Seven Sleeps to Go

Now I'm trying not to panic... only seven sleeps to go and it is Christmas. I still have presents to buy, food to organise and packing to do. The crazy thing for those of us living in the southern hemisphere is that all our institutions finish up for the year at the same time as Christmas. So schools are breaking up and having prize givings. Dancing, music and sporting groups all have their end of year functions and concerts. There is a general feeling of panic as December disappears under an avalanche of diary entries. This year we also have a daughter in the Cathedral choir and Christmas is a particularly busy time for them. Not that I am complaining as we have been listening to some lovely Christmas Carols being practiced around the house.
Like many New Zealanders we will be heading off on holiday(vacation) once Christmas comes. We go and stay by the beach in a bach (kiwi word meaning simple holiday home pronounced "batch"). This year we have bought a tent that we will use as overflow accommodation for guests and as a bolt hole for the kids. This time of the year is always very unpredictable weather wise and camping really is an exercise in optimism. So with the bach and the tent we should have all bases covered.
This week I have two gorgeous photos of Luci, who is three years old. She is having a lovely time beside the lake in the winter time. At that age everything is a fascinating discovery and she's a real sweety.
The Toi cape also works really well in the summer. It is so easy to slip it over whatever is being worn be it a T-shirt or pyjamas. Not being lined means that the cape isn't too hot to wear in the summer and the velcroed sides keep the air moving around to keep cool. It is the ideal thing to keep in the car or bag when you are out sightseeing and essential if you are going camping.
I will head off now and start attacking my lists. I will try and do one more post before we head off for sun, surf and sand.
Ka kite

Biking in The Hague

One of our lovely customers Ngaire has sent in these fabulous photo's of her daughter. These were taken in The Hague in May. Ngaire is a New Zealander living in The Netherlands and had bought the Toi cape directly from us before they went on sale there. Barry and I just happened to be in The Netherlands in May when these came through and we saw lots of scenes just like this. The Dutch are great at coming up with ideas for getting around on bikes. We saw many kids not just in bike seats but also in little purpose built bike trailers. And from what Ngaire tells us the Toi cape is another good idea for getting around on bikes as well as other modes of transport in the rain or showers.
It's hard to believe that today we are only two weeks away from Christmas. In New Zealand that also means summer holidays. Our kids are about to break up for their six week school holiday break. A very exciting time for them and as you can imagine a hectic time for parents. It is a time of year when lists become life savers. The children with their lists for Father Christmas and us with lists for Christmas cards, food, presents and things to take on holiday.
I hope all your plans and lists are going well for the festive season.

Europe

Barry has just got back from a trip to Europe. While we were enjoying balmy early summer weather he was shivering in 2 and 3 degrees Celsius. To make it worse the airlines lost his bags not once but twice. When you are only away from New Zealand for two weeks, you spend four of those days in the air. The lost bags took two days to be recovered both times which meant that, of the days on the ground, 40% were spent without luggage. So he was shivering from the cold and a lack of warm sweaters.
Putting travelling frustrations aside the trip was very successful. The highlight was undoubtedly seeing Toi in store in The Netherlands. Arnold and Erny at Ideavelop took Barry around retailers all over the country. The retail stand that we had designed and prototyped in New Zealand had been produced in the Czech Republic and put in store, loaded with stock. Barry described it as being a real thrill to see Toi garments and display material looking so exciting and appealing in these outdoor stores.
As always a picture speaks louder than words so here are a couple of photos Barry has taken.
The Italian leg of the trip was also successful. Nicole from NZ Trade and Enterprise had set up a great programme of meetings for Barry. These meetings were with distributors and agents who were interested in selling Toi in Italy. There is still lots more work to be done but we are on our way to being in retail stores in Italy in 2009.
Yesterday I took the next step in this blogging journey and emailed a whole lot of friends and family to let them know that the blog exists and invite them to read it and make comments, suggestions etc. I have already taken up some of the suggestions and would love to hear from anyone else who has an opinion. I still have a lot to learn about blogging but I am enjoying the challenge.

Twins

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted. Things here have been pretty busy. As I said last time we are in the process of moving the business out of home and into our fabulous new space. To add to this Barry has been in Europe talking to potential and current business partners. Talk about hectic. It's getting colder in Europe now and the days are getting shorter which is a huge contrast to what is happening here. Barry had a really successful trip and next week I will tell you all about it and post some photo's.
This week I have a photo I want to share of a set of twin girls all ready to go out on a rainy day. This was sent in by a very happy customer. As you can see both of the girls are happy sitting in their Toi Capes in the car capsules ready to go. I have huge respect for the mother's of twins. It must take superhuman organisational skills to get out of the house with two babies and all their gear. Joanna has not only got the girls organised she has kept them smiling.
The other thing that amazes me is that busy mums have time to sit down and tell us how they are enjoying Toi and even send has photo's. I suppose the old saying "if you want something done ask a busy person" must be true. All I can say is thank you for taking the time. it is so great to get the feedback.

Toddlers in Toi

We are in the process of moving at the moment. We have leased some premises and we are getting ready to move Toi out of our home. As with all moves this is both exciting and daunting. It will be fabulous to have space to put out display material up and greet associates and customers. The daunting part is going through all the "stuff" that we have accumulated, to work out what should be kept and what should be culled. Even this task has a bright side though. While reviewing some of the files I have come across some lovely photos that customers have sent in.
Today I am posting photo's of Will having fun on a rainy day in Auckland. In these photo's Will is 18 months old. He is wearing our small cape which is designed to go from birth to 6 years old. We have had lots of queries about how this can be so. The cape drapes over the baby whether it is being held, is in a buggy, a car seat or a backpack. The velcro at the sides makes it simple to use with all the paraphernalia that babies have. Once they are toddling it works like any rain cape. So I hope you enjoy Will at 18 months...

Here Goes - First Post

We are just starting on this blogging journey so bear with us as we make our first tentative steps. Today I would like to share a photo that we have just been sent. This happy little girl is wearing our Toi Cape and having loads of fun in the rain. We are all about kids having fun no matter what the weather. It's spring here so there are plenty of opportunities to wear wet weather gear. I don't know about you, but I find that with the longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures I want to get outside whether it is raining or not. I am reminded of that great saying "There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing". For those of you who do not know us you can check us out at www.toidesignz.com Toi Capes have been made for more than 12 years and we are very excited about being able to share our great product with the world. In the next few weeks I will load up more photos that we have been sent over the years. Thanks for stopping by.