I am really excited to introduce today the first Australian Design In Focus business to Louisa Claire: MummaBubba Jewellery, owned by the incredibly lovely Tash.

 

Since becoming a Mum I have said goodbye to many lovely necklaces, either because one of the kids (I’m looking at you, Bear!) has broken them or because I too afraid they will be broken to wear them. Enter MummaBubba jewellery and Tash’s gorgeous range of child friendly necklaces, bangles, bracelets and pendants.

I was introduced to MummaBubba at the same time by two different women I admire and thus it sparked my interest. I now am the delighted owner of two necklaces (one I bought and one I was gifted by my lovely friend Alli when Bluey arrived) and the only reason I don’t own more is because I can’t decide which one to get next!

Today we get to go behind the scenes of MummaBubba and chat with the creater Tash…

Tell me how MummaBubba came about? What sparked the dream? When my baby was about 5 months old I would take my bangles off for her to hold while I changed her nappy. Of course the first thing she would do with the bangles was put them into her mouth. I suggested to my husband someone should make Jewellery that would be safe for babies to chew on, which he responded “That’s a silly idea”. I then researched the market and thought that I could make a contribution with my designs and ideas.

What’s your vision for MummaBubba? My vision is to take MummaBubba around the world. We have already expanded to New Zealand and we have Japan and the UK only weeks away from launching. I hope mums continue to find our products an essential part of their wardrobe.

Can you take us behind the scenes and tell us a bit about what a typical day looks like? Our  morning is usually full of chaos. I have two little girls ages 2 and 5 so by the time I drag them out of bed at 7.30am we do the usual morning routine that I’m sure every other mum has to go through.  After school drop off  I then head to our office/warehouse where I spend the rest of the day either on the phone, skype or email talking to our factory, our stockists and our customers! There never seems enough hours in the day to get everything done and I generally have to log back on at night after the girls go to bed.

What do you love most about running MummaBubba? I’m a creative person, so I find the design process of my business the most rewarding. I love playing with pantone cards and drawing up samples and ideas for our next release. The best part of all is when I see a stranger walking in a shopping centre or out and about wearing my jewellery. I still get so excited and run up to them like a crazy person.

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I am more than willing to put my hand up and say that my MummaBubba necklaces are an essential part of my wardrobe, so that’s one person you have converted on your way to global domination Tash! I have previously listed MummaBubba as one of my top buys for new mums and continue to rave about them. They are fresh, fun and durable and it’s so great to be able to add a safe accessory to the mama wardrobe each day!

Tash has offered to share the love with one lucky Louisa Claire reader so today we are giving away a necklace and bangle set of your choosing. You can enter easily via the Rafflecopter box below (note: this is the first time I have used Raffelcopter so if you have any feedback on how you like it then I’d love to hear from you!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Incoming search terms:

• mummabubba
• enter rafflecopter australian

When baby number 3 comes along it’s hard to know what you *need* to buy to add to the alredy overflowing cupboard and drawers, filled by the little ones who have already set up camp in what used to be your quiet and calm life!

To be honest when Bluey came along I didn’t think I needed anything but I ended up receiving a few fabulous gifts and I really wanted to share them with you because these five things are used/worn almost every single day and I think that’s a pretty high recommendation!

1. Hug-A-Bub I didn’t babywear my first two littlies but after a casual comment from a friend about how useful she found carrying her second I decided to give it a go. The gorgeous team from Hug-a-Bub sent me a Baby Carrier and I am simply in love! Bluey falls asleep almost as soon as I slip him into it, I feel genuinely hands free – comfortable to bend over & carry things – I can comfortably wear Bluey and carry Bear at the same time. It’s genius & I can’t believe I didn’t get one sooner!!

2. Mumma Bubba JewelleryI first heard about Mumma Bubba Jewellery through a business friend and thought it sounded like a fun and practical thing to brighten up my wardrobe. I’ve been amazed at both Bluey and Bear’s reaction to it – they both instinctively reach out to hold it, almost like it comforts them. Bear has broken several of my gorgeous necklaces over the past couple of years so I am truly thrilled to have 2 Mumma Bubba ones that are babyproofed from breakage – one I gifted myself and one was a gift from a friend (thanks Alli!) that I can, and do, wear all the time!

3. Love to Dream Wrap Possibly the most amazing invention in baby wrapping EVER! I wish these had been around when Bliss was born, she would have loved it! I’ve used several for Bear and now Bluey and I just adore them. They keep the bubs snug while allowing them good movement to settled themselves. Love, love, love! The one pictured is part of a new range they introduced for Summer, the Love to Swaddle Up LITE and I have had Bluey in it almost every single day since December!! This is a limited edition wrap that I was gifted by the Love to Dream team – if you are looking for a baby gift or have a bub on the way then the very next thing you need to do after reading this sentence is buy a wrap. Seriously, they are that awesome.

4. Aden and Anais Wrap. It may seem strange that I am talking about this product after just raving about the Baby Wrap above but bear with me. My sister gave me these when Bluey was born and I use them constantly. I don’t often wrap Bluey up in one (because of the Love to Dream swaddles) though they are a great option if the others are in the wash but the thing that is so awesome about these wraps are the size. They are HUGE! At 1.2m x 1.2m they are perfect for a pram cover, a sun shield in the car, a lite blanket on warmer nights and days, a great breastfeeding cover and the list goes on. Can’t believe I hadn’t had these for my other bubs either! All the other wraps I did have are now totally redundant.

5. Bump, Baby & Beyond Cowl Neck Nursing Top Not only do I get lots of lovely compliments when I wear this top, I cannot tell you how comfortable and practical it is. It’s great for breastfeeding, is flattering and I would wear it every day if social graces dictate that people shouldn’t really smell that bad, that often. Instead I will just be buying another one in another colour so I can alternate on a daily basis. Awesome! The Bump, Baby & Beyond store is actually full of awesome products, including this one, whichI wear on alternate days to the one pictured!

So there you go, this is my round up of 5 wonderful gifts to treat yourself to if you are an expecting or new mum, or to buy as a gift for a friend. Tell me mums, am I right or am I right??

Just to be super clear about it – I was gifted a Hug A Bub to review, a Love to Dream wrap to review and a gift voucher to spend at Bump, Baby and Beyond. I would (& have) happily spend my own dollars on all these items as well. The other items I either bought myself or received as gifts from friends and family.

What do you think of my list? Is there anything you would add??

I’m pregnant and feeling very “black”. It seems that I gravitate towards dark colours for maternity clothes, something that has been enhanced by being pregnant through winter twice now. But I’m eager for spring, especially since I got some much wear out of my fabulous Sacha Drake dress last summer… I am just itching to bring some colour back into my life.

Here’s what I’m lusting after at the moment…

I am so completely in love with this dress! I first came across Miss Mel sometime last year and have been sharing her clothes on my FB page since then. Just love, love, love it! This dress is so gorgeous – not sure if I could pull off the colour though. Thoughts?

Luna Lace Dress by Kiyonna You can find Miss Mel on Facebook too. 

Thankfully I don’t need to be non-preggers to enjoy some earring bling! I stumbled across this gorgeous shop on Facebook just last week. Some of you may have seen these before but I had to share with you again. They arrived yesterday and I’ve only taken them off to sleep – simply gorgeous & beautiful quality! (I am loving their desk clocks too – so beautiful and unique!)

You can find Ikandi Gifts and Decor on MadeIt as well as on Facebook 

Another beautiful item I can wear while preggers is this gorgeous, bright scarf! It’s the latest of my Sussan purchases & I am loving it – it goes beautifully with my earrings don’t you think?!

This Goes With That At Sussan! who are also on Facebook.

And last but not least in my colour lust are these shoes. I tried them on in New York but I resisted because I felt we’d done enough shopping at the time. Now, of course, I regret it… lucky for me I discovered that I can buy them through Amazon and with free shipping too – it’s like I’m saving money this way!

John Fluevog, Desmond – they also come in black which is also stunning but the blue just feels a bit more special. 

 

What do you think of my choices? Are there any that you would like to have in your wardrobe too?

Incoming search terms:

• australian made earrings
• bling dresses melbourne
• colourful scarf
• sussan clothing

You may have noticed an increase in the number of photos and posts about fashion and beauty from me recently. This isn’t purely an exercise in narcissism and the superficial. I prefer to think of it as a belated embracing of my body, my self and my sense of style.

I’m 31 and I want to enjoy life! For me, that means feeling good about the way I present myself. Not purely in pursuit of vanity (though to deny that a focus on external beauty is a bit vain would be, well vain) but because I am tired of buying into the idea that beauty and fashion are only for those who wear a size 10, that feeling an looking good is something I need to “hold off on” until I “lose a bit more weight”.

Bah Humbug!

It’s very convenient that this revelation has come at a time when the colours and styles in store feel very “me”.

Truth me told, I have always had a love-hate relationship with fashion. The hate part being, jumping on the bandwagon of the latest fad, the love part being finding clothes I adore that actually fit and suit me . At the moment I love what’s “in” – the colours, the styles – all of it. I know that for many the latest trends are actually just the look they’ve been wearing for years…the gorgeous boho, vintage style with the cute hair and if you can really pull it off (or need to rather), the glasses. I don’t know if I could pull it off but I really love it. And now, after years of watching trendy friends wear trendy clothes, finally, they can be found in places other than op-shops; in sizes I can wear and I’m excited!

I would never wear all these items, but I love them none-the-less!

 

The Architect said to me last week that when I first came to Melbourne nothing I wore matched – it looked like I had just put on my favourite things.

Since doing a major cull of my wardrobe last year and another one just recently, I have been gradually buying pieces that I simply love. I highly recommend it! Now, it’s so much easier to get dressed as my wardrobe is made up of clothes I love and that fit me well.

I’ve also started paying more attention to accessories have now have a growing number of fun scarves and necklaces and even earrings! Recently I’ve added some great pieces to my “collection” if it can be called that – I love them all!

1. Elk Necklace    2. Saltwater Sandals    3. Blue Illusion scarf    4.Emily Green earrings

My 20s are over, my 30s have just arrived and I’m not going to waste them worrying about what “could” be when what “is” is just so darn fantastic!

Do you like the way you dress? Do you feel fun/sexy/confident? If not, what’s holding you back?

 

Incoming search terms:

• make up stuff for girls
• makeup brushes

Last week I started writing a post about wanting a make over. I was feeling in a rut about my “look” and wondered what do to…

Then I realised something, the secret to fashion is confidence. Change it up, embrace wearing the things you want to wear and be confident. So I did, and it was great!

Simple, right?

I’ve had the same hair for years…and years…and years…so I set myself a little challenge: to wear my hair in pigtails everyday for a week. The first day it felt really strange, but after a few days it felt good, fun, normal!

It’s also helped me make a big hair decision…I’m excited.

Oh, and I’m also embracing pink lipstick.

 

What makes you feel fashionable? What would make you feel more confident about how you look?

I’m loving summer. I’ve always been a colour girl and the fact that colour is “in” at the moment is making shopping a whole lot easier for me!

Some of my favourite summer colours this year have come from the Malaysian store British India.

 

I’ve been told that the whole outfit is very Frida Kahlo and that I should take that as a compliment…not sure I’m convinced but I’ll embrace it anyway. Frida Kahlo, eat your heart out!

British India is another “must visit” for those heading to Malaysia.  Not only are they loving colour this year but they have an amazing range of classics, a great range of yoga/traveller wear and some great menswear too. A full list of locations is available on their website.

Have you embraced colour this season? What’s your favourite?

 

Incoming search terms:

• british india clothing
• british india clothing online
• british india fashion
• british india traveller clothing
• british india clothing online shopping