Priscilla Wong
Priscilla Wong's Posts
Each month Studio T features one of our retailers. This month we chatted with Kyle from Style Child. We invite you to discover Style Child, an innovative children’s boutique nestled in sunny San Diego. Maybe you know Kyle and all of her friendly staff but we bet you didn’t know she was once a Captain in the Air Force.
Meet Kyle, owner of Style Child.
Tea: How did you decide to take the leap and open your own store?
Kyle: Style Child has been open 6 years. I was formerly an engineer for 10 years, and after having a baby, I found I gravitated to all things baby: cute clothes, toys, furniture, decor. It was a combination of needing a career change, plus my changing interests, plus a lack of children’s clothing opportunities in San Diego that led me to the idea of opening up a boutique myself.
Tea: What is your favorite part of your day at the store?
Kyle: When I do the buying! I am always so excited to find new and amazing fashions, or cool toys.
Tea: What makes your store unique?
Kyle: We like to be on the cutting edge of design and fashion and we have a sophisticated flair. We are very different from traditional baby stores. We carry hardworking pieces whether it is toys, clothing, or furniture.
Style Child's abundant Tea selection.
Tea: At Tea, we “Go There”, how do you share in that mission in your life?
Kyle: I love learning new languages and have been known to play Russian language tapes while commuting in my car! I have French and Spanish and English toys in the store. We even have German products and Canadian products, by having a global influence in your selection you guarantee an interesting and thoughtful mix of your products. It helps broaden the horizons of your customers too!
Tea: We love that you really bring the world home for your customers.
Tea: How do you balance it all? What tricks can you offer us?
Kyle: I like the Kaizen Principle. It’s about making small steps forward instead of trying to do too much all at once. And it’s about streamlining.
Tea: That is a great tip for all of us who need to keep our New Year’s resolutions.
Visit Style Child on your next trip to San Diego! Find Kyle and her team at 1070 University Avenue, J-101 San Diego, CA 92103.
Jump into our comfy boys' hoodie today!
Our cozy boys’ hoodie was named after Chester Williams who was famously dubbed ‘The Black Pearl.’ During the 1995 Rugby World Cup games, Chester was the only black player on the Springbok Team from South Africa. He became the poster boy (literally) of the end of apartheid in South Africa; his face was plastered on the sides of planes and on billboards. Many South African children idolized him which eventually helped bring an end to the racial injustice in South Africa. If you are curious about Chester and the rest of the Springboks, watch Invictus.
Nceka cloth from our South Africa inspiration trip.
On our trip to the Limpopo Region, our designers were struck by the beautiful beading and embroidery on Nceka cloths. The Nceka cloth is a traditional cloth worn over the upper body by Tsonga and Shangaan women. Oftentimes it is an indigo dyed fabric embellished with beads and safety pins by the wearer herself. Intricately embroidered Nceka cloths are saved for special occasions like weddings.
We loved the colorful and unique detail of Nceka cloths so much that we created the Mtititi Floral Tunic. You can bring home a piece of South Africa too from our girls’ tops! The over-dyed floral indigo fabric is embellished to look like the beads from traditional Nceka cloths.
Our Mtititi Floral Tunic inspired by the Nceka cloth.
Watch the Mtititi Magic video to see beading in action and learn about how Mtititi has changed the lives of women in the Limpopo Region. Video courtesy of WatchKubasa via Youtube.
It’s that time of year again to say goodbye to our cozy home we have found in destination Nordic. Thank you for all the wonderful memories, bright colors, and lessons on biking. We’ve learned a lot from our trip and hope you have too! Finland, Sweden, and Denmark have taught us to notice the beauty in everything from nature, furniture, to the stars shining in the night sky.
2012 has been a whirlwind year filled with laughter, joy, celebrations for us at Tea! We hope your year has been memorable as well. What better way to say goodbye to 2012 and welcome 2013 than with mini party hats!
Supplies for your own NYE mini party hat.
1. Download your free Mini Party Hat Printable. Print it on heavy weight paper like cardstock.
2. Cut out your mini hat template. Score the 3 lines to create slits for putting it together. It’s best to leave this task for the parents as it does require sharp scissors or an Exacto knife.
3. Now time for the fun stuff. Roll out whatever crepe paper streamers you want to use. Cut several 12 inch sections, we had about 4- 12 inch sections in varying colors.
Step 3
4. Get your safety scissors ready and start creating the fringe! Fold the streamer in half lengthwise (hot dog style). We cut 1/2 and 2/3 way up the streamer to give it a varying look. Then cut the long strand into 2 or 3 inch pieces for easy application onto the hat.
Start your fringing engines.
5. Dot the non- fringed part of the streamer with liquid glue. Then apply the strands in a desirable pattern around the hat. The more layers of fringe the better. Naturally, you’ll want to overlap the layers of fringe.
Several dots of glue will do the trick to keep your fringe from flying away.
Partially done fringing.
6. Top off your hat with something festive and a smile! Then attach your hat onto the headband or ribbon.
Happy new year!
The World Tree of Hope decorates San Francisco’s City Hall. Since 2006, the Rainbow World Fund (RWF) has encouraged individuals to inscribe wishes of peace and hope on 7,000 paper cranes that adorn a 25 foot tree. Over the years, the tree has come to symbolize hope for the future. It has evolved into a global symbol that has come to represent different cultures, sexual orientations, spiritual beliefs, and points of view. If you could wish for something, what would you wish for? Share with us on Tea’s Facebook.
What's your wish this year?
Closeup of the cranes.
Images courtesy of My Modern Met.
Learn how to make this wintery scarf.
Did you see the scarf on page 4 of our Holiday 2012 Catalog and wonder where you could find one of your own? Our prop designer created ours by shredding a rug and twisting the strips together. You can make one yourself following the steps below. We bought thick gauge acyclic yarn and used scissors to craft our own scarf.
Easiest diy scarf.
1. Unwind the yarn to desired length. Ours was around 6.5 ft to 7.5 ft long. We used the entire skein of yarn and had exercise weights as an extra set of hands. See the picture below.
We used weights to help measure the precise length of yarn.
2. Snip the yarn at half length (where the weight is positioned).
3. Divide the half into 2 even sections. Start twisting to one side. Then twist the other half to the same side (both in or both out). Then twist both previously twisted sides together. Tie a knot at the end.
Twist the halves in the same direction.
4. Repeat for the other side.
5. Twist the 2 twisted halves together and knot it at the end. Knot where you want the tassels to begin.
Our final product- a warm and cozy twisted scarf.
Look how easy it was to twist your own scarf.
*Please note that this activity should be for kids 3 years and up.
Happy twisting!
We are well into the holiday season and it’s finally time to wrap some gifts. Tired of the same old printed paper? Why not make your own? You can purchase plain brown paper or even go green and use the inside of a brown paper bag.
Reasons we liked brown wrap paper:
1) Your creativity can run wild- stamps, glitter, markers and more! You have a blank canvas to create.
2) You can personalize each gift.
3) It’s good for every occasion (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries etc)
Below are some ways we wrapped up our holiday gifts using, neon yarn, letter stamps, a brown paper bag, glittered pine cones, and of course glitter!
Who doesn't love a monogrammed present?
Why not give them a sneak peek of the gift?
A spruced up brown paper bag is an easy way to wrap a small gift.
Any budding fashionista will love the on-trend monochrome look.
Share this post with your friends. Tis the season of giving. Happy wrapping!
Here’s a fun twist to pine cones during the holidays. We thought it would be fun to add a pop of color to our cinnamon scented pine cones. It’s a guaranteed good time with your kids. Make sure your child can operate a paint brush and you are in business.
All the supplies you need for neon dipped pine cones.
It’s best to squeeze your paint onto a paper plate for easy application onto your paint brush.
Step 1: Hold the pine cone by the top branch, and apply a generous amount of paint onto your paint brush and dab the edge of the pine cone. Make sure you get an even coat as this provides for a more vibrant color. From trial and error, we learned it’s best to start working your way up from the bottom otherwise you’ll end up with neon hand prints all over your furniture.
Step 2: Let it dry overnight.
Step 3: We thought it would be fun to cut name tags from card stock. We stamped our names on them. These are great placecards for your holiday dinner party or dip a whole bunch of pine cones and display them in a glass vase. We used them around the office for some holiday pizazz. The possibilities are endless.
Our finished product!
Share this post with your friends & leave a comment if you try this activity. We’d love to hear about your experience!
Guest blogger, Alyson, shares a kid- friendly Swedish Apple Pie recipe with us.
The kids and I whipped up this quick, easy, fun dessert. Apple pie is a popular dessert in Sweden. We loved making this crust-less apple pie because the kids could pitch in. Who doesn’t love practicing your counting and getting rewarded with a sweet treat at the end? You can bet they enjoyed each bite of this dessert. Things always do taste better when you bake it yourself. Here’s how you and your kids can whip up this recipe in a pinch.
Ingredients:
4 – 5 medium apples
1 and ¼ cups sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ cup butter
1 cup flour
1 egg
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel the apples and slice them. Put them into a pie pan.
Peeling apples is a kid-friendly task.
Eric (five-and-a-half) was able to do it by himself, and Abigail (almost four) needed a little assistance. The kids loved this! (Peeling carrots is another favorite activity.)
3. Mix ¼ cup sugar and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon.
4. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples.
5. In a pan, melt the butter and then remove from the heat.
6. Add the remaining ingredients to the butter and mix.
7. Pour evenly over the apples.
8. Bake 45 minutes.
The finished product. Time to dig in.
Image courtesy of Food.com.
See the full recipe.