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.
Download your A Call for Compassion Activity Book Page.
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.
The holiday season brought in some of our best submissions yet. Winter break was a great time for little citizens to draw and create in their activity books. We had a hard time picking just one winner. But, without further ado….
Congrats to Olivia, age 7, who won December’s Activity Book Contest! We thought her viking was fierce and we absolutely loved the texture she created in the beard. Great job Olivia!
Thank you everyone for entering and be sure to submit a new picture for January’s contest! A new year means a new book with new activity book pages.
Browse all the entries and honorable mentions on our Flickr page.
Interested in entering the contest for next month? Take a picture of your child’s completed activity book picture and send it to us at blog@teacollection.com with “Activity Book Entry” in the subject line. We pick one winner each month to receive a $100 Tea gift certificate.
Download all of our activity book pages by visiting our activity printouts blog tag.
The photos above are from our children’s clothes designers’ cameras. Whenever they travel abroad for inspiration, they take many, many photos which they later use to reflect upon when developing patterns and graphics for each collection. The two outfits are available for sale now. Check out girls new arrivals and boys new arrivals at www.teacollection.com.
Springtime finds us in the land where 11 official languages mingle and where the spirit of ubuntu thrives. Ubuntu means “I am what I am because of who we all are.” For us, it’s about respect, compassion and community- and also about prints, patterns, beans and embroidery.
Share with us below, have you ever traveled to South Africa? What’s your favorite part about our new destination?