Project 18

I believe that we all have something to give back to our society, the earth and our children.

Catherine Bolt is working so hard to do just that. To provide Children with a place that they can call home, something that we all deserve - and that is just the tip of the iceberg!

I am moved beyond words at the outstanding commitment that Cate and her family have put towards this project and to help in my little way we have added the Project 18 Contribution widget to our blogpost.... please donate if you can - a little bit goes a long way.

You can also read more about Cate's project here: http://catherinebolt.com/

Thank you,

The Cackleberry Kids xx

Our First Horse Ride

Today Lin and I went along to a Business Mum's networking function at the Kambah Playgroup Open Day, the great thing was that we could take the kids along with us.

There was so much for the kids to do and Ethan and Zoe had such a wonderful time - they both went on their very first horse ride!

It was so cool and we were very proud mums, beaming away as we walked beside them.

Ethan and Zoe were a little unsure at the start, but once they were settled onto the lovely Coco - they were so excited!! Lots of smiles and whoo hooo this is fun mummy!

It was great being there with them to share in their first horse ride.

The Cackleberry Kids xx

Some Gorgeous New Products

We are excited to have Aspire Candles joining us in store at Cackleberry Kids & Friends here in Canberra.

Lin and I had a hard time selecting which of the lovely scents we would order, however we got there in the end and can not wait for them to arrive next week.

Last week we unpacked the beautiful selection of handbags, wallets and baby bags from Susse Collection. They were definitely the talk of yesterday's Shopping event... many mums hoping that their lovely husbands will purchase one for birthdays and Christmas!!

Have a fabulous day,

The Cackleberry Kids xx

Exciting Times

Yesterday saw a proud moment celebrated by the Cackleberry Kids team.

We were one of 21 Finalists for the ACT's Export Awards yesterday. The awards consisted of 8 categories ranging from Arts & Entertainment, Education, Emerging Exporter, Information & Communication, Large Services, Small Business, Small to Medium Manufacturer and Small to Medium Services.

To share the stage with companies such as Aspen Medical, Beyond Business and Intelledox was such an honour. I admire these organisations, have had an opportunity to travel on a trade mission with some of them and had the absolute pleasure in speaking at a Women in Global Business Seminar with one of them!

The winner of our Category; Emerging Exporter was Windlab Systems - they are a global wind energy development company - our Congratulations to Windlab!

For us the amazing moment and honour was to be a 1st time applicant and a Finalist in our first year - such a wonderful moment and a huge milestone!!

Canberra's export community is really booming and it was wonderful to see so many local companies taking their products, technologies and know-how to the world. So not only are we proud to have been a Finalist, we are proud to be a part of this exciting community.

Thank you to my wonderful team of Advisors, Mentors, family and friends who have been so supportive, encouraging and have in some instances 'Pushed' me to keep moving forward - thank you so much.

Congratulations and thank you to our Cackleberry Kids team - Linda and Laa, who work so hard on making our dreams come true and thank you to those who have inspired us to achieve.

The Cackleberry Kids xx

KIAMBU Collection

We have been crazy busy with finalising the release of our latest collection KIAMBU for this coming Spring/Summer season

KIAMBU means 'King' in Swahili and in keeping with our previous safari and adventure theme, we fell in love with the word and thought that it was a perfect fit for our latest range.

The KIAMBU Collection is a celebration of colour and freshness... we can not wait for the first of our new stock to arrive in the coming two weeks as we are eagerly awaiting our gorgeous new Organic tees. The cotton is just so soft and was great to work with.

Our production facility is also an accredited "No Sweat Shop Label" manufacturer, which is another aspect of this new collection that we are very proud of.

Last week we did a photo shoot with Hilary Wardhaugh and the kids were brilliant! Lots of running around and fun was had by all and we've included a couple of pictures from the day!!

Enjoy your weekend xx

Cackleberry Kids - new website

After many long hours and lots of hard work our beautiful new website is now live!

Very proud of our team and all their fantastic work in getting it up and ready within a really short time frame.

A huge thank you to our great friends who took some time out of their busy schedules to review the site for us, give us some fantastic feedback and a list of suggested improvements.

We really do appreciate all your help and can not thank you enough!

http://www.cackleberrykids.com/

The Cackleberry Kids xx

Project18 & Cate Bolt

Cate needs our help 1000 fans for Charity Status on facebook. Can you please help? Project 18 is raising money to build an orphanage in Indonesia. The world needs more people like Cate - help her help others!

Catherine Bolt is a writer, photographer, humanitarian, conservationist, small business owner & mother of 9. She recently walked away from a successful business & luxury lifestyle to dedicate the rest of her life to building an orphanage & wildlife refuge in Indonesia. We are now registered as an incorporated association, under the name Project 18 Inc.The purpose of this group is to assist, promote, spread the word to like-minded individuals.

About the Indonesian Orphanage/Wildlife Refuge Project
Some Background:

"We love children, and we raise our children to love and respect the earth. I’m passionate about children and it pains me to see children suffering in any way. For those of you with children under 5, or even older, try this simple visualisation exercise for a moment:

Imagine taking your child into a crowded street at dusk, walking away from them and never going back. Imagine the fear in that child when they realise you’re gone. Imagine them wandering scared and hungry through the streets…imagine their life now, day after day.

If you can do this exercise without tears, then you are stronger than me, but for 1.8 million children in Indonesia, this is reality. Every night 1.8 million children in Indonesia sleep homeless. For most of us that number is unfathomable.

Over 50% of Indonesians survive on less than $2US per day. Of the 500,000 children in Indonesian orphanages today, almost 90% still have a living parent. They just simply cannot afford to feed them and out of desperation, many of these children are dumped in hope that someone more fortunate may be able to give them a better life.

Well, I am someone more fortunate and while my family is not wealthy, by any means, we plan to make a difference. My husband and I are both self employed, we have 9 children and we live, like many people, week-to-week. In a country like Indonesia where so many people are so very poor, a lot can be achieved with less money than one might expect. We are ordinary people, living an ordinary life – we are no different to you.

I don’t expect everyone to give up everything. I don’t expect everyone to build an orphanage. But EVERYONE can do something. Whether you donate to our project, or one of the dozens of other aid agencies, whether you just extend the hand of friendship to a colleague or stranger or whether you just take a “man in the mirror” moment and be the change that you want to see in the world. EVERYONE has the power to make some change in the world."

I feel very fortunate to have met Cate. I cried when I read this and I cried when I told my husband about Cate's cause.. I know that not everyone can donate/contribute money, however we can all help by supporting and passing on Cate's story... everyone has the power to make a difference and I am one who is inspired by Cate, please if nothing else read Cate's blog and join her facebook Group.... Every little bit does help!


Cate's contact details:

http://catherinebolt.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=120341929496&ref=nf

The Cackleberry Kids xx

Meet Mee a Bee and the lovely Jacqui

Mee a Bee - the label

Mee a Bee all that’s cute from Japan bags for little boys and girls
Adorable, whimsical and imagination-sparking Natural cottons and linens Fabulous prints, modern colours & practical designs

All lovingly handmade in Japan. An ever-changing collection ... for boys you might find cars, dinosaurs or pirates while little girls will love pink penguins, polka dots or ladybirds.

Mee a Bee bags spark conversation, encourage learning and imagination.You won't find mass-produced commercialised characters

Mee a Bee bags are made in limited quantities or even one of a kind. Would you like to have a special bag designed for your little one?

Who is Mee a Bee? Behind the label

New Zealander Jacqui Miyabayashi has lived in Osaka for the past thirteen years. She is the designer, seamstress and tea lady at Mee a Bee.

Jacqui studied business management and marketing at the University of Waikato before setting off on her big overseas adventure.

A few months of work and travel turned into several years. Now with a husband and two children she calls Japan home.Life as a stay-at-home mum was isolating and lonely, the web became her best friend.

Jacqui organised playgroups, book swaps and a parenting website for other expat mums living in her area. Soon she discovered other mothers selling their handmade goods online and had a light bulb moment.

Jacqui had been searching for a business she could run from home while caring for her children.Mee a Bee was born a few months after her second child and gives Jacqui the creative outlet she craves as well as the stimulation and challenge of running a business.Says Jacqui "It's what I always dreamed I would do with my life, I couldn't be happier"

From the moment we were introduced to Mee a Bee, we fell in love with these cool little bags for boys! (and of course the girls!!) When we started talking with Jacqui, we found that her creativity, design, quality and passion for introducing something different to market was aligned with ours - and I do have to say that Jacqui is right - they always start a conversation!!

We are so proud to be working with Mee a Bee and Jacqui - who is truly inspirational!!

The Cackleberry Kids xx

Father's Day

It was a beautiful day here in Canberra yesterday and we decided to stay home and have a BBQ rather than going off to a park....

We all helped get everything ready including Ethan, who set the table.

Our dog, Forrest thought it was great too as he would have been left at home if we'd gone out and he enjoyed running around with E and Daddy playing with his ball..... and being fed sausages on the side!

Relaxing outside in the gorgeous weather whilst eating lots and lots of food - thanks again to Donna Hay's fantastic recipes... chocolate fudge puddings, Tuscan bean salad, asparagus herb pasta.... and of course prawns and sausages!

We really did have a wonderful Father's day together xx

To make someone's day...

We did a little give away for our 300th member and our lucky winner was the lovely Amanda from Little Choopie.

I am so happy to have made Amanda's day and felt very special receiving this heartfelt note from Amanda:

"Hi Kylie, I just wanted to thank you so much for the t-shirt we won from your facebook page. It was a complete and utter shock to me as I didn't even realise you were having a giveaway but such a wonderful won at that. The t-shirt it gorgeous and I can't wait to dress lucca up in a little pair of cargos and team it with the tee. it will be perfect! Also I have to say that your attention to detail is just divine. I love the cackleberry kids tissue paper and the coordinating ribbon, just perfect!! And thanl you so much for the gorgeous little extras - I know lucca is going to love the little binoculars when he works out how to use them. A big thank you as well for the lovely card you added. Its so nice to get a hand written card with such a nice message. You are so lovely so thank you so much it just made my day when my hubby brought in the post!! "

You are so welcome Amanda and I can't wait to see Lucca in his shirt!! xx

And the Winner is.....

Congratulations to Kym Dowrick - the winner of our Winter Warmer prize pack.

When we called Kym yesterday to let her know she was the winner, so was in shock and over the moon!

Kym had only been in the store last week and purchased a gorgeous Three Little Trees Bamboo Dress and is now the winner of the prize pack worth over $320.00!

We will post a photo of Kym and her winnings when she comes in next week to collect her prize.

Congratulations again Kym and thank you to our lovely Designer's who contributed to the prize pack!

Wishing you a joyous Spring Day xx

Hello Spring

Good Morning!

Am so happy that today is the first day of Spring..... move on out Winter Chills and bring in the lovely warm Spring air filled with the smell of new flowers and new growth.

Canberra is so pretty in Spring, especially when Floriade is on.... flowers everywhere and an atmosphere of relaxation and fun.

Picnics, long lazy lunches, walks around the lake and lots of playing outside at the park..... Yah!!

Enjoy your first day of Spring xx