Green Nursery

One of our fabulous customers just sent us pictures of their Green Nursery in the works. It is absolutely beautiful! They are using the Pacific Rim Arts and Craft Crib and Three Drawer Dresser. They put down bamboo flooring and they used Yolo paint. Here are links to the items:

Check out the Pacific Rim Furniture here!


The paint was Yolo brand paint (> http://www.yolocolorhouse.com/index.php) for the walls and EcoTimber flooring http://www.ecotimber.com/woven-bamboo-flooring-honey.php).

Super special on Bratt Decor crib

In a hurry? Here's the scoop:

• 40% off the regular price for our display model Bratt Decor Heritage red crib with airplane finials and/or bookcase.
• Double rewards points on any new Bratt Decor nursery furniture you order through December 15 (on a crib purchase, that would be like receiving a $60 or more gift certificate for other baby items!).
• And awesome new Bratt Decor crib designs...

Why are we excited about Bratt Decor cribs and nursery furniture?
At first, we were very disappointed to hear that Bratt Decor was discontinuing several of its very stylish baby cribs... but since it means the finishes are going to be tested to confirm their safety, and 2 great new styles, we really couldn't complain -- and now that we've seen the new Manhattan series, we're pretty darned excited for our customers!

The Manhattan nursery furniture line includes 2 cribs -- see photos above-- the Soho Crib and the Park Avenue Crib, and all the storage pieces you would want: dressers, changing top, etc. The Park Avenue has a very graceful, classic look. The clean-lined Soho could fit either contemporary or classic tastes, and is also available in a very handsome four-poster/loft style. White or sable finishes give you two great foundation options from which to design the rest of your nursery decor. These are primarily wood, with some MDF Grade 0-1 (the lowest amount of formaldehyde measurable). There are three other beautiful lines available too, so take a look at the Bratt Decor section on our site, and feel free to call if you have any questions.

And, if you're in the Raleigh, NC area come see examples of their quality craftsmanship (and that adorable brick red 4-poster crib with the airplane or globe finials and matching bookcase is 40% off -- until someone snatches them up). Plus, place your order for any new Bratt Decor items before December 15 and we'll double your rewards points (equivalent to receiving a $60 or more gift certificate for other nursery decor and baby items when you buy a crib!)

Sneak peek at Be-utiful Be-hatted babies

Last week we were thrilled to have Christa Hook of Creative Clicks Photography in our light-filled front room for 2 days of adorable babies participating in our Jingle Baby of the Year contest. Here's a sneak peek at some of these little ones -- and keep an eye on our blog and/or hers so you can participate in voting for your favorite choice...

The Jingle Baby contest winner gets a super-duper holiday photo session, great images of their be-uti-ful baby, AND they'll model our holiday duds in photos we'll have in-store and on our site. Best of luck to all the cuties who visited us last week! And many thanks to Christa for all her great work!

(Also, voting begins in October for our Funny Face of the Year contest... stay tuned!)

Interactive books for kids

Quick note: here's a neat resource for adding a little reading to your little one's day; thanks Kidoons for tweeting about it: Free Interactive E-books for kids... Visit Mrs. Ryder Rabbit in READING MADE FUN!

Here's the main page for this series: http://www.madisonrabbit.com/story_enter

Let us know if you enjoy it, and if you have other favs. And have a happy, healthy day!

We love this new take on an old kid-safety idea

I'm always a little anxious whenever we're at a crowded amusement park, festival or other people-packed event with Cailee. Even now that she's older and knows her phone number, I have read that when someone is upset or scared, even the most familiar facts can fly right out of their mind, and I imagine that getting lost in a crowd would be enough to cause trouble!

As the autumn event season kicks into gear, with HollyFest, the NC State Fair, Halloween and other outings approach, I recommend keeping one or two packs of Write On SafetyTats on hand for some added peace of mind. What is the Safety Tat? These clever innovations in kid safety are fun rub-on tattoos, pre-printed with "if LOST, please call: "... just rub it onto your child's arm, and write your mobile number in the space provided. A waterproof-ink pen is provided too. The tattoo is waterless, so you can apply it quickly and easily, even while you're out and about. It's waterproof, so even getting caught in the rain won't obscure it. AND it's super durable -- one will stay on up to 2 weeks if necessary-- yet peels off readily if needed. They've even got ones to alert people about your child's allergies!

I'll be keeping a pack in each of our cars from now on. Because we know that taking care of babies makes keeping track of older siblings a little more challenging, you can find SafetyTats at our store for babies and beyond: GreenPea Nursery, in Apex NC or online.

Healthier Car Seats

Here's an important item from a report released this week by HealthyStuff.org, a nonprofit environmental research organization:

Children's Car Seats – Infant and child car seats contain chemical additives that can have adverse health effects on babies and young children. Over half (58%) of car seats contain one or more hazardous chemicals, including PVC, BFRs and heavy metals. Three examples of car seats that had none of the chemicals tested for are: Baby Trend Flex-Loc; the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat; and the Graco Turbo Booster. Despite the toxic chemicals, it is vital to use a car seat for your child because they do save lives.

That's just one of the categories they studied, in addition to pet products, back-to-school products, automobiles, and women's handbags. (You can read their whole press release at:
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/stuff/press.releases.php)

While we don't sell car seats right now, when we hear of better choices, we want you to know about them -- and this is obviously an important product to all parents! As we often say, it's almost impossible to find chemical-free options in every category; 'til recently this has been one of them. Thanks for the news, Healthy Stuff.

Buy Local Buy USA

It is a frightening statistic.  According to the United States Census Bureau, the United States had a 27 billion, yes I said billion, trade deficit in June 2009.  I decided to look into our trade with other countries after hearing story after story from manufacturers that it is just too expensive to manufacture here.  Because of our principles, we actively seek to carry products that are Made in the USA wherever possible so we always question where a product is made and why.  So many fabulous companies have told us that they just could not get retailers to buy their product at the price point that would be required if the product was made in the United States.  Before owning a store myself I would have probably thought that this was a cop out and that they just wanted bigger profits.  However, now that I am the middleman bringing products to consumers, I can see that it is not just about profit but about survival.  After purchasing several clothing lines that were made here, we soon realized after they sat on the floor for months on end that the majority of people were not willing to pay the higher prices.  I assume that part of that is due to the economy but I know that a lot of it is that we have became a country pursuing lower prices and more stuff.  As the country emerges from this recession, I hope that we can all, including myself, put more thought into quality versus quantity.  The more we demand products made here, the more companies will consider moving manufacturing back here.  I live in North Carolina.  It used to be a major manufacturer of furniture and textiles.  Needless to say, the majority of furniture companies now make their products in Asia.  This is not just losing jobs but the loss of a trade in furniture making.  You can find an inexpensive crib on the internet for under $200 or you could buy an American hand-crafted crib made from solid wood for around $710.  Pacific Rim has been making furniture in Eugene, Oregon since 1981.  

Our goal is to bring you better choices and unique finds.  We actively seek products that are healthier such as organic cotton or products free of harmful chemicals.  It also means that we look for superior quality and durability.   We also love to bring you unique finds that you can't find at big box stores.  

Thank you for shopping with us!