Inspiration From the Affordable Artfair

I love to paint, draw and create with my little ones .... but sometimes/quite often I just run out of ideas (especially when I have a lot of work on or if I am feeling a bit tired).

Occasionally, I look up projects online but what I love doing is taking the little ones to galleries and exhibitions, where we can all just walk around and enjoy other people's work and get inspired. They may still be a bit young to fully appreciate it but It is never too early to get started.

Here are a few inspirational art-pieces that I found at the Affordable Art-fair in Battersea Park today:
Simple ideas, a splash of colour, basic materials and tons of creativity. Happy art-making !


Ps. For those that haven't been to The Affordable
Art-fair, it is a great place to take kids as they have various learning centres where they teach different things like sculpting, print-making etc. There is even relaxation areas for the little ones to rest, if they get tired from being creative.




Send me an image of your children's artwork, and I will share it with everyone on here.

First five to e-mail me at info@monstersandmunchkins.com will receive a lovely cut-out by Alasdair Wallace.

Welcome PR-girl !

Now when all the winter stock has arrived and I have finally managed to get them all posted online, it is time to get some PR/marketing going, just so that I can make sure that as many people as possible get to see what fabulous stuff we have in-store.

I have been trying to tackle this all by my self (with some occasional help from DH ) since we launched the website last year but I have finally come to realize that I can not do it anymore. There are too many other things going on at the moment, constantly trying to source new exciting stock, photographing and uploading all new stock, organizing events, designing the new Jakeandmaya collection, overseeing production (and of course twitter and facebook!!!) ..... and on top of it all, two toddlers approaching their terrible twos to look after 24/7 !
So I decided to hire someone to help me out. Welcome on board PR-girl :-)

It feels so nice (I already feel much less stressed-out) knowing that even when I am too occupied doing other things, she will still be on top of the PR, speaking to people, organizing editorials, sorting out press-releases and most importantly making sure that I get organized and get everything to the press on-time ! Why did I wait this long to get someone to help ?!

She is great and so unbelievably enthusiastic ! There is no sitting around chatting and just wasting time with her ! As soon as she started her first day, she demanded that we go out and have an impromptu photo-shoot, as she needed an image IMMEDIATELY.

So off we went, photographer (DH), stylist (I), art-director (PR-girl) and the models (The Little Ones) and got her what she needed. If this is an indication of how she works, then you will be seeing a lot of us in the press in the upcoming months ! Very exciting and fun !

We have a lot of things planned for the next few months. Fairs, competitions, special offers....

So do follow our blog or twitter @mnstrsnmnchkns so I can keep you updated !

Ghostly echoes of a troubled past

I love living in Central London. I love all the buzz and excitement around me. There are so many things to do and places to visit. It is all great but... as the little ones are getting a bit older (louder, more mobile, more demanding, messier....), I am craving a bit more space and would like a huge garden for the little ones and our dogs to run around and play in. So we've been house-hunting for a country home in Gloucestershire, well-known for its picturesque villages and fabulous schools.

We've been driving up and down there looking for houses regularly for over a year. It has been very tiring but also very interesting exploring the different areas and visiting the wonderful villages.
We've seen some lovely houses but there has always been something that was not right... but then we finally found the "perfect" house on our last trip !

The house is within a gated development of 18 or so houses, built on 5 acres of land. All beautifully restored and landscaped. Both DH and I fell in love with this place. It was truly amazing ! We could so imagine living there ! The house was absolutely gorgeous, the views stunning and it was in Painswick, one of our favourite villages in Cotswolds. They also have some of the countries best schools around there. It was perfect !

So, off we went home, very happy about finding "our" new home but this happiness did not last long...
As we got home, I googled the development to find out more about it and I came across the most disturbing story about this development. I now feel very torn.... should we or should we not make an offer. What would you do ?

Read this (if you dare) and let me know what you would do .

Date in Hong Kong - Sevva

Hot sticky weather, small hotel rooms, hyper-active (seemingly) children, millions of people EVERYWHERE, messed up feeding/napping schedules...... It can all feel a bit intense and can add to a lot of stress.
And what better way to relieve stress than having the grandparents baby-sit the little ones and go out for a martini or two with DH :-)

We had seen this place in magazines and heard about it from our friends but never been ourselves, so we decided to give it a try ! And oh my goodness, was it amazing !

Sevva, as the restaurant/bar is called, is located in Central (right next to the HSBC building). The drinks (water-melon martini... yum ! ) were fabulous and the view was just to die for ! We were supposed to just have one drink on the terrace before dinner but seemed such a waste to go inside to the restaurant (where there was less of a view) , so we had one drink, then another, then another after that I think ... until the waiter firmly insisted we went to our table or we will lose the booking.
Hesitantly we moved inside... which was in fact, just (almost at least) as stunning as the outside. The decor was very tastefully done and the detailing was immaculate... everything down to the cutlery and the menus, which were made out of butter-soft leather and shagreen.

There was a selection of modern Asian and European dishes to choose from, each one sounding as exciting as the other. We went for lobster spring roll for starter, topped with caviar and DH had a "simple" steak with an assortment of side orders for main, while I had a more adventurous beef cheek casserole. The food was absolutely heavenly ! Definitely one of the best meals I have ever had anywhere. The beef cheek was just incredible. ... just melted in my mouth like marshmallow.... mmm, just the thought of it makes my mouth water !

A bit on the pricey side but what a fabulous evening it was ! What a treat ! Everything was perfect !
I should really try and go on "dates" with DH more often .....but I know what will happen, when we get back home, life will just take over and we will not have time for each other again... sadly. But that's a whole other blogpost !

Ps. I double checked. Kids allowed onto the terrace and restaurant ... should you ever want to bring your children there.

Hong Kong - Ocean park

Tokyo was amazing but I always love being back in Hong Kong. There is a nice buzz about the place and everything is so convenient ! People are nice, service always good .... and most people speak English (unlike in Tokyo)!

Little ones stayed with their grandparents when we went to Tokyo, but now when we are back with them we decided to have some fun.

One of the most obvious things to do with kids in Hong Kong is going to Ocean Park, which is a lovely amusement park only about 10 mins away from Central. One could of course also go to Disneyland but Ocean Park is probably more suitable for toddlers and it is much easier to get to.

Apart from the amusement park itself, Ocean Park also has a panda area, an aquarium and an ocean theatre where sea-lions, dolphins and killer whales perform their tricks. On top of that, there are a bunch of rides for little people , as well as a fun toddler playground.

Ocean Park sits on top of a hill, surrounded by water. This does mean that the views are absolutely stunning but unfortunately it also means a whole lot of stairs and escalators .....

Ps. Didn't manage to get any pics of the toddler rides and playground unfortunately, as I was busy running after two little ones but check out this website to find out more.

Tokyo Tokyo

Pretty amazing place, Tokyo. It's exiting, colourful, energetic, quirky, neat, unreal .... weird ! Everywhere you go, there is always something amazing to see, to do or to eat ... or at least someone to look at !

Shopping for kids in Tokyo

Here are a few pics I took during my shopping trips for children's stuff. I must say that shopping for kids in Tokyo is rather interesting. Very diverse. Very cool and there is a lot of places to go to.... if you know where to go, as they tend to be rather "hidden". I got rather confused (and tired) during these trips and most of the shops blurred into one... the few shop names that come to mind: Beams , Re-style, Bape Kids, Caramel, Cocca, Takashimaya, Over the Stripes, Coeur, Illums Kids...