If you want to make a lasting impact on both your children and the world, going green is the way to do it. Transforming your household into a “no-waste” zone as well as reinforcing the importance of an environmentally sound way of life is a change that could benefit your family for generations to come. Are you wondering how you can get on the green train and then bring your family onboard? Keep reading to find out.

Going green: the basics

The great thing about making the decision to live a green lifestyle is that it is now so easy to do. Going green may mean more than separating your aluminium from plastic, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a hassle. Here’s where to start.

1. Energy-proof your home. The best place to start when going green is saving energy at home. Make small and inexpensive instalments such as fluorescent light bulbs, low-flow shower heads that save water, and a programmable thermostat that automatically shuts of the heating and cooling. These changes take only minutes to do but could bring your energy bills down significantly over time. There’s no better investment for your time or your money!

2. Start cycling to work. If you use a bicycle as your main mode of transportation, you can cut your carbon emissions to just a fraction of what they were before. You may also save on doctor’s bills; people who get regular exercise have fewer health issues and experience less sick days over the course of their careers. Cycling can also become a fun family activity that the kids can involved with when they are old enough. Plus, it’s free entertainment.

3. Switch to green electricity. Using renewable, sustainable power sources is one of the greatest impacts you can make to reduce your family’s carbon footprint. Luckily, green energy doesn’t have to entail installing solar panels or wind turbines on your family’s property anymore. You can go green (and stay on the grid) with a simple phone call to your energy provider to tell them that you want to switch. Research some renewable energy companies such as Good Energy, and then make your move.

4. Hydrate from the tap. Instead of throwing away thousands of pounds each year on bottled water, get your hydration from filtered tap water. Not only does this save you time and energy (no more driving to the supermarket to pick up a new case of water), but it also reduces plastic waste that takes generations to break down.

5. Eat green. If you come from a family of meat lovers, consider reducing your animal intake to just once or twice a week. This will give you the chance to try out some new and interesting recipes as well as the opportunity to infuse your family’s diet with more vegetables, fruits, and grains. For these items, consider shopping at local farmer’s markets so that you have the benefit of knowing exactly where your food is coming from and how it was raised. Eating local also cuts down on the carbon emissions that it takes to transport foods across vast distances.

6. Hold off on that upgrade. With a newer, faster version of every smart phone and personal computer released every month, it can be tempting to want the latest and greatest. But if you keep your electronics for longer periods of time, you can cut the amount of harmful chemicals that go into the trash along with them.

At its very core, green living is all about keeping it simple, which is a principal that works well for families. These tips are just the beginning, so find more ways to live green as you embrace the lifestyle!

Sponsored post by Leo Fisher

The Lost Garden Blue Sky Kids Wallpaper

Another wallpaper designer whose work we love and have stocked since we launched is the wonderful MiniModerns. Minimoderns is a print driven collection including wallpaper, textiles and home accessories for kids (and kidults!) and design conscious families. The print designs are themselves at once retro, and modern, with influences ranging from textile designs of the 1950’s to vintage toys and games. Mimimyne currently stocks their colouring in wallpaper which is a fantastic and innovative idea for children. These designs featuring clocks, chairs and buildings are all made in the UK on paper from sustained forests and using water-based inks.

Tick Tock (Snow) Colour In Wallpaper

More recently, we were introduced to the work of Turner Pocock Cazalet and are delighted to stock their beautiful animal and sport wallpaper at Mimimyne. Turner and Pocock are both interior designers and have created this range with their friend, artist Catherine Cazalet. There’s a strong graphic feel in the animal prints, which include a zebra wallpaper, an ostrich wallpaper, an ibis wallpaper and a gorgeous polar bear wallpaper. The animal wallpapers feature elegant line drawings in repeating designs and come in a range of colours. They can also be personalised to match amy paint or fabric colour you desire, a unique service which I think parents will love. The sports prints of Cricket and Tennis have a strongly retro feel. All of these prints are elegant and sophisticated enough to be used in adults rooms as well as in children’s playrooms or bedrooms – the sports themed wallpapers are a hit with husbands, our customers tell us! These wallpapers are all made using FSC paper and made in the UK. We’re hoping to have some exciting new designs from them soon, so watch this space…. And remember, all of our wallpapers can be sent out as swatches, so just get in touch if you’d like a closer look!

Polar Bear Wallpaper by Turner Pocock Cazalet in Purple (Bespoke Colour)

Check out the PDF of Most Wanted from Popular Crafts Magazine

Little Picture Gallery have some gorgeous Easter themed artworks as well. These are really a gift that will be treasured all year round but especially in Spring – check out their Easter Bunny, Roll On Easter, Easter Chick and Easter Friends and Daffodils art (all printed on eco friendly bamboo paper with archival quality vegetable based inks). Theseare beautiful and classic images which will not date.

Easter Chick by Little Picture Gallery

Finally, try a beautiful eco card from ieinotherwords – a beautiful line drawing of an Easter Egg is embellished with gold glitter on eco friendly, recycled paper and will be sent to you in a biodegradeable plastic wrapper. Almost good enough to eat! Happy Easter to all our customers and readers.

Eco friendly Easter Egg Card by ieinotherwords

Kids enjoying an event at Bubble London photo courtesy of Bubble

I was able to check out all the exhibitors’ stands (over 250 of them!) to see how creatively they had used their space and discuss the presentation and layout with my fellow judges, the wonderful Natalie Lue of Bambino Goodies, Laura Turner, editor of CWB Magazine and Evane and Anne from Doolittle Magazine.

It was a tough call but after much discussion over some delicious fairy cakes, we awarded the overall prize to Pili Pala Childrenswear for their creative use of children’s artworks in their space. We also loved the Rachel Riley stand which created a wonderful boutique style store with a shabby chic feel and the Quince stand, which used the ingenious idea of displaying children’s clothes with animal masks.

Pila Pala’s Stand Out stand at Bubble, photo courtesy of Bubble London

Quince, runner up in the Stand Out competition, photo courtesy of Bubble London

It was such a busy day I didn’t get the chance to look as closely at all the products as I usually do! But generally there were a lot of gorgeous animal-themed images and nature imagery on display – very in keeping with one of the childrenswear trends pointed out in the trend area, ‘Eco Camp’, where ‘Forest Rangers-in-training meet Greenpeace activists’. This look is all about authentic, rugged and functional outdoor staples but also incorporates ‘wildlife enthusiast graphics’ like the beautiful prints by Mimimyne designer Animal Tails.

Another look that appealed to me is the Punk Tech look – ‘classic silhouettes infused with angsty rock detail… Garage band lead singer meets amateur astronomer in a manga comic chat room’. I love a slightly edgy look to kids clothes and think it particularly suits boys. I see little hipster kids in East London dressed like this all the time, even wearing hats and shades for the full Shoreditch effect. There were some great rock-inspired designs on view at Bubble too.

Trends predictions at Bubble London

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas and New Year. We spent our time at home in London this year – it was very nice just relaxing at home and it certainly made dealing with my Christmas and New Year orders a lot easier!

Highlights included making Christmas decorations with the help of my mother, the writer Jocasta Innes, who has been doing crafting courses at her home and as a result had a lot of craft equipment we could use. My two boys and my nephew Max spent hours making gift tags and decorations to hang up on the Christmas tree. We had a delicious organic turkey on the day itself and I managed to do a lot of shopping at Spitalfieds market so I felt I was supporting local traders and designers. I hope you are all happy with your Christmas orders – Twisted Twee designs in particular were flying out of the shop!

Like everyone I’ve been making New Year’s Resolutions. For my business, it’s to be a better blogger – I’m aiming to do at least two posts per week here and on my personal blog. I’m also going to work on updating my business plan so that I can start the New Year with firm goals and targets. Finally – soon – I will launch a new website to make it easy for overseas customers to shop at Mimimyne! This will have lots of great new features to make the site easier to use and navigate for everyone. I can’t wait!

For myself personally, I’ve joined New Year New Body, a support group set up by Liz Jarvis to help women stay motivated to lose weight and get fit. I’m reasonably active (well, I walk the dogs every day and cycle and walk everywhere) but never find the time to go to the gym, so I’m going to make more time for that too.

My other resolution is to make my home more organised and clutter free. I’m planning to clear it out by the end of January so I can redecorate a couple of rooms. I found a great article on Decluttering with a Conscience over at Angels and Urchins – have a look!

And finally I’m going to make more time for creative writing. I’ve had one short story published recently but I used to write a lot more – screenplays, poetry and fiction – before I had children. I’m going to work at this as it’s something I find inspiring and challenging.

What are your resolutions for the New Year?

How Green is Your Market

It was a wonderful surprise to find out this month that I had won the Greenest Trader Award 2011 as part of the How Green is Your Market competition run by the National Market Traders Federation. I regularly run a stall at the famous Old Spitalfields Market on Sundays where the old fruit and vegetable market used to be. I love trading there partly because I am a proud East Ender (my mother moved to Spitalfields in the late 70′s) and used to visit the fruit and veg market as well as Brick Lane market every Sunday. I also love it because it’s enclosed, bright and spacious, has wonderful food stalls and restaurants and makes a great retail space for small independent designers who want to reach customers directly. The other stallholders are great fun and sell all kinds of interesting products, especially handicrafts, jewellery and clothing – I bought several of my Christmas presents there this year. I won the Award because I sell organic, recycled and biodegradable products and because I transport my goods by bicycle – no carbon emissions there! I wasn’t able to go to the Awards Ceremony so the award judges visited my stall and presented it to me in person this December. I’m proud to be Greenest Trader 2011, thanks again to the NMTF!

Tabitha Potts wins Greenest Trader Award 2011 (NMTF)

Pine Tree Dad and Baby T Shirt by Twisted twee

I know a lot of you will be rushing to get your online shopping finished in time for Christmas, so here are a few suggestions to make life easier! All our gifts are either recycled, recyclable, organic, sustainably sourced, Fair Trade or made in the UK so you can give presents with a clear conscience! Here are my top suggestions for dad and baby, for baby boys and girls, for toddlers, for stocking fillers for older kids and for mum – more ideas coming next week.

For a dad and baby we love Twisted Twee’s Pint and Half Pint Sets but hurry, these sell out fast! We also love the Pine Tree and Fir Cone Dad and Baby T-Shirts in organic cotton.

Baby girls will look super cute in these retro Film Buff T Shirts by Twisted Twee while these Moomin Babygrows by Green Eyed Monster are cute on baby boys and girls and are made of lovely thick organic cotton.

For a special gift for a toddler, how about these handmade Monkey slippers by Oromono as recently recommended in Hello? You can accessorise all the Oromono slippers with a matching Jungle playmat and Monkey cushion. A perfect gift set for any cheeky little monkeys you know!

Monkey Slippers by Oromono

Great stocking fillers available at Mimimyne include these cute Santa and Rudolf puppets by Crafty Kids – great for older kids to make some Christmas puppets on the big day while you get on with cooking the turkey! Mimimyne also recommends our story book and vegetable growing kits by Secret Seed Society – a real bargain at only £5.

For mums we recommend the practical and beautiful Mum’s Bag – this is always a winner and is so handy for shopping and the school run!

I hope you enjoy these suggestions and have a wonderful Christmas!

If you need more convincing, have a read of their 10 Good Reasons to Choose FSC

Wedding photo with wooden words

Another email came from Louise Jones, a wedding planner who runs Veils and Vows and wanted her company name made in wood for wedding fayres and events where she appears. She says in her email “Here is a photo of the beautiful wooden words you did for me. I think they look great on the brown tablecloth.” Apparently the wooden words were a real hit with other exhibitors too, with several asking her where they were from! It’s always lovely to hear from happy customers so this was a real treat for me. Here’s a photo of Veils and Vows’ very attractive stand.

Fayre Stand for Veils and Vows

The wooden words are hand carved from FSC wood with the combination of letters and words that you choose and can be painted in Fairbourn Furniture’s favourite colourways cream, pale blue, pale pink and pale green. Although the designer recommends them for children’s nurseries and bedrooms, as you can see the only limits to their use is your own imagination!

Me with 50's style updo at the Vintage Festival

Mimimyne's Stall at the Vintage Festival

Another view of the Mimimyne Stall

There’s a fantastic slideshow of images by street photographer Scott Hortop which shows the glamour and vintage style of the festival better than my photos could! I sold several of my beautiful upcycled Mimimyne romper suits which have been a huge hit at festivals and market stalls, as well as some Moomin baby clothes by Green Eyed Monster and lots of Pint and Half Pint T Shirts by Twisted Twee. It was a very hot weekend but we were under a marquee and had lots of delicious food stalls nearby, always very important for me as I am rarely organised enough to bring lunch. All in all it was a great three days and though it’s always hard taking such a lot of time out during the school holidays, I got a visit from my husband and lovely boys and spent some time with my sister who helped out on the stall. I really enjoyed this festival, there was a great party atmosphere and it’s reminded me what fun dressing up, trying out different outfits and being thoroughly girly is occasionally!

I’ve been recycling batteries at my local Tesco; there are so many more places where you can do this now and it’s only a five minute walk for me to drop them off! The other thing I could do is cut down on the amount of batteries I use in the first place, I am thinking about buying a battery recharger and rechargeable batteries to reduce my impact on the environment.

I’m going to make a final decision about whether to get a wormery or a composter this week and buy one. My local council subsidises both so it’s really a question of whether I can face up to wriggly worms or whether it’s better to have a composter, even though my garden is very small. The council used to pick up my food waste from my previous address, but sadly does not provide this service where I live now.

I am going to recycle some clothes (too knackered for the charity shop) and a broken electric kettle. RecycleNow has a great list of retailers who will recycle old small electrical appliances but none of them are near me so I will be making a trip to my local recycling centre.

I recently recycled two mobile phones and was paid £45 for them – it’s so worthwhile. Mobile phones that go into landfill are toxic and are also a waste of the expensive hi-tech components that are used to make them. Recycle yours, donate them to charity or get money for them – it’s a really good idea! There are plenty of sites out there which will help you get your old mobile phones recycled, try this tool from Money Saving Expert to compare them.

I’m also using a Kindle to read books. This is great for the book club I attend as I don’t have to run around book stores looking for books at the last minute, I’m finding it hard to kick my newspaper habit though, even if I can read a newspaper online it doesn’t feel quite the same. If I do buy a paper, I recycle it (of course!) but cutting down on my newspaper and magazine purchasing is going to be hard. I’m also going to donate some books to a local charity to clear some space.

I’m also looking into ways my company can help out. I’ve been looking at ways of reusing materials when creating products and am about to launch a new line of children’s clothing, made with talented childrenswear designer Sally Hemphill (who I met on the school run!) which uses recycled fabrics (offcuts from interior design projects which would otherwise have gone to landfill). The clothes are hand made in the UK by Heba Women’s Project, a unique training & enterprise project based in Brick Lane providing women from diverse cultural backgrounds with a safe and welcoming place in which to make new friends, learn new skills and engage in enterprise activities to suit their particular needs and family commitments. Heba’s a fantastic place which has helped many women with their sewing, English and IT courses, work spaces for designers and creche, so I’m proud to be working with them.

Mimimyne uses recycled printing paper, envelopes and reuses packaging, so that’s taken care of: in fact I do almost everything electronically and don’t generate much paper. I also recycle all my print cartridges by donating them to charity or getting them refilled. I am interested in finding out more about green packaging however, a designer I met recently at Pulse uses biodegradable plastic to package her products and I think there is more that I could do in terms of sourcing green packaging materials. I currently use recycled paper bags and Mimimyne recyclable and reusable Smartbags for selling goods at shows but am going to research things like bubble wrap to see if there are greener alternatives I could be using.

There is lots more information about how you can help the environment during Recycle Week at their website Recycle Now. You can also use the widget below to find out more tips about recycling in your area!

I wanted to tell you about a great little place I discovered recently, one of those hidden gems which make you glad to live in the neighbourhood. There is so much to see and do in East London but a lot of it is more grown-up than kiddie fun and it’s always exciting to come across something new for children in the area. I was browsing some websites when I came across a mention of a shop in Hoxton which was part of a social enterprise encouraging kids and young people to write, the Ministry of Stories. The Ministry is partly funded by sales from the Hoxton Monster Supplies shop. Intrigued, I set off with the kids and Other Half. We had lunch at Viet Hoa, a great local Vietnamese restaurant (this was a triumph as we finally discovered a menu item that Felix will eat apart from plain noodles – thank you, spare ribs!). And then went to look for the shop. It’s tucked away on Hoxton Road behind Hackney community college and has an old fashioned wood and glass front. ‘Angry mobs please douse your torches’ said one sign. ‘Nocturnal visits by appointment for vampire customers only’ says another.

Inside the shop has lots of beautifully designed products including tins labelled ‘A vague sense of unease’ or ‘Utter terror’. After a while trying to work out what was inside we found out that they contained short stories – a brilliant idea. We also checked out the invisible cat in the basket in the corner (don’t pet it too hard) and bought a book of children’s stories for the boys. It’s such a great concept and I will certainly be back. The Ministry is currently looking for volunteers and there is also a Book Club.