Tatyanna Wright's Haute Mama

Easter Ideas

I love Easter. Growing up in Australia Easter is a national holiday where we have two weeks off. When my husband and I first moved to the US we were a little shocked that Easter wasn’t a recognized holiday even though there’s plenty of chocolate bunnies for sale.

Easter isn’t about chocolate bunnies for us, its about celebrating with family - similarly how important Thanksgiving is to American families. For me, celebrating with my own young family means the tradition of colouring real eggs and hiding them as well a visit from the Easter Bunny and a wonderful lunch. With Easter right around the corner, here are some cute picks to get your little ones excited about more than just candy.

My son loves decorating eggs and so will you with these wonderful plant-based egg dyes. Infuse your Easter eggs with festive, natural hues of yellow, orange, lavender, red and green. You can use them on brown or white eggs and eat them once dyed. Take it a step further and try egg dying of a more traditional nature with this fun, non-toxic Ukrainian dying kit. A fantastic way to introduce children to the art of pysanky (egg artistry). It’s easy to get started as the kit includes everything needed to transform eggs into beautiful works of art that will last beyond one Easter.

One of my favourite ways to add a little inexpensive flare to any table setting is with flowers. For Easter, tulips and daffodils are the blooms to call upon arranged in these recycled glass vases. Made in Spain, they look pretty with or without flowers. Simple, understated and elegant.

If you are buying chocolate Easter Eggs, make sure you choose organic ones. I was so pleased to discover Green & Blacks Easter collection in the UK recently. Try looking for Fair Trade Certified as well. Sjaaks have a fantastic range of Fair Trade and organic chocolate eggs, bunnies and more.

Pomme Winter Party and Book Signing

Please join children's store Pomme tomorrow Saturday December 12th for a winter party dedicated to wild animals of all stripes!

To begin the Holiday season in roaring style, Pomme have invited two animal-loving artists: Award-winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman will be signing "Creature ABC", a stunning alphabet book displaying his famous high-res images of wildlife...... and Davina Zagury will unveil "Animals", her new series of still life pictures featuring close-ups of vintage plastic toys in natural decors.

Born in Washington, DC, in 1977, Andrew Zuckerman is a photographer and filmmaker. His work has been commissioned extensively for multiple brands throughout the world and has received many awards. He has published three photography books, including Creature, a portrait series of animals, which was released worldwide in November 2007 to critical acclaim and is now in its fourth printing.

…And Davina Zagury was born in Thailand, grew up in Israel, and now lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. First known for her pictures of salvaged old toys, she has collaborated with Pomme on several photography projects, including the highly successful "Doudou" and "Siblings" projects.

Pomme is located at 81 Washington Street, DUMBO (Brooklyn, NY). Tel 718.855.0623

Geemo: A New Species of Toy

I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative products, be it lotions and body care, furniture, accessories and clothing, or, in this case toys.  
A few months back, I discovered Geemo at the Bubble Trade Show. I was instantly drawn to its magnetic energy and coral-web-bone-like appearance. I had to know what it was.

“Geemo comes from GMO - Genetically Modified Organism - it feels like something that came out of a petri dish. Alive, cellular, kind-of a mutant", explains Cas Holman, Geemo’s creator and founder of Heroes Will Rise - a company with values rooted in the belief that imagination is an essential part of childhood. Holman, an award winning artist, started designing Geemo as part of her thesis for her Masters degree at Cranbrook Art Academy: “I was designing/creating/researching objects which inspired the imagination of the user in an open ended way - meaning everyone's story of what the objects were would be different. My inspiration comes from patterns and habits in nature - cellular structures and ways that species relate to one another”.

Interestingly, that’s kind of how my son plays with it. He attaches it to his head, becoming a helmet of sorts, then a mask, then an extension of his arm. Geemo takes on a life based on my son’s imagination. Once he called out: “Mama I’m driving a boat, now it’s a handbag for you”; then it was a sea creature, next dinosaur bones. Then he attached the ‘limbs’ to the metal heater/AC unit in his room. Geemo is highly flexible and magnetic so it naturally became tunnels for his magnetic dinosaurs to ‘crawl’ through. It has a constant evolution. Geemo presently 'lives' in our living room as a type of indoor ivy climbing up metal pipes. Its a great toy and really fun to play with.

Geemo is non-toxic, washable and sold in Geemanisms of 5. Geemo’s flexible magnetic limbs grab and repel each other in unpredictable ways. Build, discover, create, and imagine with this new species of toy!
Geemo will be available to purchase at this years NYMag Best Bets/Kidshop on Dec. 6th.
You can also purchase directly from Geemotoy.com

Capture A Gag For The Holidays!

What’s a gag you ask? That was exactly my question when I saw a gag suctioned to the register at Sons and Daughters in the East Village where it is sold.

A gag is an alien like creature in a game called “Capture The Gag”. It has got to be one of the best games for young children (ages 4 and up) I’ve seen.
The concept is fairly basic. It’s essentially a “hide and seek” game with a twist that goes like this: You split the children into two teams of eight or less. Though it can also be played with only two children – say on a rainy day when you’re hosting a play date - and will still receive the same amount of enthusiasm.
The teams wear coloured wristbands that match the colour of their gag. The teams each hide their gag for the other team to find. Example: the blue gag team wears blue wristbands and has to find the orange teams orange gag. 
The gag has two little suction ‘hands’, a clip ‘tail’ and a magnetic ‘belly’ so that it can be attached or stuck onto nearly every surface in the house which means the kids can get really creative hiding it.

Such an ingenious concept, and a great holiday gift idea, I just had to buy one! I think its what the children will be playing at my son’s next birthday party!  

Capture The Gag can be purchased at Sons and Daughters (where I bought mine) in the East Village, which also happens to have an excellent collection of eco-friendly toys and clothing. You can also find it at many online retailers.

Ex-pat Garb

You never know when you're going to find something unique. Wandering around the Brooklyn Flea a few weeks ago I stumbled upon local New York designers and clothing vendors Charlie and Sarah – a British/American husband and wife team from Brighton, England (Charlie), and Lake Waconia in Minnesota (Sarah). Together they are teaching their young son to speak British American with self-designed flashcard imagery showcased on t-shirts and bibs.

“Dress smart and learn English (British English) fast” is Charlie and Sarah’s motto. Their line of ‘flashcard’ tees for babies, children and adults are utterly hilarious and totally cool, and feature words like lorry instead of truck, spanner instead of wrench and airship instead of blimp.

I instantly came to adore this British/American duo partly because I’m an Australian ex-pat, but I’m also an American. My husband is Australian and was immediately drawn to the ‘football’ tee with a picture of - for those of you who need translating - a soccer ball. Exclaiming how fantastic a pairing it was to see his beloved sport with its correctly written word. There's just something really sweet about the tees, and they put a great big smile on your face.

If you want to learn "proper English", meet Charlie and Sarah in person, or just have a look at their fabulous collection of flashcards and cute toys designed by Charlie, head to the Brooklyn Flea Market at Fort Greene on Sundays. You can also purchase online at: charlieandsarah.com

A Little Fun From The Sun

I have a young son, and having a boy means an interest in all things automotive.
My husband and I refer to it as an obsession, and often wonder if this will lead to some sort of crazy car fueled passion later in life.
Our friends with ecological interests question his fascination commenting on the fact that modern mobility isn’t necessarily the cleanest kind of toy a collection should be based. But boys will be boys and they certainly love all things with wheels and engines.
It shouldn’t matter what your friends or other people think, and toy cars are perfectly harmless, but I have to say, it did get me thinking about alternative toys and ways I could educate my son about the environment while still keeping him happily playing with his favourite kind of toy.
This week I found it! Actually my son found it. We were in Los Angeles, walking along 3rd Street in Beverly Hills when he pointed out a helicopter in a shop window with a constantly spinning propeller. Several blocks along 3rd Street reveal eco-friendly boutiques - stores that I frequent when visiting LA.
There in the widow of ‘Plastica’ a number of tiny wooden helicopters sat. I must confess on first glance I thought a fan was blowing the propellers. Then I realized they were solar powered.
This unique toy utilizes a novel application of photovoltaics. The blades of the propeller have compact solar panels that store energy to make the propeller spin. It’s a fabulous way to introduce your children to the basics of solar electricity.
My son loves it and is completely fascinated with this simple lesson of how the natural power of the sun charges up his helicopter. It’s also carved of wood and comes in classic primary colours. Though it doesn’t actually fly, the spinning effect makes for great pretend play in the hands of...well anyone for that matter.

http://www.plasticashop.com

Green Tea Anyone?

What do you think happens to your milk containers and yoghurt cups when you’re done with them? Well, if you’re aware of recycling and conscience of your environment, then wonderful things can happen with your former ‘rubbish’.
Enter Green Toys – an environmentally friendly toy maker that uses recycled plastic milk containers as their main ingredient.
Green Toys takes their philosophy very seriously. It begins with creation, and extends from assembly to packaging where they continue their recycling ethos and use 100% recyclable cardboard boxes and as little additional material as possible. And it all takes place in California.
Green Toys line include an indoor gardening set, cookware and dining set, sand play set and tea set all in a lovely mellow colour scheme of citrus and pastel berries.

http://www.greentoys.com