What we did at the weekend

We had a visit to Smile Acorns, the first retail outlet where you can buy a small selection of t-shirts from our range!  Located on lovely farmland in the North West of England, Smile Acorns is run by Emma, a fellow mum and maker of lovely childrenswear.  

                   

The shop is part of a larger farm complex, called Inglenook Farm.  Other shops on site include a guitar shop, traditional farm shop showcasing the best of the region’s local produce, including Lytham Coffee, and the main product of the farm itself – essential oils and soaps from the fields of lavender growing outside!  The stars of the show at the moment have to be the newly-arrived twin baby goats.  

There’s also a traditional team rooms and a barn for hire.  Last week was an Easter fun day for children, but chickens were also welcome, and keen to get stuck in!  

You can find Smile Acorns just off what my dad calls ‘the Southport Road’, or the A570 as the rest of us know it.  It’s close to Haydock, but even with race meet traffic on a busy Saturday, we drove there in about half an hour from the outskirts of Manchester.  A good time was had by all (I went with my daughter, niece, nephew, dad and sister – a real family day out!)

Shop Local!

You might have seen various calls this Christmas urging you to shop local and support local and independent businesses (Shop Local Saturday this year is taking place on December 7th.) If you’re around the West End of Glasgow, there are loads of opportunities to do this. The area has just won the Great Neighbourhood award from the Academy of Urbanism, praised in part for its community spirit and the wealth of creativity in the area.

It’s no surprise then that independent retailers, bars, restaurants and designer-makers and artists across the West End are banding together to put on Christmas events to give residents the opportunity to shop local, support independent businesses and have a great time! Here’s a quick round-up of the events we know about; they’re all on different dates so you can go to all of them if you so choose!

First up, quite shamelessly, is an event we’re involved with: Yuletide at Cushion & Cake. It takes places on November 28th from 6-9pm and will be in the Cushion & Cake tearoom and across the road at the new Cushion & Cake Too function room (where the C&C Crafternoons are hosted). Sellers who’ll be joining us include Glasgow Craft Mafia alumni Pumpkin Sputnik, Ding Dong Designs and Make Stuff With Us, as well as A Canny Squirrel, Jill Kirkham and loads more! Keep an eye on the Cushion & Cake website and Facebook pages for details of more sellers as they are confirmed.

You’ll also be able to buy from Cushion & Cake’s lovely selection of regular suppliers, including Lovely Pidgeon, Cherith Harrison and Herb Lester. Local traders on Old Dumbarton Road have chipped in to sponsor the event, Duke’s Bar are hosting carol singers and serving mulled wine, and the Old Dumbarton Road Cake Club will be selling cakes in aid of Yorkhill Children’s Hospital.

A week later, and a bit further down the road Festive Finnieston is happening (5th December). Artists and makers based in the Hidden Lane including Finch & Fouracre, Shona Jewellery and Pink Grapefruit will be taking part in a pop-up shop in the Hidden Lane tearoom, and other laners will be welcoming the public to an open studios event.There’ll be lots more happening; follow @festive_finnies on twitter to keep up to date.

The Shop of Interest is also participating in Festive Finnieston- but if you’re about this Sunday, 17th November, they’re hosting their annual birthday sale.

Up at Queen Margaret Drive, the Queen Margaret Drive Winter Festival will take place on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December between 12 noon and 6pm. Queen Margaret Drive is home to lots of independent businesses, including Ae Fond Kiss, the Black Orchid florists and the North Star Cafe. There’ll be a brass band, DJs, stalls, and a whole lot of fun to be had.

Finally, we have to mention ethical fashion retailer Think Boutique and Rapa Nui Gallery, who are once again teaming up to open a festive Pop Up Shop on Byres Road from 21st November to 21st December.

We’ve only mentioned a few of the businesses involved here;  if you’re taking part in any of the above events, please leave a link to your business in the comments. Likewise we’ve listed West End events because that’s where we’re based. If there are any similar events happening elsewhere (Glasgow or other cities and towns), please stick a link in the comments.

A little update – and lots of action!

Inver Cottage

So we’ve been a little bit quiet around these parts for a couple of weeks, but here’s what we’ve been up to:

• Received, quality checked, folded and squirreled away 80% of the t-shirts you ordered via our indiegogo campaign
• Had our first public appearance with actual t-shirts at Inver Cottage – thanks to their lovely patrons we are currently out of all additional stock of the Treehouse design, and down to very limited stock of Puffer
• Finalised the last two designs of our original collection and continued working with exciting new designers behind the scenes for next year’s collection
• We’ve been in talks with potential stockists of our collection and put plans in place for our first trade fair
• Worked on the packaging for our first orders, which will be shipping soon (once said packaging and remaining 20% of orders arrive in the post!)
• Discussed arrangements for the colouring books and badges so they are ready to ship with the t-shirts at the end of the month
• Planned for our next event, at Yuletide in the West End of Glasgow on 28 November – there’ll be reindeer and everything!
• We’ve also eaten A LOT of chips and drunk A LOT of coffee in the interests of getting things done and we also spent a couple of weeks slowing down and generally being kind to ourselves so we didn’t get ill or burnt out.

We can’t wait for the next step – to send you your packages and hear your feedback, too.

Ten reasons to shop with Mimi and Will in the next 10 days

With ten days left to place your pre-orders in time for worldwide Christmas delivery, we thought we’d give you ten solid reasons for shopping with us.

There’s something here for everyone, boys, girls, siblings, cousins and friends.  Whether dinosaurs, animals, nature, the great outdoors or gentler pursuits (ice cream, anyone?) are your thing, we offer a range of designs and colours to suit everyone from 2 to 12.

We’re so excited to be working with some of the UK’s leading illustrators, and designers from a range of disciplines, including ceramics, comics and other creative things not beginning with c!

It’s not just about t-shirts – treat yourself to a badge or colouring book.  With the colouring books you get an exclusive sneak peek at forthcoming designs which won’t be released as t-shirts for a little while yet.

All our pre-orders include a 10% discount which is valid for a year on your future purchases from us – the gift that keeps on giving!

While children grow so quickly, the quality and finish of our garments mean that they make a great investment for handmedowns and passing on.  Because they’re gender neutral, they’re twice as useful for sharing and giving.

With your purchase, you’re supporting not one but FOUR independent businesses – the t-shirt manufacturers who’ve signed up to fair labour principles in Africa and India, the British designer/maker who has provided the image on the front of the t-shirt, our lovely printers who run a traditional workshop in Wales and of course, us here in Scotland at Mimi & Will.

We’re at a critical point in our business development – every penny we receive in pre-orders goes towards making the t-shirts, spreading the word about Mimi & Will and commissioning more designs from wonderful craftspeople, artists and designers whose work we know would look fantastic on a t-shirt.

The more orders we receive, the better we can make our business – by improving our website, our photography and our branding – you could be a part of our success story by investing in us at this early stage.  If we exceed £500 of pre-orders this week, our campaign has a chance of making it back onto the front page of Indiegogo’s website – giving us more exposure to potential customers.

Be ahead of the fashion pack – while we’re very new, we’re also confident in the quality, value and look of our t-shirts.  Your kids could be amongst the first to wear and share Mimi & Will clothing, how cool would that be?

We’re making it as easy as possible for you to buy – pay with PayPal or credit/debit card via Indiegogo, or email us for an invoice at mimiandwill.uk@gmail.com – let us know how many t-shirts, badges or colouring books you’d like to order and we’ll take it from there – you don’t even have to make up your mind which sizes and designs you’d like, we’ll follow up with you once pre-orders close to get your preferences.

Go on, make someone smile on Christmas morning – or in our case, today!  Order now at: http://igg.me/at/mimiandwill/x/3097542 – and as many of you have been doing (thank you thank you!) please continue to spread the word and share our link with friends, family and colleagues.

Arrrr mateys

It be international talk like a pirate day, and so we plundered a round up of cool stuff for kids all the way from Davy Jones’ Locker.

First up be this fancy pirate costume, arrrr, by HerFlyingHorses on Etsy.

There be nothing more comforting to a landlocked pirate than the shanties and sounds of the sea.

Ho! Check the rigging for mice, sailor!  Felties Ate My Homework on Folksy has spied a few on the loose!

 

Pirates quake in their hob nailed boots at the Goonies – and this handpainted collection from Kris Teeny Tinys can go treasure hunting on our behalf any time.

 

That’s it for another 19th of September, and the treasure map is back in the attic until we dust it off again this time next year.  Ahoy, mateys!