BUXTONbaby - having a hoot!

Our blog has moved!

2011-07-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

Our Blog has moved! Now find our natural and organic baby, pregnancy, child and living blog here.

Thanks so much for following our journey..

Easter has arrived!

2011-04-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to be offering a unique selection of special Easter gifts this year that will far outlast the odd bit of chocolate and create a lasting memory of Easter 2011 for the little ones. Head to the store to check out this sustainable Easter gift selection.

The Easter range includes wooden bunny toys, organic bunny teether blankets and the gorgeous Pikelet Workshop Easter Bunny Poppets, Paul & Paula Special Edition Easter Pants and one of a kind Easter artwork that will brighten any room all year round.

We have received so much interest in the Pikelet Workshop Easter Bunny Poppets that we wanted to be sure we had thought about a fair way to release them. After much discussion among the team we have decided to release a Bunny Poppet for sale every night at 8pm until we have exhausted our stock. The first bunny will appear tomorrow night. From time to time we will post a poll over at the Buxton Baby Facebook page to choose the next Bunny Poppet for offer. Of course, you can meet the majority of the Poppets by looking in our 'Meet the Bunny Poppets' album.

Customers will then rely on luck each evening as to who can add the Bunny to their cart and checkout first. By spreading the sales over a number of evenings it gives everyone a chance – if your baby or child has an unsettled night or you are busy on Wednesdays for example – there will be several days and chances to snap up one of these beautiful creations. You also have a chance to get several bunnies in this way. Of course if you secure more than one bunny, we can post them together and will refund your postage for the additional sale. We will announce and preview the Bunny Poppet of each day between 8-9am on the same day that it is to be sold. That means the name of first Bunny Poppet for sale will be announced on the 3rd April 2011 at 8-9am and will be available for purchase at 8pm in the evening.

If you are trying to snap up a Bunny Poppets, here is our best advice:

Sign up for an account at Buxton Baby - this makes the process of checkout quicker as your details are already stored
Watch the Buxton Baby Facebook page from 8-9am for the announcement of which bunny will be sold that evening on our site
Sign into your account at Buxton Baby a little before 8pm (click ‘My Account’ top right hand corner underneath your cart value – see screenshot below)

Click 'My Account' Under Your Shopping Bag Contents List

Watch your clock and be ready for the Bunny Poppet to lose it's 'Out of Stock' note and thus become available for purchase!

Any questions? Leave your comments below, email us or use our contact form.

We wish our customers, family and friends a very safe and happy Easter.

The buzzword or the bare facts?

2011-03-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

We often receive calls and emails from companies and people marketing their product to us. Sometimes we turn away from big name brands – even if they look pretty, and surprisingly enough even sometimes when products sound authentically eco!

The reason is that our eco baby and parenting store aims to bring real eco to real people. It’s not right to inflate pricing, organic just doesn’t cost that much more to access and produce in today’s market. Eco options are price accessible and so they should be, accessible to the majority. If we find a great product has hit the supermarket shelves we will tell you so - like Ecostore which is available through Woolworths at prices far lower than we can stock it. We say, great! It has been fantastic to see the community slowly pick up on options that are gentler on the environment and for those options to be popular enough that they can succeed in the broader population. Lately we have been hearing a lot about Nature Direct products which appear to be an even safer, gentler household cleaning option at the early stages of our reviewing them. Get back to you on that one.

We’re not searching our supplier catalogues for anything with the organic buzzword flashed all over it. Nor do we feel that we have to take on every product in a range if we feel that something can be more effectively replicated elsewhere, more locally or is a product that is unnecessary. Instead we’re finding new products by talking to other parents, reading ingredients lists and searching forums for real results. We’re talking to our international contacts about what is new in their area. We’re thinking about what represents value. We are using our own experiences as parents and health professionals to inform us.

When we’re finding new stock it really matters to us what you think, what you need and what your ideas might be. If there is something missing, let us know. If you find a better price elsewhere, remember to check our pricing policy – we will try to match it. In the meantime enjoy our range and remember to follow us on Facebook for new product updates.

Eco bag? Think again.

2011-03-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

Something has been bugging us for a while and we can’t get this out of our heads. We’ve headed here to our blog to get it out of our system. The truth is that the reusable bags you find at your local shopping centre are replacing a bad idea with a bad solution!

Like the arguable majority of Australians we thought it was fantastic to see plastic bags phased out of shopping centres and to see the community at large consider and learn about their impact as consumers. Yet – have plastic bags been phased out? The vast majority of so-called ‘green’ bags are 100% polypropylene – nothing more than plastic! It also didn’t take us long to discover that these polypropylene bags stink. There have been studies about them containing lead or being bacteria harboured (erk!). Then there are the very popular polyester fabric versions. The case for a better solution seems fairly strong.

We for one family have been very happy campers since the purchase of our BANG consortium eco reusable shopping bag. By choosing a natural fibre we can be more sure that in the long term we are not adding to landfill. We are not only loving our BANG bags because of the eco qualities either; it’s just so nice to fill a bag up and not be in the least bit concerned about it breaking, ripping or having the bottom fall out of it.

BANG Bags - Sturdy Natural Fibres

Compact is one thing that the BANG bag is not. We understand that a lot of what draws people to the ‘compact’ options for reusable bags is the portability – the fact that many of these bag-in-a-bag solutions sit in your handbag permanently to be whipped out whenever necessary. We just can’t help but continue to feel unsettled about the fact that we could doing a lot better, that there are more appropriate solutions and alternatives. We realise that the concept and enthusiasm for replacing plastic bags has been a step forward – but why not step into the next century and adopt a genuine solution. If you really for whatever reason can’t do a biodegradable reusable bag like the BANG, why not lean toward rPET solutions like those offered by our friends at Onya? You might well see these hit our store in the very near future.

A possible option?

As usual we are certainly less than perfect and are so embarrassed when we hit the checkout to realise that we haven’t bought bags with us that Pippa often feels some need to announce to the checkout assistant and all that stand behind us that we will do our best to establish some routine or system of reminder that ensures such a thing doesn’t happen again. Often met by looks of confusion[?] from those who hadn’t brought bags in the first place. We’re looking for some great ideas to help us remember our bags and if you see us in the supermarket without them do introduce yourself and then chastise us, it might help a little ;). We will ask this question on our Facebook page so look out there for some answers.

It is simply not ‘enviro’ in our opinion to produce a sack that is not made from natural fibres and market it as a fully eco option, even including the good old buzzwords in your marketing - it does not seem ethical. We want to see the main offending companies take their eco suggestion more seriously and at least introduce some washable rPET options ASAP. Send some over for us to review while you are at it ;).

Another fabulous option is certainly to make your own fashionable bag; [preferably from up cycled fabric of course] and if you want and have time to do so here is a handy reusable bag pattern link and equally great how-to video. If you do make your own, please take a little time to post a link to your creations here, or even your own favourite pattern link – might also motivate others to get sewing!

Good Onya, Mate.

2011-02-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

There are lots of great things happening here at BuxtonBaby HQ; some really exciting stuff. I am seriously having trouble sleeping with excitement over what is to come this month. I'm hoping if I share some enthusiasm it might help prevent my head exploding ;).

One of the great things is our welcome of H2Onya Stainless Steel Bottles. We have always loved a great stainless steel bottle for both ourselves and the kids, and have been stocking the famous Klean Kanteen brand for a few years now. There were Australian products that we attempted to love, but just didn't. We are all for supporting Aussie companies as long as the product is quality and works for our customers and we couldn't find an Aussie owned equivalent to the trusted KK that met those values.. until now. Today we are embracing H2Onya with open arms and giving them our stamp of approval.

Like Klean Kanteen their bottles are food grade 304 stainless steel, removing concerns about aluminium for water storage and ensuring that they don’t leach, stain or retain. They have no inner lining that can peel away or be suspected of containing harmful chemicals.

Their wide mouth allows ice cubes and they are compatible with a vast array of lids that are interchangeable between bottle sizes. This includes the fantastic ‘sippy’ lid option that is compatible with Avent spouts. Many users of stainless bottles are familiar with the green Avent spout that is included with the 350ml Onya bottle; you should know that the yellow ‘sports’ spout with stronger water flow also fits these lids. This yellow spout is recommended from 18 months; we used it for our first child from around 12 months. The awesome thing about all of the Avent spouts, is that they are non-spill – tip them upside down and shake them about, you might get the tiniest of few drops if anything. The cheapest option for spouts is to find them at your local supermarket or department store - often on sale.

6-12 month Avent Spout (One Spout included with Onya 350ml Bottle Purchase)

18mth+ Avent 'Sports' Spout

Having shared the reasons we think Onya are on par with our old favourite brand - let me now give you a few reasons that they are better. After all, our store is committed to finding the best options on the market for our savvy eco parents. Then of course, we are also committed to telling you about our real experiences of them in real language.

A few views of the H2Onya 350ml Stainless Steel Sippy Cup w/ Packaging.

Onya bottles have fantastic packing, a reusable cardboard cylinder that is great for protection in the post. This cylinder has that many craft uses we were almost as excited about receiving it as we were its contents. There are a few crafty suggestions to start you off on the accompanying brochure. We also love the soft curve of the bottle shape, very easy for little hands to grasp and aesthetically pleasing. There is one setback as we can see it, the colour range [stainless, pink, or blue] is not as extensive as others may offer [for now]. However that is a fair trade in my eyes, colour does not affect quality or functionality or the one you really want hear about.. price. The 350ml Onya stainless steel sippy bottle is priced at a very reasonable $15.95!

It feels so good to be making a move that sits more comfortably with our ethic of supporting Australian business without compromising on any level. We are sure that you will be equally happy to make this positive move with us.

Want to try this bottle for free? We are ''sharing our love' for the Onya range of bottles by running a Valentine's Day competition on our Buxton Baby facebook page until Feb 14th, 2011 to win an H2Onya 350ml Stainless Steel Sippy Bottle.

What’s in a name?

2011-01-21T00:12:00.000-08:00

My frustration continues at products splashing the words ‘enviro’ ‘eco’ ‘earth’ and ‘organic’ about with complete misrepresentation of what they are selling. Perhaps consumers need to step up and make these companies accountable through their wallets. I’m putting my buying power where eco is just a little more genuine.

I am certainly not suggesting that we are perfect, or that every product in our eco parenting store or home is completely without fault or flaw in terms of its eco credentials. However I do think it is wrong to market a synthetic product as eco simply because you can use it more than once. Or suggesting that plastic is somehow eco after adding the words ‘BPA Free’.

Something that I take for granted these days is also that people are aware of the implications of carbon mileage on the ‘eco’ status of a good. In short this one aspect to be considered when buying with consideration for the environment - the environmental impact of the distance a product must travel to reach us.

This consideration certainly applies to lots of stock that we carry, because not all items are available in Australia, or yet to the same quality standards. For that reason we do stock product from all over the world. Should you see a foreign product in our store that you know is available in Australia, or Australian owned or designed and of the same quality and performance we genuinely hope that you will contact us and let us know.

Back on deck after a blogger hiatus

2010-06-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

It has sure been a while and despite the quiet front on our blog page, the cogs are moving nicely in the background of our real world. Particularly the past few weeks have been extremely eventful for us at BUXTONbaby; with the launch of our new extremely functional webstore and the addition of a few new products. Most notably the addition of Klean Kanteen stocks, with our all-time favourite stainless steel sippy cup and of course the full range of their products for the whole family. Keep your eyes out for a blog post dedicated to Klean Kanteen in the near future.

We are also very excited to be adding a selection of certified organic beeswax candles to our range, made in Australia as a small scale production and available soon to our customers. We burn beeswax candles for their delightful and subtle natural scent and fantastic ability to absorb odours without releasing harmful chemicals or pesticides. Organic beeswax is a most pure option and we believe that the qualities of this clean type of candle make them an ideal choice for parents and family spaces. We are confident you will love them as much as we do.

The creative hub has been somewhat quiet as I have been hiding away growing our family. Things have finally settled to a point where creativity can be given due pride of place in our home again. I have enjoyed a relaxing and productive long weekend, visiting and staying with family, enjoying quality time with my darlings, and sewing some special custom garments for a winter take on a BUXTONbaby favourite garment! You can check for pics on our facebook page sometime soon. Can’t say how much I love being at the machine creating. In winter it feels particularly special, machine humming and toastie warm inside while looking out at a frosted paddock.

P.S. Are you a Geelong and region local who would like to share your high quality craft on a more broad scale? Please contact us as we are very interested in having more local product on offer.

Whats your beef?

2010-03-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Saturday, we are finally enjoying a weekend without any plans - our first in so long - and have enjoyed a delightful morning together as a family visiting our local farmers market.

I thought I would pop back to post here on our return to blog about a new revelation; who knows why it is that this has taken us so long to discover. Readers might recall our mention of beef in one of our positive change at the checkout posts. We mentioned our efforts to find Australian hormone free beef and at the time we were, and have been since, enjoying King Island beef from our local butcher.

Today we are thrilled to share our finding Otway Prime beef; a more local and thus more sustainable source of beef for our Geelong family and yours. This beef is grown hormone free, GM free, free range and farmed with sustainable farming practices - and a reasonable pricing from ~$16.50/kg. Local area delivery is free and the meat is cryovac packed prior to reaching your doorstep. It turns out this meat has been available through Deans Marsh and Birregurra general stores, McGains Angelsea and Lorne Greens; and of course at our regional markets in Torquay, Aireys, Bannockburn and Newtown where we found them.

If you were one of the few hiding under a rock like our family, without knowing of Otway Prime, we hope you can now taste and enjoy this quality local beef.

Happy weekend days...

positive change at the checkout 2

2010-03-03T19:39:00.000-08:00

the bottom end

Let’s talk toilet paper. Might seem an odd topic, but this is serious. With the average person using 20-40'000 sheets a year, there is a great potential to make a difference here. We have used recycled toilet paper for many years now. It seems like a simple way to make small difference. We didn’t understand why people we knew weren’t making this most basic change. Why? Our family or friends responded that the paper was scratchy or not thick like other less eco-friendly brands. Perhaps this was a concession we made without really noticing.

The penny dropped recently when I noticed this product: Envirosoft [Woollies/Safeway $5.99/8 Pack]. As well as the [obvious?] factors of no chlorine bleaching, no added inks or fragrances, 100% recycled content, it was marketed with 3-ply as a feature. Weren’t all toilet papers 3 ply, I asked myself? Sure enough when I compared it to the other recycled options they were 2-ply, and this was a more quilted paper that met its claim of a ‘luxury’ feel. Moreover this stuff is Aus owned and Aus made. We put it to the test and were impressed. All of this and the price is competitive. Even our sceptical family members are now making the switch to recycled loo paper and if you aren’t – it might be worth taking a look at this options and thinking twice.

envirosoft: more cush for your tush

postive change at the checkout (a series)

2010-03-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

super | keen /kwɨˈnoʊ.ə/

As promised in my last post I wanted to start sharing with you some items that have hit our local supermarket shelves. Our family endeavours to support local and small business where possible, yet we are also happy to see organic and more environmentally friendly, natural, hormone or chemical free options being made available to the public broad-spectrum.

Macro Red/Royale/Black Quinoa

The quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) cooks like brown rice and can be cooked in a rice cooker. Simply add 1 cup of water for every cup of grain (1:1 ratio). It comes in 3 different colours (red, black, cream) and has a very neutral flavour and an interesting, lightly crunchy texture – definitely not sticky or heavy like rice. This is a superfood, it is a complete protein and is also low GI [~53) and double the protein of rice. It is being considered by NASA as a new crop for the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS).

royale quinoa: cooked sitting beside uncooked

royale quinoa: cooked close-up - the curly tails are a sign that they are ready

We are using it for soup, stew, stir-fry, cereal and salads. Link to a great Red Quinoa stirfry recipe here and a quick + easy Quinoa breakfast idea here. Please share your own inspirations for cooking and eating this awesome grain available now in your standard supermarket.

I’m trying to keep to topic but we’ll at least give a general shout-out to a few honourable mentions:

Woollies for stocking the Ecostore brand as well as its recent addition to the meat department of a free range roasted chook. Not organic but better than what was previously on offer as a pre-cooked chook!

Town & Quality Country Meats Waurn Ponds are stocking King Island Beef Roasts at around $13/kilo; they will also cube the meat and trim the fat for you, giving you both back afterward. Service is with a smile, and they also stock Otway Pork including Otway Pork bacon. With organic beef at the $36/kilo mark it is not accessible for some, the King Island beef is a most reasonably priced alternative that is free from the commonly used hormone growth promotants that are used in most other Australia beef; these are the hormones that are banned in Europe and prevent Australian beef from being exported there. King Island beef is also free from antibiotics and the cattle graze on natural pastures that are GM free.

Until next time..

where are we [going]

2010-02-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Ok. Here we are its 2010 and a long long time since my last post. Things at BUXTONbaby are taking off (hoot hoot) with a load of new products hitting the store, my own creations edging closer and closer to launch and my head is in a real spin. I have been thinking that perhaps getting back to this blog will be a welcome and calming outlet for my busy mind to unwind.

When I walked through the aisles of the supermarket on my own yesterday for the first time in recent memory since my precious son was born, it seemed like a very quiet place. It dawned on me that there were a load of new products on the shelves since the last time I could realllly wander around the aisles and take a good look. Maybe other people feel this way, I thought, unaware of something handy or yummy + natural and new. I know not everyone cares to walk around aisles looking for the latest thing on the shelf, and many don’t care for the supermarket at all.

Since I want my blog not only to be about my store but about useful things that might offer inspiration to others, I decided that this week I would be your personal field shopper ;) and share a few of the products that have hit the local supermarket shelves over the past year that we are loving: of course with a focus on organic, natural and/or sustainable produce. Stay tuned!

I also decided that every now and then I will choose a favourite shade of thread and share it with my sewist readers that might find it handy especially when ordering online. I don’t pick my thread shades by project as there is just too many on the cutting table to run back and forth to the store adding thread. Over time I have moved toward buying a selection of handy favourite threads that have seemed to match with a huge variety of projects. Of course we are making the change to organic thread now with a limited colour range, I will still use coloured thread for decorative and top stitching when required until a more sustainable coloured option is available.

Then from time to time I will share exciting snippets of up and coming creations from the cutting table, from special edition auctions for charity to new product and style launches. Our own organic fabric line, a new Australian made + owned organic bath and body range and the possibility of some in-real-life stockists of our creations are all possibilities to look forward to for us in 2010.

Welcome back to BUXTONbaby in 2010, thanks ever so much for following with us on our journey in business and in life.

Blessings to you and yours.

Pip B.

janome walking foot tutorial

2010-02-02T02:49:00.000-08:00

A while back I started playing with my Janome Walking Foot (also known as an Even Feed Foot). I’m loving this foot and using it for a load of general sewing. It is more traditionally a quilting foot but awesome for denim, minkee and any multi-layer project.

The foot has feed dogs for the upper layer of your fabric that work in unison with the feed dogs of your machine on the lower layer. This pretty much guarantees that you won’t let you fabrics slip or shift or pucker your fabric and helps ensure straight sewing. Alright, not guaranteed when you look away at your 1 year old when he calls and you are sewing a curve... but almost ;)

One thing I do remember is that the week I got the foot, I was pretty nervous about attaching it to my new baby – the Janome DC4030 (or otherwise known as the less crazy looking, more pink version of the Threadbanger TB-30 in the U.S). One of the only places I could find info when I was stuck was at Liesl’s blog Hoppo Bumpo – thanks L. I could also find replacement Janome instructions [small poor quality sketches] here.

Here goes, I have a little tutorial to share that might help put 2 and 2 together and give some confidence for a properly installed well functioning Walking Foot.

Installing your Janome Walking Foot:

Step 1. Take your starting positions!

Step 2. Get set.... pause a moment to notice this big bolt, a key component in changing from regular presser feet to your Walking Foot. Press the red release button at rear of foot to release and then remove any presser feet currently fitted (this was my ¼” foot w/ flange guide [lovely!]).

Step 3. Go! Loosen off the big bolt with supplied flat head screwdriver. I then find it easier to do the last few turns by hand so that the bolt ends up in my hands rather than falling on the table with potential to roll away. You are going to need this in a second, so keep handy.

Step 4. This is the result you are after. Naked! Note the little hole as you will need to line this up with your walking foot parts.

Step 5. Slide the walking foot to be hugging the naked pole, you need to have nimble fingers and lift the white bar over your needle tightening screw. This is layperson terms to make things easier and very technical speak ;)

Step 6. Use the nimble fingers you found in the previous step to place the bolt back into the empty hole, lining up the metal bars either side of the hole/bolt. Then tighten up the last few turns with the screwdriver for a nice firm fit and you are finished. Go make happy stitches!

eco stationery sneakpeak

2009-10-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

Can’t help myself but share the exciting arrival of our new stationary from Little Design Farm... here’s a sneak peak. We love the texture of our 100% recycled paper, uncoated business card - printed with soy and vegetable inks of course! Hope you will love it too.

fulfilment on so many levels

2009-06-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

Happy as a pig in mud I made my way through the past month with renewed vigour and extra vitality. It may have started when Denyse Schmidt's County Fair went on sale.. when was that? Just the late night energy injection every fabric hoarder, seamstress and creative shop owner needed, I have seemed to spring to my feet.

This is indeed a good thing as we have seen a busy few weeks. In the creative hub of the house [sewing room? so limited a title] - a beautiful new machine has taken pride of place.

As my little man and I dance our way through the mornings, waiting for Daddy just doesn't seem to take as long and once we are all together there is a beautiful feeling that all is right with the world.

Pip B.

birthdays chooks and domestic bliss

2009-05-24T01:21:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful week! Earlier in the week we welcomed 6 additions to the family. These stunning Buff Sussex hens are settling in to their new home in our yard. Having built their 'dome' coop from scrap and located organic chook feed to supplement their permaculture diet, we felt greatly satisfied to see them finally arrive.

Our beautiful son celebrated his very first birthday, with an intimate gathering including most of the immediate family and closest friends. For a little man he sure seemed to understand that all the fuss was all about him. It was a joyous weekend.

The weather was fine enough that I was able to wear a newly sewn skirt, box-pleated in a favourite and gorgeous Amy Butler print (Lotus Morning Glory, Coral Colourway) with a co-ordinating yoke. I certainly did feel that after baking, sewing and feeding guests, I was enjoying a peaceful domestic bliss.

Blessings to all and may you share birthdays with loved ones, appreciate chooks and value domestic bliss.

XO Pip.