wait for the exciting next few weeks to come. Carry Me Home wishes everybody the best of luck, and if you've got tickets to events have a wonderful time! x

p.s. if you have any better photos of the flame when you saw it, we'd love you to post them on our facebook wall!
 

seamandala

Right, it's that time of year again...yep, the summer holidays are just around the corner. 

This year, why not try a new and enriching activity with your children, courtesy of Camelia Chinmayashakti and her lovely Seamandala parties?

I'll admit I was a bit clueless as to what it all involved, but to put it simply...

'More easily recognised in the West as art, mandala making is a fun, relaxing and creative yoga activity for children and adults...designing with natural materials [which] stimulates and allows for a positive, creative experience with colours, textures and aromas.'

'Bringing children closer to nature through yoga and art' 

sounds wonderful, especially to us Londoners. 

Camelia has already held successful events at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, where the children especially loved the 'petal shower' (you can see just how much fun they were having in the photographs below).

They make wonderful, different parties, and since the weather is reportedly going to improve there's no excuse to get out into the summer sun and enjoy making, creating and having fun in a natural setting. Bliss! 

Mention Carry Me Home and get a 20% discount, all details of how to bbok a party are on the seamadala website.

 

Inspired by the riot of colours and textures experienced in a seamandala party, we looked around our own little Kingly Court boutique, for our own Carry Me Home sensory experience, and here are a few snaps of the colourful clothing and toys we found...

Perfect for playing out in the park, in a field, or on the sofa, we think a bit of Carry Me Home would be the ideal mixture of comfort and colour to wear to a seamandala party. How about a lovely ladybird My Happy Accidents dress, or a bright green Cheeky Little Monkey baby grow, both of which are definitely in tune with nature :)

For your little munchkin, exploring the natural world there can be nothing better than this baby grow, or this lovely mask t-shirt, great for any little nature superhero.

So, may the holidays commence, and instead of being bored on the sofa we hope everybody gets out there and explores the natural world around them. 

Oh, and I wouldn't mind a petal shower either, it looks great!

icons

There's always a lot going on in Kingly Court, so we weren't all together too shocked when we saw a life-sized telephone box with a bright illustration of an angry man on the phone (pictured top left in the picture below).

And the more we walked around the streets surrounding Carry Me Home, the more telephone boxes we found, each decorated differently.

We were intrigued! Using the number one detective tool (Google), we set about trying to find out what these boxes are all about, and here's what we found...

 "The good old British phone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate King George V's Silver Jubilee.

This year we’ve got a Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 to look forward to, so we decided we needed to do something to celebrate. That something turned into BT ArtBox. It’s a campaign that thrives on the nation’s artistic talent.		Across London’s streets you’ll find replicas of the Gilbert Scott phone box, transformed by the imaginations of some of our very best creative minds. Then later on we’ll be auctioning all the boxes off to raise money for ChildLine’s 25th anniversary."

 

Which is all pretty impressive, isn't it? What a wonderful idea, supporting a cause like Childline, whilst also celebrating a Great British Icon, in this very British of years, 2012.

You can read more about the project here: http://www.btartboxes.com/00Home.php

 

And this also got us thinking about our very own Carry Me Home icons.

They're the products that are always popular, whether they're new additions or old favourites, these products have a certain Britishness to them, and they just scream Carry Me Home!

Like the iconic London Bus Lights, pictured above, which have reminded many a young visitor of their first trip to London! Or how about the pop-up soldiers next top them? They're a new addition to Carry Me Home, but we thought they were too cute to miss, and since the Soldier Skittles (below) have been a long-standing favourite (especially around Christmas time?!) we thought they'd look perfect in the shop!

 

We've just received a new delivery of the Tuxedo Baby Grow, and as usual they are selling like hot cakes. There can't be many baby grows that have a waiting list as long as your arm! It seems to be THE essential baby wear for special occasions (weddings at the moment!)

And, who could forget the classic Rock Baby? The number one choice at our market stall in London's Old Spitalfields market, and a perfect little London gift to take home and share.

Well, those are our choices for Carry Me Home icons, but what do you think? 

Do let us know if you have anything you think should be added to the list, like a favourite baby grow, bib or toy that reminds you of  

Carry Me Home.

We're on facebook and twitter, or comment right here!