One of our favourite gifts we received when our baby was born was a wool fleece jacket that a friend in the UK sent us. It is SO soft, warm and practical. We love putting our baby in it for our daily little walks. I was so impressed with it that I tracked down the maker in Germany and ordered them in to sell!

Early on I quickly learned the difference a good bib makes. Our baby spits up a lot, and after going through some useless bibs, we realised we needed to make our own so we started developing one just for my baby, not thinking we would sell them! As we were working on samples for it my friend Harry told me about bibs that she has used for her two babies that are made locally by a woman called Susie who runs a tiny business with her daughter called Little Acorn. They make really great bibs from lovely liberty prints! So I ordered some for my baby and again, was so impressed with how well they worked that I contacted Susie asking to be a stockist. We have 35 options of their Liberty Bibs online now!

When working on the bibs for my baby, we needed something that was actually absorbent, so that it didn't soak through right away (like other bibs I tried did), so we developed our own using our signature unbleached cotton calico and thick cotton terry towelling backing and we finished them with binding in 10 colour options. They are so nicely made. Kirsty has made this first batch herself! She takes so much care when she makes things. These fit new born up to about 3 years old. So it is something that will get a lot of use over the years. I say it is worth the investment of getting something that works well and looks pretty too since you will have to look at it so much.

We have also made some special bibs produced in a limited edition of 100 pieces. Created to mark the Year of the Fire Horse, this edition is made for babies born between February 17th 2026 and February 5th 2027, the period associated with the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac.

And if there is one item I would recommend to almost every new parent, it's this black and white mobile. Babies seem completely captivated by them. Ours happily stares at hers for half an hour, which any parent of a very young baby will know is quite impressive...and helpful so you can do a few things while they are occupied.

Lots of fun new things from Japan, like this Onigiri Mould. I have the same at home which we have been using for a few years.

I have been spending a lot of time in and around the bed after having my baby. I am eating most meals and snacks in bed so my tray has been getting a lot of use. I find it handy that it is not too big, so I can push it away next to piles of things to be dealt with later.

I’ve had my copy of Rose Bakery’s classic cookbook Breakfast, Lunch, Tea for around 16 or 17 years (it was first published nearly 20 years ago). I bought it from Dover Street Market when I lived in London. I never made it to the original Paris bakery, but loved visiting Rose Bakery on the top floor of DSM. It was always very inspiring and refreshing. Over the years I’ve cooked/ baked a lot from it, and my copy is now well-worn, faded, flour stained. I still enjoy using it after all these years.

I like how so many of the recipes are classics, but a bit more punchy in spices and sugar is toned down. I also really like the photography and graphic design. I have looked through and read it a lot over the years, it’s a genuinely inspiring book to refer to.

I am excited to be stocking their recently released cookbook With Children. Written from Rose’s perspective of cooking with her grandchildren, it’s a beautiful book. You don’t need children to enjoy it, the food looks just as good for adults.

Purple things I saw in Japan that reminded me of our Purple Cushions

I saw purple a lot in Japan. Of course in temples, but also in modernist architecture, train stations & on trains, as carpet, noren curtains and grapes. I have made a blog post of about some of the purple things I saw in Japan that reminded me of our Iris Purple Cushions.