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.

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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.