First Tea Collection Pima Cotton Sweaters
Who knew three Pima Cotton baby sweaters could launch a company? Emily and Leigh knew that this no fuss style would keep babies warm and stylish. For ten years, we’ve been traveling the world but still remain true to our roots with our Chinese Baby Sweater. Get your little one bundled up in style and see where the world takes this little citizen.
Every Friday we share a weekly behind-the-scenes photo taken in our offices at Tea. This could be anything – great employee outfits, our sources of inspiration, shots from our parties, or photos of us hard at work. For more sneak peeks behind the scenes at Tea click here.
Last week we mentioned we were hosting a Sample Sale for our local Tea fans. It was a wonderful success, with crowds of people showing up at T2 in San Francisco both weekends to buy clothes from past seasons.
Tea fans braved long lines with their children, starting early in the morning before doors were even open. Over a thousand people turned out over the two weekends.
We loved the opportunity to meet our local customers face-to-face, and meet all the kids that showed up:
A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped us set up and break down our Sample Sale! We couldn’t have done it without you. And thank you to our customers, who after hours of waiting in line still greeted us with a smile when they walked in the door. You are why we love doing what we do.
Every Friday we share a weekly behind-the-scenes photo taken in our offices at Tea. This could be anything – great employee outfits, our sources of inspiration, shots from our parties, or photos of us hard at work. For more sneak peeks behind the scenes at Tea click here.
Last week we hosted a Tea Sample Sale at our offices to clear out stock from previous seasons. Before we opened the doors to the masses (who were lined up around the block), I took a few shots of some girl’s and women’s clothes that were hanging on the racks. I love our Sample Sales for the opportunity to see patterns and styles from past seasons that I loved, and have forgotten about.
And there’s another Sample Sale this weekend, at our offices in San Francisco! $5 entry, with all entry fees going to the Global Fund for Children. Details are as follows:
Location: 117 Wisconsin Street, San Francisco 94107
Days: Friday August 26th, 9am – 3pm and Saturday August 27th, 9am – 1pm.
When Tea was started 9 years ago it was with a few baby sweaters. One of these is still in production and is a Tea favorite – the Kimono Robe, now in sizes 6-12 months through 12 years! In the words of Emily, our Chief Creative Officer:
“The Kimono Robe was inspired by the distinctive lapels and minimal construction of a Japanese Kimono. The pure function of this traditional garment is modern in principle – efficient use of materials and timeless, elegant styling.
This cardigan represents the values that Tea was created on - an interpretation of the beauty found in cultures around the globe. Japanese aesthetics have always been highly inspiring to us – in shapes, prints and colors. We brought it back over the last couple of years because it can be easily worn with anything, and almost any time of year (at least here in the SF climate!).
And I love that it is a bit of accessible luxury for a child’s wardrobe - cozy soft and machine washable, elevates any jeans outfit.”
We currently have the Kimono robe in Prune, Walnut, and Indigo. Summer is coming but warm layers are always needed for nights around the campfire, or on rainy afternoons!
We know how exciting it is to welcome new babies to the world. To help you get started, Tea, Skip Hop and Tiny Prints are giving away $1,200 in sweet baby essentials to one lucky winner. Enter Our “Bring Baby Home In Style” Sweepstakes today through September 28, 2010.
FROM TEA
a stylish wardrobe of modern and consummately wearable Tea clothing for you and your baby (worth $500)
FROM SKIP*HOP
ultimate mom & baby gift basket filled with cool and essential gear to get you started
(worth $500)
FROM TINY PRINTS
personalized birth announcements to make a big impression
(worth $200)
Bring your baby home in style this Fall!
Full details are available in the Official Rules.
Enter now and don’t forget to share with your friends. Good luck!
Tea Collection has re-introduced their original Eternal Layette, well-known styles and prints from Tea’s first collection in 2002.
The entire Eternal Layette collection of baby clothes is now made with exceptionally soft Pima Cotton. The Chinese sweater jacket features a distinctive piqué stitch and mother of pearl buttons. The Lotus print in pearl pink and dove gray is inspired by vintage Japanese textiles. The Lotus collection includes a footed one-piece, a wrap jacket and pant, a baby onesie, and a swaddling baby blanket. Prices range from $29 for the footed one piece to $145 for a six piece set, making the perfect gift for new babies.
Living on a large creek that is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed has made me very conscious of how my activities and choices impact the water we absolutely cannot live without. When I take my son on walks, I often pass right by the very sewage treatment plant that is used the treat the waste water from my own house before it is returned to a small stream just downstream from our house. I cannot pretend that what goes into our drains disappears and is magically replaced by pure, clean water.
I started making my own laundry soap so I would know exactly what ingredients I was dumping in my local waterways. It’s easier on our clothes, easy to make, and very affordable. Do a Google search and you will find a lot of different recipes out there, but this is the one I use because I can always find the ingredients and it is easy to remember.
Laundry Soap
1 bar Kirk’s Castile Soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
Grate the bar of castile soap to make little beads of soap. You can also use a food processor to grate the soap, but slice the bar of soap into thin strips before you put it in the processor. I’ve also heard that a salad shooter works well. Mix the soap beads with the washing soda and borax, and store in an air proof container. Use 2-4 Tablespoons a load depending on the size of the load. You can also use Oxyclean Free or any bleach-free alternative in place of the Castile Soap, and this would be a better choice if you are washing diapers. This recipe is perfume-free, dye-free, phosphate-free, and biodegradable. It is also the perfect choice if you or your child has chemical sensitivities.
For stains, I use a 50/50 mix of regular Dawn and Dr. Bronners liquid Pure Castile Soap. This works really well on oily stains. I like Biokleen’s Bac-Out for food or organic stains.
And of course, hanging your clothes to dry keeps them from fading and is generally, much easier on them and a much greener choice than drying them in a clothes dryer. I have an indoor clothes drying rack that I use in the winter, and a retractable clothes line that I use when the weather is suitable for outdoor drying.
At 3, my son loves helping with the laundry. I think getting our children involved at an early age observing and participating in our green choices will make for a greener future and a healthier planet.
As winter took one last punch at the eastern half of the US last week, we found ourselves traveling under unusual circumstances. My husband’s grandmother passed away a week short of her 101st birthday. With the funeral in Ohio and a reception in South Florida, packing proved challenging. We would be leaving our home in the Deep South for two distinct climates. I had some decisions to make regarding wardrobe; for starters, what should a baby wear to a funeral? I also struggled with how I would keep a baby with a southern winter wardrobe warm. I didn’t have to think long to come up with an answer.
Grandma was an amazing woman. Raised as an Orthodox Jew in rural Ohio, she saw her share of prejudice and hardship. She lived through the Great Depression and World War II. She saw her youngest daughter head south with her new husband, a Catholic no less, to tackle the Civil Rights Movement. That girl went on to have three sons, the last one my husband.
Through her 100 years, there was one thing her family and friends could count on. Grandma would crochet them an afghan. A woman with a sense of joy and much love, the blankets she created felt alive with her memories. She made them in all shapes and sizes, in all colors. We personally have six in our household and we love each of them. I feel overwhelmingly blessed that Annie P was able to meet Grandma and receive an afghan of her own. When we stepped out on a bleak winter day to say goodbye, Annie P wasn’t cold as she snuggled under her great grandmother’s gift.
We were fortunate to make it to Florida before the snow and got a couple of extra days down there as a result. But as the mourners returned to their homes in places up and down the east coast and the weather took a turn, they reached for their afghans. My husband’s mother and her sister received call after call from people to tell them they were finding comfort under their blankets, in more ways than one. Grandma left a legacy in her afghans, one we will hold onto for years to come.
This made me think about the things we hold dear. Some of the most prized memories of a family are woven, crocheted or sewn. The 103 year old dress Annie P wore for her baptism was first worn by my mother’s grandmother. The care we took in dressing, and undressing, her is a testament to the place the gown has in our family. After my wedding, I painstakingly preserved my dress with the notion that perhaps one day my daughter would take it out and want to wear it. Or just look at it.
Gloves, hats, quilts, tablecloths, pillow cases. Each woven heirlooms of what we’re made of, or where we come from. Sometimes when I’m dressing Annie P, I wonder which pieces of her clothing I’ll hold onto and why. Aside from aesthetics, maybe I’ll save the outfit she’s wearing when she finally walks, or her dress from the first day of kindergarten. Maybe a blouse I adore will be ruined beyond repair. So I’ll snip a small piece of it and save it in a drawer. Over time, it will become a part of a collection. Maybe I’ll turn that collection into an heirloom for Annie P And along with her afghan, I’ll keep them safe until she needs them.