Bamboo Blanket Dreams

It was a fantastic day @ babyjo headquarters today - with a photoshoot on location in Leura.

Baby Kane, of just 6 weeks old was our little star. He was not overly impressed with having beanies pulled on and off his sweet head, but he ended up falling asleep like an angel and we got some gorgeous sleeping caterpillar shots of him in the eco natural bamboo blanket and beanie.

He was wide eyed for the green apple blossom blanket shots and we quickly took advantage of the sunlight that suddenly appeared (a miracle in the Blue Mountains these days!).

The hard part at the end of any shoot is always picking out just a couple of photos to use, and there were so many divine pics it was hard to choose . . . "that one!", "No no . . . that one!" Yep . . lucky the photographer is patient... he only had to tell me to move and be quiet nicely a few times :D.

Now the photographs are in progress of being made print ready, but I've been sent a couple already! I am so excited and thrilled with the results that I have to share it with you.. So, here is a sneak peak of what's coming:

Thank you Linda for sharing your beautiful bub with us - t'was a great morning!
Amanda x

Bamboo Man

I am most excited to find a man in Australia who loves Bamboo as much as I do (if not more!). Mr Durnford Dart, who has the nickname in the industry of 'Mr. Bamboo' - of course :). He has devoted 20 years of his life to growing and harvesting bamboo, right here in Australia. He is Australia's very own leading bamboo farmer! I am inspired and excited to connect with him.

Bamboo is such a quickly renewable resource as it is the fastest growing plant on earth - talk about sustainable! It grows anywhere from 30cms – 1.2m in a single day, and with sufficient rainfall it requires no additional irrigation. There is NO need to cut down our beautiful rainforests. The Chinese have been making paper from bamboo for over 1,500 years!

Bamboo grows so well in our warm climate area, and seeing this in action is inspirational. Investigating the possibility of bamboo textile production in Australia seems insurmountable to me at times, with the huge costs involved in setting up the technology to turn raw bamboo into a fibre. But, knowing now there are others out there hoping and working towards the same goal is uplifting.

So in between running babyjo and researching and writing about my bamboo trail journey - there is not much in my day that doesn't involve.. well - bamboo. :)
My next stop is to investigate natural and eco dyes and dyeing methods using these more sustainable methods . . . I'm not sure it is even possible to do so with bamboo fibre - so time to find out!

Bamboo fascinating fact: Traditional Oriental belief holds that being in a bamboo grove restores calmness and stimulates creativity... no wonder bamboo groves were also a favourite dwelling place of the Buddha!

Amanda

On the bamboo trail...

It's official that I am even more in love with Bamboo now that I am getting knee deep into my research of this incredible resource.

I’m in search of Australian bamboo. It just so happens I have a holiday booked to the northern rivers of NSW (before the opportunity to buy babyjo had even come up ;). Upon arrival I was very excited to discover bamboo – is everywhere! Bamboo certainly is not growing in my local Blue Mountains town in NSW.

The gorgeous house @ Bangalow we rented was called Bungalow3 (divine plus!) and even had a bamboo fence or 2 and a bamboo tree outside the window :) I took that as a very good omen on arrival.

A bit of research on my holiday (thanks to google and some phone calls), means I have discovered that Australia actually has about 5 species of native bamboo . . so perhaps my dream of using Australian bamboo for babyjo isn’t such a pipe dream after-all . . . It makes much more environmental sense to support local industry and get the resource as locally sourced as possible.

My love of Bamboo and passion to find a resource that is sustainable, has taken me on a search of bamboo forests across the northern rives. I am finding lovely spots daily where I can sit under the VERY tall bamboo shoots and marvel at the grandeur and simplicity of a bamboo plantation. I cuddle my son (in his babyjo romper ;) and it’s pretty hard to believe that these gorgeous plants can turn into my equally gorgeous clothing range.

I have realized it is time for me to investigate the 'how’ of bamboo fibre production a little more. I don’t know all that much about the actual process of transforming bamboo trees into bamboo fibre clothing, and I want to make sure I am doing it as environmentally friendly as possible.Time to ask my chinese manufacturer a few questions ;)

As I transform my own knowledge I can't help but feel there is a global shift taking place - where we can all start to consciously create our futures instead of the old 'search and destroy' mentality.

Definitely on the bamboo trail now – and loving it.

Oh I must also confess that I am certainly making some time to spend by the ocean - running on the beach with my beautiful children :)

Just a quick post to say how excited I am to be the new owner of babyjo bamboo wear. I am passionate about creating a sustainable way of living for our beautiful Earth and babyjo offers me the perfect platform to create and educate about sustainable resources.

A tiny bit about me: I owned and ran an organic baby store for 2 years prior to taking up the opportunity to buy babyjo. I have 2 gorgeous children (including 1 bub small enough to wear babyjo luckily! :D). We live in the beautiful upper Blue Mountains of NSW.

I am looking forward to getting to know bamboo more thoroughly, and all of you who have been supporters of babyjo thus far, as well as all the new lovers of babyjo that I know will inevitably fall in love with bamboo baby clothing too.

Amanda

Christmas Gifts for Kids

One of our favourite customers, (a SAHM mother to 2 gorgeous boys) has written a guest post for us this month - a great read for anyone looking to purchase Christmas gifts for little ones.
Shellie is passionate about our Environment (and protecting it) and raises some great points below.


"This Christmas, more than ever, I am determined that we should give
the earth a Happy New Year by making environmentally friendly
choices. I find that Christmas is a time where we really are
speaking with our wallets, and thus it is so important that we buy
carefully.
So often a gift is bought just for the sake of something to give. I
feel that if you are stuck for what to buy something, it is best to
donate on their behalf instead. I have some young cousins who are
really difficult to buy for and in the past I have used the TEAR and
OXFAM websites which have many choices available such as "buying"
school supplies for children, mosquito nets, or a chook for a
family. Greenpeace is another good one where you can donate money to
protect rainforests. Orangutans.com.au offer "cards-for-a-cause" and
a search of the internet will find you many similar options.

My immediate family do a Kris Kringle where the gift has to have cost
nothing (being a farming family, we are conscious of the environment
and do not like to waste money just for the sake of giving a gift).
This year I have made my brother a photo album from cereal boxes
decorated with scraps of paper and copies of his baby photos with a
bit of writing about him. My sister is going to help my mum paint
her house and my mum is brilliant at making things from wood so i am
sure to get something great from her.

My Mum's relatives come up with a gift swapping game, where we all
put one gift into the centre. we then take turns to either chose a
gift from the pile, or to steal one off another person. This year,
the gifts that we have to put in must be something that we have at
home, but no longer use. i have plenty of things i can put in!
My dad's family too, have adopted this idea. we have our Christmas
gathering the weekend before Christmas and this year I will be sure
that I put in only environmentally friendly gifts - a notepad made
from post consumer recycled paper and a pen from
www.goinggreensolutions.com.au
Some of my other favourite sites are www.biome.com.au and
www.todae.com.au
I recently bought my kids a little solar car from
Todae ($12) which is great to teach them about energy.
I have been searching for great gifts for my kids and for the
children of my best friend and have come across many wonderful
sites.
My favourites being
www.ecotoys.com.au
www.honeybeetoys.com.au and
www.thetribestore.com.au

My kids favourite toys are organic wooden "anamalz" and each birthday
and christmas we add something to their collection.
"greentoys" make some wonderful items including a tea set made from
recycled plastic bottles (their range can be found at
www.ecotoys.com.au)

"Boon" make bath toys that are bpa free and do not have holes in the
bottom to allow toys such as ducks to fill up with yucky water which
is then drunk by cheeky children. They also have some innovative
bath toys such as a ring toss game.


My favourite new item that I am looking at for my own children is the
rainbow nesting blocks from www.ecotoys.com.au. these are brightly
coloured blocks in various shapes - square, triangle and crescent -
that can be stacked in any way that you can think of. I love these
sorts of toys for kids as it gives them a chance to really use their
imagination. The blocks are made from environmentally friendly
rubber wood. I know that I can trust ecotoys and that they only
stock good quality, environmentally friendly products. For this
reason, I have passed their website on to family who are looking at
what to buy for my children.
I also saw an idea of making your own Christmas bonbons by using
toilet rolls. I have found some great little things that can fit
inside a toilet roll - wooden pencils from "Save the children" and
some organic lip balm. I also have some brilliant family jokes to
put inside. but i wont be sharing those here!
Finally, there is nothing better after a christmas lunch that to have
a great conversation with your relatives while you wash the dishes
(no need for disposable plates and cutlery).
So, this year, lets all give the earth a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year by making our purchases carefully."

Thanks Shellie for sharing this special post with us - It sounds as though you will be enjoying a wonderful Christmas with your beautiful family!
Jo.........

About three things I was absolutely positive....... First, winter was in full swing. Second, there is a part of me that absolutely adores hats of shape and kind. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with bamboo!

You could be forgiven for thinking I am in a Twilight-induced-blog-posting-haze, however this is NOT the case. I have just found out that my good friend Simone over at Monkey Caboose has some totally divine winter hats made from....... (you guessed it) BAMBOO!

Zooni Mop Top bamboo hats feature one-of-a-kind designs that are guaranteed to turn heads! Each hat is hand knit with love and care from custom made bamboo yarn. Lined with soft fleece or jersey, these hats provide maximum warmth and comfort for your child. The perfect finishing touch to any outfit - and boy are they cute!



Zooni bamboo hats are available in 3 sizes - Small (6-12 months), Medium (12 -24 Months) and Large (2-5 yrs) you can dress your little person in a beautiful, warm and absolutely gorgeous winter hat.


Monkey Caboose has two bamboo styles available - "Dyno-mite" and "Sweet on you" Cupcake and a huge range of other adorable Zooni hats for winter - I just love them!

Whirlwind

An update on the past week or so - It has been so very busy, but oh-so-much fun!
You have probably seen it on Facebook, or via twitter, however I was so excited to be at the Connect2Mums AusMumpreneur Awards in Brisbane last Saturday. The room was full of amazingly talented and hugely inspiring women, the "vibe" was contagious and I had an absolute ball.


Prior to jumping on the plane, I woke up early on the Saturday morning to cook up some pancakes (a treat in our house!) and watch The Today Show - it was so surreal watching myself of Television, but such a great experience. Mia loved seeing herself on there as well!
You can view the segment if you missed it - here on the Today Show website.I spent a lovely (almost) 24 hours in Brisbane - oh how I love their warm weather! It was so nice to go out in just an evening dress and not have to worry about a jacket/warmth or the idea that it may rain.It was an eventful night, and I am pleased to say that Babyjo was awarded the Best Eco Friendly Business Award on the evening - something that I am so proud of!
Thank you to both Peace and Katy and Connect2Mums - it was so lovely to be involved in the AusMumpreneur awards.


Here are a few cheeky pics of the evening - courtesy of Tanya at Love Bytes photography. Tan did an amazing job, capturing all the fun of the conference and speed networking, not to mention the gorgeous "photo booth" at the Awards dinner.




Pictured above is Anke from www.herbology.com.au - I was so lucky to receive a gorgeous big basket of herbal tea and other goodies from Anke, who sponsored the Eco Friendly award category. Thanks Anke!