Kotori Kits

2010-03-03T04:51:00.000-08:00

Mother's Day. It's coming. So how's about a home-made present? I think one of our pincushions or a needle case would be perfect. As far as unusual mothers day gifts go, it's a winner, and certainly more original than a box of chocolates.

2010-02-22T01:49:00.000-08:00

The weekend brought a trip to the Craft, Hobby and Stitch International trade show. We have been looking forward to this for some time but we almost didn't make it. Hoping to get there early, we left Leeds at 7am but it turned out that we had got out of bed before the gritter gang. The M1 was like a beautiful, foggy, snowy ice rink and the accident rate at one point peaked around the '4 prangs per mile' mark. All good fun. We decided to stop for a coffee and wait for things to improve, which they did. And we were so pleased we persevered- the show was great. One of the highlights was seeing a world exclusive- the brand new 2010 range from the fabulous Echino fabrics. Even the stand itself was almost worth the trip- a riot of colour, but so stylishly done. I think I want to live in Echinoville.

2010-02-11T12:49:00.001-08:00

I was at a playgroup this week and got talking to one of the mums there about sewing matters. She has a lovely idea for recycling old babygrows. Most mums have lent these out, only to receive them back (eventually!) in a somewhat worse for wear state. Yet it just doesn't seem right to throw them out- there are always at least a couple that you have fond memories of.... So here is Jenny's great idea: Simply cut a large square (or several smaller ones) out of each patterned babygrow and stitch these together to form a patchwork quilt. You could finish your quilt off with a cotton lawn lining and a trim of bias binding or tape. I think this would make a cute cover for a dolls bed, but I particularly like the idea of putting it away until your babies have babies of their own! Thanks Jenny for letting me share your idea!

2010-02-01T06:31:00.000-08:00

Well – a belated Happy New Year to kotorikits followers. I hope you all had a happy Christmas and I am sure you have all been as busy as us. I can’t believe it's February already, and before we know it it will be school holidays again. Find great things to make and keep the children happy with our new kits.

Our new year started well- we had some good publicity last week as we had our own radio super star! Did anyone hear Katie on BBC Radio Leeds??!! If so you will know we are forging ahead with plans for our evening classes – more on that later. We are also getting ready to launch a new Easter product so keep checking the web site and following the blog.

My new year's resolution is....you've guessed it- to update our blog more often. Watch this space...!!

Happy sewing

2009-11-19T05:15:00.000-08:00

So it's that time of year- Nativity time. Very exciting for us first timers (in fact I think I am going to have to toughen myself up by repeatedly making her sing 'Away in a manger' so I don't blub on the big day). Not everyone is so excited though, which I think is sad. I've heard a lot of mums stressing about the costumes. I can't relate to this personally as I couldn't wait to get home and start making something, but it certainly seems to be an issue. Most people are turning to ebay or one of the supermarkets. I think that is really sad! I realise that time is precious these days, but I think that the main issue is a lack of confidence. Whatever happened to a tea towel on the head, or an old pillowcase with arm holes cut in it? People are worrying that their costume will not 'look good enough'...Please! They are 4/5 years old- it's not a contest. They should look cute and homespun. It is such a shame to think that even Nativitys have become a commercial enterprise now, and that children up and down the country will all be dressed the same. Mums and dads should be getting creative and having fun at this magical time.
On that subject, maybe we should be thinking about an easy range of DIY nativity costumes for next year...food for thought. Until then though, I've got plenty of ideas and tips for making your own easy costumes- just get in touch!

2009-11-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well, these weekly updates are proving a challenge! We are so busy with our new designs, packaging and many children that the poor old blog is getting neglected. I am finally pleased to report however that our new packaging has been delivered. Check it out! We would love to hear any comments (good or bad)- just let us know.

We have also uploaded our Christmas stock, so see Kotorikits.com for the very finest in DIY Christmas stockings, children's Christmas decoration kits and a beautiful and unusual Advent calendar. These projects have all been designed to be super-simple to make. The Advent calendar is a lovely change if you prefer a traditional non-chocolate Advent, with 24 mini Christmas stockings to peg to a linen tree. Our Christmas stocking even has iron-on fabric in the pack, in case you are in a hurry (and like me, are likely to be throwing this one together sometime on December 24th). Older children will love stitching together our cute gingerbread man tree decoration, which is one of three designs in the kit.

Anyway, time (as usual) is of the essence so I must dash and do my duties.
Until later...

Autumn arrives

2009-10-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well hello out there
I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. And what a month it's been. We've been madly, crazily busy- getting our kits together, sorting out packaging, getting labels designed and printed....Ever get that feeling you've bitten off more than you can chew?!! Still, we have to keep the momentum going- we've had more good press this month, in 'Sew Hip' and 'Sew' magazines. Our gorgeous baby bumblebee costume continues to delight all who see it... We've also set out our new stall in Leeds City Market, and are just dying to fill those shelves with our beautiful blue boxes- watch this space!
Will keep you posted....
B

2009-09-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

Finished it! (The sandwich bag). Might even get round to uploading a pic of it sometime. Working away on our new packaging designs. The postal backlog isn't helping...
Anyway, I thought I'd upload a picture so you can see the kind of thing we do. Here's our matryoshka doll pin cushion- isn't it lovely?!

2009-09-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Evening all
I hardly feel I have the time to update this blog- how do people do it?!! We are working furiously to get our products 'out their' at the moment. We've finally uploaded our gorgeous fairy tale height chart onto the website, and are pulling out the stops with the Christmas stuff (yes, I know it's only September). We have re-thought our packaging too, so we are waiting with baited breath to see if the new boxes are as good as we think they are...watch this space!
And as for my little darling's lunch bag...it has been guiltily left on the back burner since I started it. I have had almost hourly reminders (she is 4, that's her job) to finish it and it is slowly getting there. Just have to sew the handle and the fastener on and we're done. Need to get my skates on though- first day of school on Wednesday and we can't have her turning up with her sandwiches in a Tesco's carrier bag. Will of course keep you posted.
Bye for now,
B

Hello world, Kotori Kits calling....

2009-09-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello there!

After 6 months of good intentions but not quite getting round to it, the new Kotori Kits blog is born. Life has been hectic, setting up our new company while looking after 5 children under the age of 4. Now that we are sending 2 of them off to school for the first time (eek), we are hoping to have a bit more time on our hands. Or am I being a deluded fool for thinking that?

('We', by the way, are Beverley and Katie.)

So- a brief history of Kotori. We were originally 'Mummy Made It'. We started the business because we wanted more mummys to get into sewing. Nothing beats that special feeling of seeing your little person wearing/ playing with something you have made especially for them. And it seems that their favourite things are the things you've made....

I am continually frustrated every I hear the same cry 'I wish I could do things like that....' You know, you can. After frogmarching my ante natal group into a room with a sewing machine and not letting them out until they made something (against some resistance), I really got the bug for getting people sewing. So a lifetime of thinking about starting a business became a life where I have started a business. As simple as that eh? It turns out that Katie (one of the ante natal non-sewers-but-now-a-convert) and myself make a great team. So off we went...

The response to Mummy Made It was really positive, which felt great, and we were surprised to get so much positive feedback from people who aren't in the baby-bubble. This led to the decision to rebrand to Kotori, and we haven't looked back.

Anyway, enough chat for now, must finish the packed lunch bag that I am making for my special little girl.