Babylicious

Babylicious baby products featured on Droolicious

2008-11-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Babylicious got some great blog press from Droolicious! Here's a snapshot of what they ran just recently. Thank you, Droolicious (by the way, love the name of your blog).

Buy all Babylicious products in one place!

2008-10-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce www.babyliciousgear.com, our new online store, where parents can shop all our products in one place.

"Our online store gives customers access to all Babylicious products -- we have more than 200+ items!" says Tina Barkley, Babylicious President. "This way, customers who don't have a Babylicious retailer near them can still buy our products and have them shipped. Babylicious was launched in 2006 and has seen such tremendous growth, that it's impossible to expect our retail partners to carry every single product!"

Visit www.babyliciousgear.com to see what we have in store! To find a retailer near you (and to touch and feel the product not to mention to skip the cost of shipping), click on STORE LOCATOR at the bottom of the home page.

Win Babylicious: Until December 24, 2008, visit our site to enter to win a full Babylicious collection.

Babylicious shows its new lines at ABC Kids Expo

2008-09-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from 5 days as an exhibitor at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas and we are happy (albeit a little tired) to say it was by far, our best show ever! Some of the highlights from the show:

1. Crib fringe took off! Retailers are finally 'getting' crib fringe, our bumper alternative for the crib. Retailers loved that we have come up with a way to decorate baby's crib without bumper pads that some experts are warning can be a SIDS risk. The concept is simple: tie each length of fringe to the top rail on the long side of the crib (tie on inside when baby is young and can't reach up yet, and move to the outside when baby can reach up). And when baby is old enough to sit up, use the crib fringe as a pennant or as a valance on your window! (See photo at left)

2. Retailers started up with our starter kits. We offered starter kits at the show and they proved very popular. We bundled our products together so retailers didn't have to, making shopping for and merchandising Babylicious product simple and efficient.

3. Our new organic line got rave reviews. We debuted Chirp, Babylicious' first organic line of products (including bedding, sleep cozies, bibs, towels, and receiving blankets) at the show. The gender-neutral line stood out from the crowd with its bright, crisp colours and fun motifs. (See photo below)

4. Boutique products showed for the first time in person. Our new Boutique Collection (including Pink Cocoa, Prince Charming and Go Fish) showed for the first time in person, and retailers loved the touch-and-feel opportunity. The chocolate accents and whimsical patterns garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews! (See photo below)

For now, we've hung up our aprons...until next year!

Another "Happy" Customer

2008-09-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

We received these great shots and letter from customer Colleen McGarry, who used the Babylicious Happy Collection as the backdrop for her baby's room. We can't get over the meticulous job she did of replicating our Happy pattern on the walls. Great job!
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My husband hand-drew and hand-painted every single circle in the room (with multiple coats of paint)! I thought I would share this fantastic room with the company who inspired it.
- Colleen McGarry, "Happy" Babylicious customer, Slingerlands, New York

If you've used Babylicious in your nursery, send us your photos and you could see your nursery in our blog! Email to service@babylicious.ca and type "My Babylicious Nursery" in the subject line.

Happy Collection, Happy Customer!

2008-06-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

We received this great email from a very "Happy" Babylicious customer, and thought we'd share her letter and photos with you so you can see how other parents decorate with our fun collections. Thanks so much, Kelly & Tim, and we wish you a speedy and easy labor and delivery!
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As first-time expectant parents there are so many decisions to make and a lot to think about – selecting a name for your new baby, figuring out what to do about daycare, selecting a pediatrician, and, one of the more fun items on the list, deciding what the nursery is going to look like.

For me and my husband this was an extra-hard task because we do not know the sex of our baby (who is due July 19!) – we figured it’s one of the only surprises left in life so we would wait the long 40 weeks to find out.

In the meantime however, we began to search the Internet and various stores for the perfect bedding and décor for our nursery. We knew we wanted something a little different and we didn’t want to use traditional baby colors such as pink and blue or the traditional unisex bedding décor of green and yellow. After searching long and hard we came across babylicious.ca. We were thrilled to see that so many great designs were available. We absolutely fell in the love with the Happy collection – which included bright colors of green, orange and yellow and was very trendy with the polka dots, stripes and checkerboard print. In fact, we ordered it immediately but had a few questions about the bedding so we contacted a client care manager at Babylicious who helped answer all of our questions. In fact, she was able to send us swatches of the bedding in order to match paint and other items in the room. We didn’t expect that at all but greatly appreciated it!

As you can see from the pictures, our room is done and we absolutely love the room and have got a ton of compliments on our nursery! We hope the baby loves it as much as we do. Thanks to Babylicious for being a trendsetter in baby bedding design and décor as well as having great customer service!

-Kelly & Tim McGrath, Stow, OH

Baby brain

2008-05-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, one thing is for sure, I know I am having a baby girl or boy. I’m so glad the decision is not up to me! Making a decision while pregnant is like driving on the left-hand side of the road: it is simply not something I'm great at.

My husband, who is not used to being asked his opinion on decorating, paint colours, or grocery lists, is finding it unusual that I am bouncing everything household-related off him these days. I usually have a well-stocked imaginary list that I run off of each day—it's in my head, constantly spinning around. And of course, because it’s in my head, he can’t see it and therefore never really knows what is on that list.

“I'm never really sure what's on that list, I just know it's really long!” was my husband’s innocent response to a friend’s question about what is on this elusive task list.

So I have 11 weeks to go before second baby arrives, and I'm getting nervous. Nervous because all those things on my imaginary list will not get done, which means I will have to make some tough decisions as to what to get done now and what we will have to leave for now.

But the next decision I must make—and it's a major one—is how to decorate the nursery. Pink Cocoa, Prince Charming, or Go Fish? The new Babylicious Boutique patterns are all equally adorable, playful, and so sweet. But secretly, I am hoping for a girl, because I really have fallen in love with Pink Cocoa just a tiny bit more.

Is it right to wish for a girl so I can decorate another nursery again in soft feminine shades of pink and white? Shame on me!

I really don't know if I have the heart to ask my husband to paint the room after the baby arrives. We will be so sleep-deprived and just trying to get through the first few months of re-adjustment. I'm almost tempted to find out the sex now, just for the sake of sanity!

But alas, there are only a few cherished moments in life as sweet as this. I just feel so thankful to be able to have children as I know some who cannot.

August 8, 2008: The moment that will take my breath away to find out it's a …

Stay tuned; I will be sure to send a photo along. And then you’ll see what my choice for nursery décor is!

-Jennifer Lasko, Account Manager

Babylicious launches new Boutique Collection

2008-05-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

There is nothing as exciting as launching a new collection. Around here at Babylicious, everyone is giddy with pride over our newly launched chocolate brown Boutique Collection.

When we first saw the designs late last winter, we were so excited -- seeing them for the first time is always the most fun. Our designer Emma designed them; they represent the first full collection she has conceived for Babylicious and the results are excellent.

This line is exclusively for boutiques and preferred online retailers.

The Boutique Collection has some extra bells and whistles like the beautifully designed kimono-style sleep cozies, which are lined with 100% cotton fleece. The crib skirt has a nice double layer including a fun awning hem, and the bumper ties are lovely gros-grain ribbon. The pillows in this collection are really fun and the towels are more elaborate than our usual line.

After Emma designed the patterns, I designed the shapes of the items to have a more elegant line to them. Notice the gently curved line on the bib that is also echoed in the sit + spit cloths as well as in the towel.

My favourite is Pink Cocoa, which has flowers sprouting up the sides of the bumper. It's so radically different than anything else on the market. It's fresh and sweet but still has a contemporary palette. Prince Charming makes me want to have another baby (I have two girls already, so, a boy!). This pattern is so fun. Like Go Fish, it's chunky and bold without being too mod.

There is a yummy blanket as well as a crib fringe coming for the collection -- arriving in mid-June. Until then, we have lots of stock that has just arrived.

In the new issue of Pregnancy Style & Beauty Guide you can see our ad on page 5. The phone is ringing off the hook since that issue hit the streets -- yay! Yay, Emma!

-Tina, Owner

Swaddling made easy

2008-04-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

My friend gave birth to her first baby on the weekend, and I got to look at their first photos. Of course the baby is adorable, as newborns are. But I noted, as I looked through the chronological progression of photos, that baby was surely but slowly wriggling her way out of her swaddling.

When my son was born, no one at the hospital taught me how to swaddle him before I left the hospital. My poor little babushka ended up being bound in all manner of “swaddling.” There was the maki-sushi swaddling phase. Then turkey trussing-type confinement. Then the I’m-so-frustrated-I’m-just-going-to-knot-the-corners-together effort. Until, finally, a public health nurse took pity on my little boy, and gave me the basics of swaddling.

1. Lay receiving blanket flat.
2. Fold down one corner of receiving blanket. Place your child down on the blanket, diagonally, with his/her head resting on the folded corner.
3. Fold the corner of the receiving blanket on the left side, over and across baby’s body and right arm (which should be against the side of his/her body).
4. Bring up the bottom corner of the receiving blanket and tuck the corner into the side that you just folded over, just under baby’s chin.
5. Fold the corner of the receiving blanket on the right side, over and across baby’s body and left arm (which should be against the side of his/her body), and tuck excess into the folds on baby’s side or back.

Et, voilà! A perfectly swaddled baby.

Note: If baby doesn’t like having his/her arms bound, just keep his/her arms free when you wrap him/her up.

-Emma, Director, Design + Production

Let your kids ‘get messy’ with bubbles!

2008-04-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

I love working with my retail clients at Babylicious, but nothing beats weekends with my two children, my son (4) and daughter (2).

Last weekend, spring seemed to have arrived on the west coast (you wouldn’t know it by the cutting cold temperatures this Monday morning though), and my children and I celebrated with one of our favourite outdoor activities: blowing bubbles!

My kids chased them as they floated through the air, trying to catch them in their hands. It was fun, but inevitably messy and wet. That’s where the Babylicious Get Messy Bib (shown at left in Groovy Blue and Groovy Pink; also available in Happy) came in handy. The bib features sleeves, gives total torso coverage, and sports a handy front pocket (good for holding all those small bubble-blowing wands) and is made of nylon, which helps keep the moisture off the kids.

So, why are bubbles so fascinating to children? Is it the circular shape, the way they glisten when the sun hits them, the way they float lightly through the air, or the way they pop? Whatever it is, they are always welcome at our house and always a big hit with my kids, their friends and their parents, too.

-Elizabeth, Account Manager

Babylicious baby bedding products speak to bumper-pad safety question

2008-04-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

There has been so much in the news lately about the safety of bumper pads in cribs. Poor J Lo is being made an example of. Well, the the trend in the US to not use fluffy, pillow-like bumper pads in the crib was a long time coming. Canada, Australia and Europe have been recommending that new parents not use bumpers for years.

As a Canadian company, Babylicious addressed this issue last year, launching CRIB FRINGE. It can be challenging when you are excited about having a new baby and want to get your nursery all done up....if you take out the bumper, the crib can look empty. In fact, the bumper is the main decorative element in a nursery and baby's room can feel stark without it. Understanding this, we created Crib Fringe that matches our crib sets (many parents opt for bumpers when their baby is older to help prevent getting limbs caught in between slats).

The Crib Fringe set contains 2 pennant-like fringe pieces that tie to the upper rails of the long sides of the crib. It coordinates with the sheet and skirt for a complete look.

And we took our safer concept one step further. So many people know that you shouldn't use a quilt on your young baby. Yet the typical retail pattern is to package 4 pieces together: a bumper, a sheet, a crib skirt and a quilt. That is 2 of 4 things that are not recommended to have in your young baby's crib! So we launched the "Modern Bedding Bundle," which has a Crib Fringe, a Fitted Sheet, a Crib Skirt and a Sleep Cozy. The Babylicious Sleep Cozy is the ideal and safe way for baby to stay warm and to not risk baby getting his/her blanket over his/her face.

Crib Fringe: Wholesale prices starting at $30 US ($59.99 MSRP)/$33 CDN ($65.99 MSRP)
Modern Bedding Bundle: Wholesale price at $90 US ($179.99 MSRP)/$99 CDN ($197.99 MSRP)
To see these items and which patterns they come in, simply visit www.babylicious.ca. To buy any of the items you can call Babylicious at 1-866-289-5210.

-Tina, Owner

3 Easy Steps to Decorating the Nursery

2008-03-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Anika and Theo are two very happy babies. When Scott and Dina learned they were having boy/girl twins, they were immediately drawn to Babylicious. And, they asked Babylicious (we don't normally provide personalized decorating services) to dress their nursery! Decorating their nursery was fun and easy. We thought we'd share what we did, step by step, so you can make your baby's room Babylicious with minimal effort (and save your energy for more important stuff like pampering yourself before baby comes!).

Step 1: It's all about style
Scott and Dina's love for everything modern was evident throughout their century-old home. So it made sense to decorate the nursery, which is a part of their home, with modern and traditional elements. They wanted the babies' room to look like it flowed with the rest of the house and was in keeping with their aesthetic sensibilities.

Step 2: Decorate around the crib
The first thing we did was choose the right bedding for their two cribs. The crib is a nursery's focal point, and choosing a pattern that you love for this main piece of furniture is key. Decorating is easy when everything else that you use to decorate the room with, flows from the bedding.

Scott and Dina already had cribs with traditional lines (in keeping with their older home), and wanted to go modern in dressing them, so they chose the Babylicious Happy Collection. It was the right pick for the bright and cheerful nursery: it is simple, uncluttered but still sweet.

We kept the nursery walls a pretty neutral colour so that the decorative elements around the room would really pop.

Step 3: Accessorize, accessorize!
It was easy to find accessories that match the Babylicious Happy Collection. We found zesty orange baskets from the Land of Nod to match, cute-as-can-be lime-green and orange alarm clocks and a fabulously coordinating lunchbox and perched them on top of a simple white IKEA (from the LACK collection) floating shelf -- a great, unassuming backdrop to your favourite kid-friendly chachkas.

What do you think?

-Tina, Owner

What is Babylicious?

2008-03-06T15:31:00.001-08:00

Babylicious is a Canadian company that designs baby bedding + accessories. To understand what Babylicious is though, you have to get to know the founder and Chief Inspiration Officer, Tina Barkley. Here is an excerpt from an interview with the force behind this hip, fresh and modern baby brand.

Q: Who are you?
My name is Tina Barkley (nee Vrlak) and I'm 41 years old. I live in Vancouver, Canada. I grew up right here on the west coast, in a small family, and now have one of my own--which is how I ended up in the baby business.

My husband Michael and I have two fantastic girls, Pippa (4) and Jill (2). Pippa was definitely the inspiration for Babylicious and Jill, well, she's just been the best accessorized baby on the planet!

Q: What are your hobbies?
I love to garden, cook and play tennis. Now that we have kids, I play golf or ski only about once every 3 years! I also love anything creative. The kids and I have a blast doing every possible arts-and-crafts project.

Q: What are your favourite things?
The smell of my kids' cold cheeks after playing outside in the crisp winter sunshine. Anything with cheese. Pearls (no, not diamonds....I'm quite a practical woman). Doing something that someone really appreciates. My mom.

Q: What do you look forward to when your kids are bigger?
Getting back in shape and working out regularly. Being able to stay in NY on that business trip for one extra day and not feel guilty. Walking through the house and not be constantly picking up STUFF! Going on a small holiday with just my husband.

Q: What makes you tick?
I love a challenge. Anything creative. Traveling. Learning a new language. Watching my kids learn something new or be mesmerized by something.

Q: What bugs you?
People that turn right from the centre lane and don't move over into the curb lane first - holding up the rest of us. People who dawdle (chop, chop, people!). Smokers. Rudeness. People that walk by avoiding eye contact--it doesn't hurt to smile! That they can't find a cure for cancer.

Q: How did you get into this business?
For over 9 years I was in the kids/baby magazine business and followed trends very closely. I was the local and Canadian TV reporter for all things kid-related on various TV news channels. When I had my first daughter I was frustrated that baby basics weren't available in funkier patterns--everywhere I looked there were the same old ABC blocks or teddy bear prints! That is where it all started. I have never manufactured anything before but had been running my own business for over 11 years, so off I went sourcing and designing and the rest is history.

Q: What do you love about your business?
I love that it is go-go-go and always busy and creative and strategic all at the same time.

Q: What do you NOT love about your business?
Traveling to great places but rushing back because I don't want to miss my kids or have them miss me.

Q: What was your toughest moment?
Standing about to board a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong with my 9-week baby Jill strapped into my Baby Bjorn, wondering WHAT WAS I DOING? Alone and about to travel around the world, sleep deprived and frazzled, the reality hit me....(but, Jill was a doll the whole way there and the whole way back!).