Well, I had planned to hold this item back until the spring e-mail goes out to those of you on the mailing list, but it is too lovely to keep under wraps. This is one of two custom spring mobiles designed for Quiet Hours by the very talented Liane of Nature Child in Germany. Both will be posted in the shop in the next few weeks and are about as dreamy as can be. (photos: courtesy of Liane)

(detail)

I don’t know how your winter was but some of our artist friends around the country reported record snow falls and day upon day of being cooped up indoors. Those of us on the mid-Atlantic coast found ourselves with exactly the opposite type of weather: mild and wet with children pressing their faces to windows in hopes of one good snowstorm and some serious sledding. Either way, we’re now seeing early signs of spring and loving it.

To celebrate, the shop has teamed up with one of my favorite new bloggers, Michelle of KidsHaus, for a spring giveaway to treat one of your favorite kids. There are two prize packages - one geared for a boy and one geared for a girl - with entries being accepted until midnight PST on March 24th. One winner for each package will be chosen and entry instructions can be found in the post. 

While you’re there I’d urge you to browse back through some of Michelle’s posts. She’s been a real supporter of the shop and has a great eye for the unexpected, so I’m happy to introduce you all to her blog. For those KidsHaus readers who may be new to Quiet Hours, welcome! Good luck to all of you who enter. You’ll find photos of the prize packages below:

Girl’s Package: 1 cotton bunny girl from Maileg, 2 felt hair clips (different styles) from One Girlie Girl, 1 set of bunny paper dolls and one sparrow bag kit from Sparrowkids

Boy’s Package: 1 cotton bunny boy from Maileg, set of 2 bath fizzies from Daisycakes Soap, 1 wooden sports car from Spiel & Holz and 1 set of rainbow soft dough from Mary’s Softdough

When you own a shop like Quiet Hours, you find yourself spending large portions of time looking at all manner of handmade goods for children. Sometimes you find yourself becoming fixated on one person or one type of toy in particular. Such was the case when I first spotted the cozy hand-knit animals of Barbara Prime of Montreal, Canada. Our paths crossed briefly back in early 2007 when she was juggling knitting and pattern-writing with a new job as a gardener. She was busy, then I was busy, and we did not talk again for almost a year. When we did get back in touch, I was excited to learn that Barbara’s toy-making business was going so well she had decided to take the leap into a full-time venture. She kindly agreed to create some custom toys for us this spring, and I am delighted to offer you this “sneak peek” glimpse into her work. So, without further ado, here are some images from the home studio of Fuzzy Mitten (Note: These are samples and not the actual toys that will be coming to the shop. We’re leaving those designs up to Barbara.):

                  left to right, top to bottom: spring group, Curry the Dog, Professor Twiddle-Tweed the Owl, Pete the Lamb, boxed group, Wayne the Cow, Clark the Bunny, Didi & Dori the Twin Pandas, Xiao Hu the Cat, Strudel Bear, Emma Lamb, Didi Panda

Barbara describes her soft toys as “small, sweet, cute…simple on the outside but stuffed full of good things”. I couldn’t agree more. Fuzzy Mitten animals have an inherently old-fashioned charm that makes children want to sit right down and start telling stories. Every critter has a personality - be it a cape-wearing superhero bunny or a wise owl named Professor Twiddle-Tweed - and each one is crafted to be a classic that will hold its place in your child’s memory long after the latest trendy gizmo has been cast aside.

I was curious to learn more about the person behind such sweet, fanciful characters, so I asked Barbara a series of questions about her background and interest in toy-making. Since so many of you are working at your own creative endeavors, I also thought it would be inspiring to hear a bit about her path from knitting hobbyist to full-time businesswoman. I thank her kindly for the thoughtful answers below, and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

Crafting Background

My family likes to make things by hand. In the case of things like sewing and knitting, my grandma was a Home Economics teacher, so my mom and her sisters all grew up sewing most of their own clothes. I was taught how to hand sew around the age of 6, and whenever we visited my grandparents we were let loose on boxes of crafty stuff, to create to our hearts content.

I made my first soft toy - a giraffe - out of a pair of navy blue socks when I was about 9 or 10. I abandoned my sewing machine for studies in Botany during my university years, but when I started graduate studies I met some fellow students who had a monthly knitting group. Knitting really appealed to the practical side of my nature. Once I’d mastered the basic stitches, I was off and running!

A small knitted bunny was one of my early projects. A friend’s relative was having a baby, so she showed me the toy pattern and asked if I could make it for a gift. A few years later, another friend was having a baby and by this time I was a much better knitter. I found a bunch of ways to change the original bunny pattern to suit how I wanted the toy to look. Shortly after this, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, so I knitted a couple variations just for fun. Some friends saw those toys, informed me they were super cute and asked for some of their own.

A business is born

I set up a small shop on Etsy, and it didn’t take more than a few weeks for other knitters to see my toys and ask if I sold the patterns. I wasn’t sure about writing them up for others to use because I didn’t think I was knowledgeable enough. But I tried anyway! My first was a bear, then a bunny and a striped kitty. I kept having new ideas for toys, and for every new toy, knitters would ask for the patterns. Pretty soon I had over a dozen different patterns.

Making the switch to full-time

Around this time I started a full-time job as a gardener, so I could feel like I was putting my education to good work. Soon my Fuzzy Mitten business was going so well that I was faced with a difficult decision: cut down my gardening job or cut back on what I was putting into my own business.

My gardening job ended for the season last November, and so I had the next 4-5 months to dedicate to Fuzzy Mitten. So far it’s been amazing and difficult. My patterns are popular as ever, and I received several retail orders from popular shops. The difficult part has been balancing the knitting of toys with the writing of new patterns, so I can keep both types of customers happy.

I don’t know if any of this would have been possible without the support of my husband! He’s kept me going when I get insecure or frustrated, is willing to back me up on good ideas or offer constructive comments on the more crazy ideas. He also did a major part of the work in putting together a book of my patterns. Of course, he is also the one to come up with the sillier names for the toys!

Why plush toys?

As a toy-maker, I have relatively few other toys around. I don’t collect plush, although I often covet certain “cuties” created by other toy-makers. Art and being creative have always been a large part of my life. Even though I mostly studied painting, I’ve always felt sculpture was a true expression of my need to create. In a way, I think of my animals more as sculptures than toys. But I’m also a practical person, and the fact that they are cute and cuddly appeals to that side of my nature.

What inspires you?

When it comes to toys, sometimes it’s simply the yarn. I can see a particular animal and outfit form in the colour and texture of the fibre. Other times, I’m inspired by a character in a story. Sometimes they have names before I even pick up the yarn. For me, each one I make is an individual. The ones with the most character are hard to part with because they feel more like pets than toys - as crazy as that sounds!

As for other aspects of my life, I still adore sewing, and try to incorporate it into my work in small ways. My other love is reading, and I alternately devour fantasy novels and classic fiction. Fantasy is pure entertainment; classics are for brain stimulation. (Favorite authors: Tolkien, Tad Williams, Terry Pratchett, Patricia McKillip for fantasy; Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood for more intellectual reading.)

Thanks, Barbara!

We anticipate having some original Fuzzy Mitten creations ready for the shop in late April or early May. You can either check back then or send an e-mail if you’d like to be notified of their arrival.

Photos of the toys are courtesy of Barbara. Photo of Barbara is courtesy of her husband.

Update: Barbara shipped us 8 one-of-a-kind animals in early April. They will be posted as soon as they navigate the Canadian/US border crossing and make their way here.

I’d like to extend a warm thanks to the editors of Canadian Family magazine for including Ana Paula Rimoli’s Lucia doll in their Winter 2008 issue.

As many of you know, Ana Paula is the prolific creator of some of Quiet Hours’ best-loved pieces: Happy Eggs, Cozy Food, Florabelle Bear, Marco the Pirate, and Lucia of the long flowing locks and jaunty fashion sense.

Ana recently returned from a month in her native Uruguay and is back at work crocheting up all sorts of amigurumi characters, including some new Lucia dolls for the shop. Just in are some classic Lucias in red plus a special one-of-a-kind edition in green and pink. She’s perfect for Valentine’s Day.

For those of you who might like a more in-depth look at Ana’s process and philosophy, you can look forward with us to the pending release of her first book  Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet at the end of the month. It will be a visual feast of her original softie creations plus patterns for all you crafty types who might like to attempt a project of your own. The book is currently available for pre-order and is expected in stores on February 28th. Congratulations, Ana!

 I had expected to greet the new year on a quiet note, but the mailing-list member “thank you” sale has been a tremendous success and will be humming along until January 6th. I find myself surrounded by packages and toys as if it were Christmas still… The holidays seem to have remained a bit longer than usual.

As much as the engines of commerce are already gearing up for Valentine’s Day - new catalogs coming in the mail, heart-shaped boxes of candy appearing on the shelves of the local grocery store -  I’d like to give us a respite from the relentlessness of it all and hold off debuting Quiet Hours’ seasonal offerings for another week or so.

There are, however, some small sweet indulgences in store. The photo above is a peek at one of the new pieces by Denise Mollison that will be on offer. We missed Denise and her singular Sock Kid creations over the holidays. She was able to send a few dolls back in the fall but if you blinked, they were gone before you knew it.

I’m happy to report that she is back and brimming with ideas - one of which is a new creation she designed in collaboration with her children: a Matryoshka Sock Doll. These girls are about as endearing as they come, made in all kinds of colorful combinations, including some adorable Japanese kawaii fabric from Denise’s latest cache. We’ll be seeing the first batch, along with a fresh group of Sock Kids, next week. More will follow in spring.

Sarah at Diddle Dumpling is also back from a short break and is busy sewing up a brand new style baby shoe just for us. There will be vintage Valentine packs, felt kits from England, and other treats to follow as we head into a year of fresh collaborations.

As we enter this final week before the Christmas holiday, I’d like to extend my warmest wishes to you and your families. Thank you all for giving Quiet Hours such a wonderful welcome during our first year on the web. Thank you to those who have been here from the beginning; thank you to those who have told your friends and family about us; thank you to the many bloggers who have mentioned the shop in your posts and gift guides (design bloggers, crafty mom bloggers, toy stalking bloggers - What a great, inspiring group of people you are. I wish I could send a Holzkram house to each of you.), and thank you to the fantastic magazine editors who scour the web looking for good things and found their way to our door.

It’s been a pleasure bringing a little magic and fun to the children in your lives, and I’m looking forward to sharing new discoveries with you in 2008.

As a token of appreciation, many items on the site will be discounted starting at the end of the month, so please stop back and have a look around. There will be an additional 15% discount on all in-stock pieces for members of our mailing list, so if you join up from now until then I’ll be happy to pass along the coupon code. 

The discount period runs from 12/27/07 - 1/6/08.

Peace and joy. 

The editors over at Ohdeedoh (Apartment Therapy: Nursery’s new moniker) are celebrating the season, and invited Quiet Hours to join in their month of festive giveaways. I’m happy to oblige as they work hard all year bringing us the best of new child-centric product design, sneak peeks at real nurseries and children’s rooms, information, tips and some serious eye candy.

The QH bag of holiday cheer will be posted Tuesday, December 11th and will include: Cotton & Cloud’s London Bus Tote, a set of Cheryl A Smith’s “Strange Bedfellows” felt finger puppets, a family of lions by Georgian Wood Toys and the winner’s choice of either an Oswald or Florabelle amigurumi plush bear by Ana Paula Rimoli. 

This is one of those pack-and-go sets that make for absorbing entertainment just about anywhere. It can be stowed in the car, toted off to a relative’s house, or stashed away in a grandparents’ closet until the kids come for a visit.  

If the thought of setting foot in one more store or mall makes you want to cower in the corner, head on over to the blog tomorrow and enter to win. Free presents are always a good idea.

Ginger at Golly G Designs has stitched up two new seasonal Soft ABC Block Sets in time for the holidays. You may now choose from the original Garden theme, a new Woodland theme (complete with a squirrel, hedgehog and grinning acorn) or a Shore theme (fish, whale, coral, jellyfish), for those of you who prefer life amongst the sand and waves.

In the spirit of the season - and as a pre-holiday “thank you” to all of you lovely moms (and dads) who continue to support the shop - Quiet Hours is sponsoring a few holiday giveaways with two of our favorite mom bloggers.

Coming up the week of November 26th, Marcie at Adopt Two Boys will be giving away our Mini Holy Family Nativity Set by Ostheimer. Marcie is the originator of the Lead-Free Toy List, compiled as a resource for parents who are looking for alternatives to mass-produced plastics. Updated daily, there are links to shops that many of us know and love, as well as a few new secret sources to add to your gift-buying list. Marcie is one serious mama when it comes to raising awareness about safer and “greener” choices for our children, so it was a pleasure to join in her month-long round of giveaway generosity.  

I know many of you are Ostheimer fans and collectors, so this set seemed the perfect piece to celebrate the beginning of the Advent season. Its compact size makes it a good choice for a bedside table display, and also fulfills all those childish cravings for things tiny and portable. If you’d like to try your hand at winning, head over to the blog from November 28th-30th and follow the instructions for entering the contest.

Come December 6th, I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Gabrielle Blair (designer/art director, mother of 5 and blogger extraordinaire) of Design Mom. Her blog is a great mix of unusual finds, how-to advice and inspiring ideas for making family life a bit more artful.  I should also mention that her giveaways are some of the most coveted in the blogosphere. This coming week kicks off her Holiday Giveaway season with up to 4 different giveaways per day (or enough goodies to bring some festive cheer to every member of the family).

Quiet Hours will be joining in on December 6th with a play food extravaganza fit for any aspiring junior chef. There will be a whole starter-kitchen package that includes: 2 enamel 4-piece dish sets, 1 crocheted market bag from the Rurapuk Mothers filled with a selection of HABA wooden fruits and vegetables, 1 set of knit cupcakes from Yellow Label Kids, 1 picnic set from Lilly Bean Play Food and one tiny 9″ wooden stove from Maileg complete with miniature pots, kettle and a “fresh” baguette from the oven.

If you are still looking for holiday gifts for the favorite little person in your life, I hope you’ll head over to one or both of these blogs and join in the fun. Good luck!

Update 12/7/07: Congratulations to Stephanie who won the mini Nativity set from Adopt Two Boys’ giveaway! Also, a BIG thank you to Gabrielle over at Design Mom for the fantastic post on the shop she included with the QH giveaway information. Readers have until midnight December 10th to post a comment for the random drawing.

Since all this gift-giving is just plain fun, there will be one more surprise giveaway over at Apartment Therapy: Nursery on December 11th. More information will be posted once details are finalized.

For everyone who has called or written looking for an update on our Holzkram pieces, here is an official post just for you:

Many of you have noticed that the Little House is currently on backorder and that the Cottage, Farmhouse and Farmhouse with Stable are listed as “sold out”. In fact, there was a good supply of Cottages and Farmhouses in stock, but some savvy parents swooped in early and bought them up over a 2-week period. I do not anticipate further shipments of the Cottage, the Farmhouse or the Dollhouse (see above) we had hoped for until 2008. 

I am expecting a shipment of Little Houses to arrive around the end of November. That said, the response to its feature in Mothering magazine’s “Best Toys of 2007 Guide” has been enormous, and, sadly, there will not be a large enough supply to accommodate everyone on the lengthy waiting list. I will be e-mailing all those who have contacted me at the same time so everyone has equal opportunity to purchase a piece for the holidays. 

As mentioned in a previous post, Holzkram is becoming increasingly popular but remains a small firm. While our friends there have been working hard to supply us with their wonderful pieces, priority is understandably given to retailers in Germany and Europe that have been with them from the beginning. The demand from our one little shop in the US has grown tremendously over the past month alone, and both Holzkram and I are sorry to have to turn any of you away. We greatly appreciate your interest and continued support.

As of this writing, the Castle Set is still available. There is a waiting list for any piece that is sold out. If you would like to be notified when your favorite toy is back in stock, please e-mail me at info@quiethourstoys.com. I will be happy to let you know when it returns to our virtual shelves. Those on the list will also be the first to hear about any surprise last-minute shipments. 

March 2008 update:  We have not forgotten about those of you on the waiting list! Holzkram is working at increasing production to try to meet the high demand in the US. There is a possibility that we may see some Little Houses in the spring of 2008, but we may very well have to wait for a container shipment of the larger items (farmhouses, dollhouse, cottage) to arrive later in the year. I will notify everyone on the list as soon as I have something definitive to report. Thanks for hanging in there!