Thanks for visiting us

Know that feeling just before a big event where that big knot sits in the middle of your gut and you imagine the worst that can possibly happen? The night before the pop-up store, I had that big knot and I imagined the worst: what if no one showed up?

Thankfully, there's a wonderful community out there that has been supportive of TykeThreads. Local media picked up the event notice. Twitter friends tweeted and re-tweeted my posts. Facebook friends re-posted my notices and forwarded my invites. Family and friends invited their friends, neighbours and co-workers. After all that worrying, and despite competing with the beautiful sunny weather and the busy Christmas, and Hanukkah season, the event came and went. And people actually showed up! And the ones who did, actually went shopping!

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support. Thank you so much for visiting our pop-up store, and for the encouragement. As I said a lot that day when I met my customers: "Only moms of boys understand what the store's about."

TykeThreads Pop-up Store

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


TykeThreads Announces Pop-up Store in Toronto

Toronto, Ontario (November 25, 2009) – Online boyswear retailer TykeThreads.com announces a pop-up store in Toronto, December 11 and 12.

The two-day sale at 1390 Danforth Avenue, Toronto (east of Greenwood) will feature markdowns on current and previous season’s stock.

“Ever since I launched TykeThreads.com in March, people have been asking me about a storefront. I didn’t plan on opening one this year, so a pop-up store to showcase my stuff in a temporary retail location is a perfect way for me to satisfy my customers’ demands without the commitment to a permanent location. I am looking forward to meeting my customers in real life,” said Grace Sanchez MacCall.

Details:
Date: Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12
Hours: 10 am to 7 pm
Parking: meters on the Danforth, street parking north of Danforth
Payment methods: cash only.
Preview products at tykethreads.com.

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There goes November...

After the Distillery Show, my business and personal selves collided yet again. Following that awesome show, my young son developed a post-H1N1 shot fever AND a cold at the same time. That meant work was put on the backburner while I nursed my toddler back to health. Luckily, he recovered quickly, but it took nearly a week to get back in the groove.

And of course, with November comes the prep time for the holidays. I've been running an End of Year promotion to make room for next year's inventory. As usual, TykeThreads members get first dibs on the stock so if you haven't already, please sign up for a Membership at tykethreads.com. I don't order a lot of sizes so when things are sold, they are gone for good! Sign up today.

Distillery Children's Trunk Show

TykeThreads is going to be at the Toronto Distillery Trunk Show November 6 and 7. Show hours:

Friday, November 6, 9:30 to 4:30
Saturday, November 7, 10 to 3.

Cost is $7 at the door with part of the proceeds going to the SickKids Foundation.

List of vendors and other information about the show available here.

Featuring our Fall Fashion

We can't take our entire inventory, but we will be taking a good selection of our Appaman, Ben Sherman, Knuckleheads and Wonderboy clothing. Great specials on Coccoli infant wear, too. Please come by and say hello. We'd love to meet you!

Samson Coat

The Sweetmama.ca Stay Warm Guide features a number of must-haves for the winter season including this Ben Sherman Samson Coat.

Fall/Winter 2009

Thanksgiving has come and gone and Halloween is just around the corner. It is, most definitely, Fall.

Most of my fall stuff is loaded to the site now, except for the Coccoli baby line, which should be there once I get a decent day for taking pictures!

The old favourites are there: Appaman, Knuckleheads, Wonderboy, Ben Sherman, but I also have a couple of new lines, especially for infants. Noppies for babies are adorable. Finally, that favourite Dutch brand has made its way to this side of the pond! My favourite, if I could possibly choose one, is the "Peso" sweatshirt and pants set in blue, grey and a healthy hit of orange, shown here. TykeThreads.com has it in size 4 months to 18 months.

Brrrr

I dropped off my son at his daycare this morning and was surprised to see all his friends wearing wooly hats and mittens! It can't be fall, can it?

Must go through the fall/winter stuff to dress my kid appropriately!

StrollerTraffic just scooped us

I am so thrilled to be scooped by StrollerTraffic.com, a free online resource for city moms with kids under three.

The turtle backpack took centre stage this time. Thanks StrollerTraffic!

Shopping Tips

When I first shopped for raingear for my son last spring, a very helpful sales associate was kind enough to give us lots of attention. When trying to decide on the size, she gently steered me to try the next one up. In my mind, I thought it was an unnecessary move because, clearly, that raicoat is the perfect size for my little guy now and he is getting quite impatient!

Rolling up the sleeves of the next size, the woman said, "If you get this one, you'll get another season out of it."

It was the strangest thing -- it's as if a lightbulb went on in my head. Not having shopped for a kid before, and not being around an extended network of relatives or friends with kids, it had never occurred to me to buy something bigger in anticipation of his growing needs. To everyone else, this probably seems like such a logical thing to do and in retrospect, I scratch my head wondering why I never thought of it. I suddenly remember my childhood days of wearing shoes and clothes a little to big for me to grow into. However, as a new mom, I was projecting my own adult shopping needs on my child. Of course, I have to buy things that fit me!

Ha, ha. That was then and this is now. I've learnt a few other basic things since that I feel I should write down. Partially to remind myself of my folly and also to remind myself of how far I've come.

Some shopping tips for buying kidswear:

Always try the next size up in shoes and clothes. Kids have an amazing talent of sprouting. I like to say that there are days when my kid looks like the Incredible Hulk, with the sleeves on his shirt up to his elbows and his flood pants ending at the ankles. It is absolutely amazing how fast they grow!

Buy clothes in sets. You might think that pair of matching pants to go with the shirt is priced a little high, but you'll find you'll keep wishing you bought it every time you put that shirt on. (This is a lesson I've learnt as an adult as well.)

Buy clothes that you can layer. You'll get extended wear out of the t-shirt if you use it as a first layer under an overshirt this time of the year.

If you have storage at home, buy basics on sale and save it for the following year. This does not work for me in terms of anticipating my kids shoe size, but it works with clothes.

With regard to that last point, the End-of-Summer Sale at tykethreads.com is going well. I am seeing orders for shirts that are size 2, but shorts that are size 3. I can only imagine that wise parents are buying the shorts for next season.


I'm also selling a lot of Rileyroos infant sandals like this beautiful Dakota sandal in Fire Engine Red. I think parents who are planning on going away for the winter are stocking up because we all know how impossible it is to find sandals in the winter!

I'll be posting more shopping tips as I think of them. In the meantime, must go pack more orders!

Knuckleheads is a big hit

I had no idea Knuckleheads had such a huge following. Since we started the End of Summer sale at www.tykethreads.com, Knuckleheads shirts and shorts are flying off the shelves. The interesting about this as well is that the customers are from all over Canada and the United States.

Thank you Knuckleheads for delivering great design for parents of style-starved boys.

ps: Wait till you see the Knuckleheads fall/winter 2009 lineup!

Summer sale

Our first sale ever at TykeThreads.com!

I know everyone says this, but this is really true in our case: we need room for fall/winter merchandise! Shop now and help us clear some space in our warehouse/Grace's office!

Great deals on summer Ts and shorts, infants to preschoolers. Knucklehead, Appaman, Wonderboy, or those ever-so-hard-to-find Ben Shermans.

Sale starts today, September 1, and continues until the end of the month. Limited sizes and limited quantities so we recommend that you shop early for best selection.

Good Egg shirt by Wonderboy pictured here. Regular $33, now only $25.

Everything Mom

Our friends at EverythingMom.com just launched a writing contest and TykeThreads is happy to support it. Read the writing contest details here for a chance to win great prizes including a gift certificate from us!

The good life for LittleLife

I was so delighted to find the perfect toddler backpack for my kid that I decided to order them for my store. I was so delighted about the packs, in fact, that I told other moms about it, including that powerful network of Moms-who-Blog. And today, some of these moms have given it the thumbs up.

The LittleLife animal backpacks are featured as a must-have item at Sweetmama.ca and at WeeWelcome.

I am also happy to be able to offer stuff at my store that suits both little girls and boys. I want to make sure boys have cool choices for clothes and gear, but I'm all for equality, after all.

~~~

One other noteworthy thing about these packs: they are of excellent quality.

Since the WeeWelcome blog post is on the reduce/reuse/recycle theme, I wanted to share my thoughts on this. I think most people forget the "reuse" portion of the equation. The products I carry, and this one in particular, are well made and durable. It means this $45 backpack is going to be in good enough shape to be handed down to the next toddler long after your kid has outgrown it.

In the meantime, I bet there are tons of $9.99 ripped backpacks with broken zippers in our landfills. A better quality product made by a reputable organization like LittleLife is also more likely to offer better wages to the workers who stitch and assemble these products compared to products with logos violating cartoon trademarks and copyrights and made by some fly-by-night hustler obviously out to just make a buck. I, as a business, care about these things and I only stock products that I, in good conscience, will buy personally.

Back to School in Style

The Morgan & Milo slip-on shoe in Flame is featured in today's Sweetmama Back to School Guide.

We also have this supercute shoe in the yellow flame like this:

Glimpse likes us

Glimpse, a Canadian blog, just did a nice review of some of the items available at TykeThreads.com.

In particular, the wonderful folks at Glimpse liked the Kid Brother organic bowling shirt, Knuckleheads greaser jeans, and Wonderboy A-maze shirt (this shirt now on special, btw).

Glimpse event mentioned the availability of girl-appropriate stuff like toys as well.

Thank you for the kind review.

Bumblebee Backpack

For my son's summer fieldtrip with his class, we were asked to bring a backpack for his lunch. Since I was going to be with him as a volunteer parent, I took my backpack to hold both our lunches, so all was well. However, I couldn't help but notice that the other kids brought packs that were completely inappropriate. I'm not talking aesthetics here -- despite running contrary to my taste, I wouldn't fault a backpack because it had a movie or toy commercial trying to pass for good design. No, I'm talking more along the lines of backpacks that are too big, clunky and completely inappropriate (one kid had a rollaway bag that doubled as a backpack -- it nearly toppled him backwards when he slung it over his shoulders.) Seeing this led me to go in search of a pack that would be toddler-appropriate and would meet the approval of both kids and parents.

I am happy to report that I think I found the best toddler and preschool backpacks and that they are now available at TykeThreads.com.

LittleLife, a UK company that started life as manufacturers of child backpack carriers branched into making these kid-sized packs. The designs are excellent. They have the LittleLife Animal series appropriate for six months to three years old. There's a ladybug, a turtle, a cow, and a bumblebee. The designs are excellent but what I liked most about it is the practical stuff. The pack is just the right size to carry a snack and/or a small toy that your kid just cannot leave the house without. Other features: padded shoulder straps, chest strap, name and address labels INSIDE the pack, and a top grab handle for the pack (for when you need to carry it). The extra bonus is the removable safety strap. Whatever your stand on the rein/no rein debate, I must admit that I liked the idea of having it. Believe me, when your hands are full and you are in a busy place or near traffic, having the option to rein in your toddler provides great peace of mind while giving your little one room to be independent.

In addition to the animal series, LittleLife also makes a sportier version called the Runabout Daysack (see the blue one pictured with the boy above). The Runabout has the same capacity as the Animal packs, but designed to look like the packs Mom and Dad would carry.

For older kids (aged 3-7), LittleLife makes the Adventure daypack. In addition to holding lunch or a snack, the bigger Adventure daypack has enough room for an extra change of clothes, a towel, and a hoodie -- the perfect size for a sleepover or a day in the park. I hope you like the backpacks as much as I like them. Check out more photos of the packs at TykeThreads.com. (PS. My son picked the bumblebee as his daycare pack.)

PS: Update on these backpacks on this post: The Good Life for LittleLife.

Sandals

The best ever sandals for kids (boys and girls) have to be from Rileyroos. I discovered Rileyroos too late for my son and his gigantic feet, but from the time I did discover them, I've been a loyal fan. I recommend them to anyone who would listen.

What's so great about them, you say? For one thing, they are excellent for walkers and pre-walkers. The shoes have rubber pads at the bottom giving the child much-needed traction as she or he starts crawling, then cruising, then finally, toddling. Another bonus, the designs are stylish and wonderful. Just fun, practical and carefree for active little things. Perfect for toddler feet!

Another reason: Rileyroos is a family-run business by the nicest, most wonderful people from Maryland, USA. I love to support small business entrepreneurs who conduct themselves in the highest ethical standards both personally and professionally.

I recommend that kids graduate from the ubiquitous slipper-type infant footwear to Rileyroos. TykeThreads carries mostly stuff for little boys, but some of the styles are suitable for girls, as well. (TykeThreads will also take special orders for girls' shoes on request.)

Thanks to Sweetmama.ca for featuring the Rileyroos Chessie sandal in chocolate in their newsletter today! Here's what the sandals look like:

New Partner: Art Strollers

Turn that mushy mommy brain into a semblance of what it once was. Imagine a conversation from goo-goo-ga-ga to Dada. It's possible. Really!

We are pleased to partner with Art Strollers. Art Strollers makes it easy for mothers in the Toronto area to enjoy a cultural outing with their little ones by offering a vast selection of workshops, museum and gallery tours. Imagine: cultural tours designed specifically for moms with little ones.

TykeThreads customers get 10% off Art Strollers programs. Visit TykeThreads.com and sign up for the newsletter to get details.

The Child Care Show

The Child Care Show and Expo is at Ontario Place, Sunday June 14, 10 to 5. Everything you need to know about childcare, education and recreation choices for your little ones. Check it out. TykeThreads has a special coupon in the show packages.

Just the facts, Moms

Justthefactsbaby.com just gave TykeThreads the thumbs up! So nice to get some support!

Justthefactsbaby.com is run by two supermoms, Sydney Loney and Nancy Ripton. They have excellent articles (both in-depth and in quick-hit format for busy moms) that are well-written, fact-checked, and of special interest for moms and moms-to-be.

And they have the scoop and the maps for baby-friendly destinations -- anything from best place to do a diaper change or nurse in addition to where to shop, eat and play. Check them out and get your TykeThreads coupon code there!

Something Not Blue this Wedding Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Another wedding to attend. Your outfit’s ready to go, your daughter’s got the sweetest sundress, but oh, what to do with that boy?

Nothing in your son’s closet but T’s with monster trucks and dinosaurs, and he’s outgrown that dress shirt he wore during the holidays. Click to TykeThreads.com for a special outfit for that special event.

For your toddler, how about a short-sleeved dress shirt in vertical stripes the colour of spring grass and sand? Matched with Wonderboy linen pants, this outfit will be perfect for a casual outdoor brunch, barbecue or wedding reception.

Dress shirts from Wonderboy will ensure your little guy is as fashionably and comfortably dressed for the occasion. Long-sleeved or short, there’s choice out there beyond the basic blue stripe. (Long-sleeved Wonderboy dress shirts are now on special at TykeThreads.com.)

The Wonderboy brand of boys’ clothing was launched five years ago by former graphic artist Christine Johnston who wanted a better choice for boys. Her statement pieces are well-tailored, American-made shirts done in 100% American cotton.

Wonderboy is available at TykeThreads.com, your Canadian online source for hip and unique clothing for boys 0-4.

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Show Success

TykeThreads was at the Distillery Trunk Show in Toronto yesterday and we had a fun time! Lots of people stopped by the booth and oooohhed and aaaaahed over the great stuff I brought down. Most of the Ben Sherman shirts I took flew off the table (I had to strip my display dummy into hour two of the show!)

Knuckleheads continues to be popular and I sold out of the small fedoras. The highlight of the show was when this woman brought her 7 month old baby boy, unstrapped him from the Baby Bjorn, and outfitted him with the Rockabilly Poison shirt (black and white skull print) over his white onesie and topped him with the small fedora (too big for him still), but that was too adorable! My friend, Sally of Ella & Emma (hair accessories for girls), took a picture of this on her camera phone but we forgot to get permission to share the photo. Trust me. This kid was too sweet and the mother had no choice but to purchase. He drooled all over the shirt. Yup, teething!

Incentives for Friday's show

If you are going to be in Toronto, the Distillery Children's Trunk show is a great place to visit especially on Friday, May 29. Some incentives for moms:

9:30 am to 12 pm:
Get a mommy makeover by a professional make-up artist using organic make-up by Logona.

11 am to 4 pm:
Enjoy a massage courtesy of hip new Sunny Mummy Spa Boutique.

10 am to 12 pm:
And, to save you a trip to the hair salon, get a haircut for your child by Hair Cuts on Wheels. (If you miss out, pick up a coupon for a 20% discount on a future cut)

We'll also have a comfy nursing area and a play space for tots, offered by The Duck Stops Here and Just Ducky Yonge Kids.

See you at the show:
Friday, May 29, 2009
from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
In the Distillery District:
The Fermenting Cellar, Buildings 6 & 7, 55 Mill Street, Toronto
$7 at the door, a portion of which is will be donated to The Hospital for Sick Children

For boys

Celebrity Baby Blog confirms what we've been saying: Boys' fashion needs some attention. He's their take on the issue and their praise for Appaman, a current favourite of my little boy.

Postcards coming soon

I'm getting ready for the Distillery Trunk show next week so I designed some postcards to hand out. Here's what I got. Thanks for the folks at Knuckleheads for supplying me with the great photo!

MUM magazine

The launch issue of MUM (Modern Urban Mom) magazine is at Pusateri's, Whole Foods, and Pistachio stores. Pick up a copy and subscribe today!

Mother's Day 2009

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Fedora Feature

The Knuckleheads fedora is featured in today's issue of the Toronto Star.

Distillery Children's Trunk Show

TykeThreads will be participating at the Distillery Children's Trunk show on May 29. If you are in Toronto that day, please stop by to visit our booth.

The Distillery is a great spot to visit at the best of days so you will not want for something to do. It's totally stroller and pedestrian friendly. Forget the galleries and the artisans workshops -- the highlight for my two-year old is stepping up and down the curb, and negotiating the uneven brick walk. I watched him do this while I sipped my latte from Balzac's. And, of course, the Brick Bakery has the most amazing sandwiches and baked goods.

Make a day of it. Visit the show and stroll around the Distillery. See you there!

Earth Day 2009

There's hope yet.

My son, at age two, knows the difference between the green bin, the recycling bin, and the garbage. When he picks things up from the floor -- an errant pea, forgotten Cheerio, scrap of coloured paper -- he immediately goes to the cupboard under the sink to throw things out in the green bin. Mind you, he's not perfect. I've been known to fish out pieces of plastic from the green bin, deposited there by an overzealous toddler, I'm sure, but the point is that for the most part, my son understands that not everything goes in the garbage.

We have a long way to go yet, but teaching environmental awareness at an early age is a step in the right direction.

Sweetmama.ca likes us!

TykeThreads is featured in Sweetmama.ca! They like us. They really, really like us!

Holiday specials

We, at TykeThreads, held a staff meeting over the weekend and reached a consensus: we officially voted NOT to have any holiday sales.

Let me explain:

One of the privileges of running my own business is that I can now make my own rules. This weekend, as I spent a nice relaxing weekend with my family, I realized that long weekends are best spent just hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Also, one of the privileges of having an online shop is the convenience of 24/7 shopping. So, given the two points above, it struck me as odd that so many brick and mortar shops out there use the holidays as an opportunity to lure you into leaving your home and planning your precious weekend around buying things -- as if an extra day off is nothing but an extra opportunity to spend a day shopping.

As much as shopping is fun and entertaining, I think time is at a premium for most families. Long weekends should be spent just hanging out and/or doing something meaningful.

So, for the record: there will never ever be an Easter holiday special or a Passover special or a Ramadan special or a Christmas special or a Hanukkah special at TykeThreads.

Please shop at our store when it's convenient for you and don't let the fun of shopping interfere with other important things like attending parades, going to worship, or having a nice picnic together as a family -- no matter what kind, form or shape, no matter how big or how small your family might be.

Baby it’s (still) Cold Outside

One of the frustrations of being a parent is trying to outfit a growing being. Who knows what size the kidlet would be a month from now, never mind a season from now? But it happens every year. Stores force you to shop for summer clothes in March and winter clothes in August.

So what’s a parent to do when it’s still cold outside but the fruit of your loins have outgrown his fall and winter gear and there are no long-sleeved shirts and jeans to be found in the mall? Why, turn to the Internet of course. Find yourself a Canadian online retailer and click, click, click.

Top tips for getting through the season transition

Think layers: Most long-sleeved shirts and fleeces from the Fall/Winter 08 season are now on sale. These items are great for layering.

Buy one size up: Buy clothes a little larger so your little one gets more mileage out of the outfit. If you don’t mind rolling the sleeves a little, your son or daughter might get another season out of the shirt you just bought.

Think timeless: If you really want to get your money’s worth out of a piece of clothing, buy it because of the style AND quality.

Check second hand shops. You can find children’s clothes in excellent condition at your local second hand shops.

Shop online. If you can’t find it in the stores, surf online. Find yourself a Canadian online store and let your fingers do the shopping. New online shops are cropping up all the time, like TykeThreads, for example!

TykeThreads in the News

TykeThreads is featured in the Eye for Business section of the Beach Metro News!

Launch release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


E-Tailer Launches Online Source for Boys Wear

Toronto, Ontario (March 25, 2009) – There’s hope beyond the sailor suit. TykeThreads.com, an online store for hip and unique clothing for boys 0-4, is now open for business.

Launched by Toronto entrepreneur Grace Sanchez MacCall, this new store is of special interest to parents of preemies and young boys.

When her son was born, Sanchez MacCall discovered two things: shopping online for organic preemie clothing is impossible, and finding a good selection of quality and interesting clothing for a little boy is next to impossible. Speaking to other parents convinced her a need exists for a Canadian retailer that stays open 24/7, so TykeThreads was born.

“In the year I spent planning the business, I saw the economy go downhill but I am convinced people care about quality and convenience,” said Sanchez MacCall.

“I think now more than ever, there’s a need to buy for quality and to shop selectively. Plus, when time is at a premium and gas prices on the rise, most people appreciate being able to shop online from a Canadian source,” she added.

About TykeThreads.com

Tykethreads.com is a Toronto-based online store specializing in hip, unique and quality clothing for boys 0-4. The store features brands like Appaman, Ben Sherman, Knuckleheads, Wonderboy, Coccoli, and Morgan & Milo shoes. TykeThreads is also the first e-tailer in Canada to carry Rileyroos infant shoes, an American brand of stylish, comfortable footwear. Other TykeThreads brands include fun clothing and hand-knitted toys by Australian designer Kylie Platt, as well as organic preemie wear by Piccolo Bambino.

TykeThreads is Here

After months and months of planning, TykeThreads.com, an online source for hip and unique clothing for boys 0-4 is here!

Watch out for the Grand Opening special coming soon.