Truly Sanctuary

After spotting this truly adorable little man on Fab.com recently, I simply had to know more about his t-shirt.

TrulySanctuary is one of those unique and unctuous Etsy shops featuring t-shirts and one-zies for kids with “clever design motifs that will appeal to painfully hip toddlers, studiously urbane children, and assiduously influential adults.” Luckily for Truly, the clothing comes in big kid and adult sizes, too.

Co-creators Ron and Beth Remsberg named the shop after their daughter, Truly-Louise, and started at Etsy – “We only came in here cause we thought we smelled cake.” They make their creations with favorite materials “unicorn love and laser beams.” Even after their second daughter Normandy Mae was born -only 13 months younger than Truly- each inspired piece is still handmade by Ron and Beth “in their very busy home full of love.”

Who wouldn’t want something made from that?

We escaped the rat race. We don’t drive, we use our feet and bicycles. We don’t clock in for anyone. We live simply and embrace community. Love tops our to-do list. Our designs reflect us … when we connect with a customer, we connect with a like-mind.

Quirky Happiness. It was one of Beth’s aha moments that got Ron feeling better about where their lives were headed –straight for entrepreneurship. “A ridiculous snapshot of Ron wearing a giant fake mustache instantly came to mind,” they say on their site. After purchasing everything she needed, Beth carried out Operation Cheer Up Daddy. She ended up designing the first TrulySanctuary one-zie, a garment that made Ron laugh and feel loved, truly loved. It didn’t take long before the Remsbergs started making personal experiences using fashion for all of their friends, and then some.

It looks alike everyone’s taking notice, too.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

Shine On with Little Trendstar

In one of my other lives, I produced marketing campaigns for Xena: Warrior Princess, creating the much-loved, often-repeated tagline, Battle On!

And if you know anything about Xena and her passion, you know that’s exactly what she does.

That’s the thing about taglines – the good ones are shorthand for the true essence of a brand, capturing the heart as well as the imagination.

So it is with Little Trendstar®, the much-loved (especially celebrity-love!), often-talked-about children’s brand of designer clothing, created for kids and babies to Shine on!

My two little boys inspired me to start Little Trendstar® since they love the spotlight. I wanted to create tees that were worthy of their ‘look at me’ personalities!

-Nicole Worth

Demand a Second Look. Owner Nicole Worth and her team are creating t-shirts and baby one-pieces made from 100% cotton, and the look-at-me graphic designs are printed with non-toxic, water-based inks that contain no phthalates or PVC. Part style icon, part rock n’ roll and all trendy, the designs let kids capture the spotlight –as they so love to do- with fun and fashionable clothes that are as “stage-worthy as their one-of-a-kind personalities.”

What kids will do with all this attention is up to them, but making them shine while wearing our tees is us saying be a Little Trendstar®!

Made in the USA. Not only is Little Trendstar Made in the USA, so is the creative inspiration. In addition to being a mom of two boys, Nicole is co-owner of Michigan-based Formcode Design Group, which creates graphic and website design.

In April, photographer AJ Mueller and his team at Streetview Productions hand-built a stage backdrop for the Little Trendstar Spring/Summer collection photo shoot. “We added just enough star quality to really give off a rock concert vibe,” Nicole writes on her blog. The models did a fantastic job performing and letting their inner rock star shine.”

See what Gwen Stefani, Tori Spelling, Kate Hudson -their celebrity kids- and a gaggle of hip mommy bloggers are talking about! Thank you, Rachel Florio PR, for introducing me to Little Trendstar.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

Dogwood

“Trouble is my business and business is good.”

Boys’ apparel company Dogwood updates the fit and styling of graphic t-shirts for spring 2011 with a fitted and relaxed t-shirt using 100% combed cotton. Made in the USA. For the fall 2011 season, Dogwood plans soft cotton t-shirts, hoodies and jackets with cool and updated graphics, along with plaid woven shirts and skinny jeans. Sports, trucks, dinosaurs and rock ‘n roll continue to influence the line’s designs as well as humorous word phrases, such as “Trouble is my business and business is good.”

-Janet Muniz

Baby Rock Apparel

Tampa, FL-based Baby Rock Apparel, Inc. introduces a new fall collection of trendy kids t-shirts. The company adds to the line of baby clothes and gifts about twice a year and the new styles feature several music-inspired designs made from a soft tri-blend fabric as well as classic 100% cotton.

Baby Rock is also inspired by classic Hollywood with the first “Marilyn – Star” design featuring a Marilyn Monroe image on vintage white burnout 100% cotton; another is “Lessons for Life,” featuring a fist surrounded by motivating words that kids can live by, like courage, strength, power, discipline, respect and perseverance – made from 100% cotton.

“We launched these new designs on our website and within a few days we were already sold-out of most of the t-shirts,” president Kim Strayer tells HCRSourceBook, “so we’re quite pleased with the initial response from our awesome customer base.”

The new designs join Baby Rock Apparel’s best-selling trademarked collection found in over 200 stores and boutiques in the U.S., Canada and Europe and by visiting the company’s website and TrendyRemedy.com. Wholesale inquiries are welcome. Contact info@babyrockapparel.com or 813.282.3987.

-Janet Muniz

What’s a SwitchittZ?

SwitchittZ are specially made, interchangeable, embellished attachable characters and other graphic elements that kids can place right into the design of the shirt to create customized looks.

Not-quite-one-year-old Thread Adventures™ is a New York-based company dedicated to creating products that encourage creativity in the young and young at heart. This fall, Thread Adventures introduces a new interactive clothing experience with SwitchittZ tees, which give kids the power to not only choose a favorite look, but switch it up in different ways.

“It’s fun to see what kids come up with when they wear their SwitchittZ,” co-creators Angela Cosentino and Mary Wassner tell HCRSourceBook. They developed the patent pending product along with their husbands and lots of input from their young children. “To us, SwitchittZ are about endless possibilities – each one unique and each one more fun than the next.”

According to them, the SwitchittZ experience combines a cool activity with the state-of-the-art style of different themes featuring fun, colorful and super-cool graphics that serve as a backdrop for kids to make their own scene. “SwitchittZ” are specially made, interchangeable, embellished attachable characters and other graphic elements that kids can place right into the design of the shirt to create customized looks. They can collect and trade SwitchittZ and wear their favorites whenever and however they choose.

Pre-washed, pre-shrunk and made from 100% cotton, each shirt comes with four interchangeable SwitchittZ, which are also sold separately. The SwitchittZ adhere easily to the shirt’s themed design with a uniquely soft, durable hook and loop fastening system.

Designed for children ages two and older, all SwitchittZ tees come in short and long sleeve styles and are available in stores starting in October/November. Thread Adventures believes that safety comes first and has implemented a fulsome testing program as required by law, including CPSC requirements.

-Janet Muniz