It's been a wild couple of weeks getting my 1st grader ready for school. Today was her first day. I'll be picking her up in the next half hour. I teared up a little bit this morning, she's growing up so fast.

Hot Summer Sale - 35% off all merchandise, and many summer items already reduced! Use SUMMER code at checkout. This sale is coinciding with the Florida Sales Tax Holiday through August 13. So I sent out my newsletter late Friday and find out my 35% off code wasn't working. What a first impression! I fixed it immediately though and it works now. Hopefully that didn't deter anyone.

The Making of Hooligans Kids Clothing

Adri owns Hooligans along with her husband Wayne. She is a fascinating woman and I'd love to tell you a little bit about her and how she designs the Hooligans clothing. She is "extremely creative, crazy person who loves to paint" (her words not mine). Her home is filled with the art she paints and she's a gardening fanatic. Local publications have taken pics of her "garden blush". People ask her to landscape their homes but alas I am glad she'd rather be designing Hooligans Kids Clothing instead.

She and Wayne travel to London and Amsterdam to see the latest styling ideas and what is fashionable for kids. She picks up ideas in her travels like "the dye effects are in fashion, embellishments such as beads, etc..." Adri states, "I also see the top end shops carrying designer wear for kids and they are obviously highly detailed. I enjoy Amsterdam's independent stores for their daring and artistic approach to clothing. I also look what children wear on the streets, because our clothing has a worldwide market and it must be wearable in any country."

It seems to me that Adri has a flair for design and takes it to a new level, by adding the true South African spirit to each idea. She personally designs each garment from scratch, hand drawing every detail, sparing no costs on finishing touches and fabric qualities. Let's hear how she does this. Adri states, "First I sit and come up with a colour theme. Then I look at the different styles and may make use of that. I then draw animals from actual wildlife photos, sometimes I visit game farms to study animals. I then take the drawings and make the animals friendly, adding expression to them so they appeal to both parents and kids. A kid must get excited when he or she sees the happy animal face frolicking in the jungle."

Adri adds, "Kids in Africa have sunshine all year round, they are outdoor kids and exploration is encouraged. I am passionate about the wildlife in all parts of the world and the preservation thereof and we want to educate children about animals and how important they are to the world. For example, the Elephant Facts Shirt (closeup at right) make learning a fun experience."

Adri makes it seem so easy as she explains how the process works, "I draw the garment, add the graphics and then we cut out the fabric and make the samples. The images are either printed or embroidered and then we start growing the range. The whole story must work together and we often change things as we go along to fit in with the whole theme. I sit for hours thinking and changing, sometimes ideas come to me in the middle of the might and I quickly jot it down. It's very focused, creative process putting a range together and takes up all of me."

As Adri says it isn't a one-woman show. She has surrounded herself with a dedicated team, including her husband and mother. It seems she gets her artistic side from her mom.

Hooligans is the "safari story", bringing animals to life though our children.

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I'll blame it on my niece who came to visit for the week. We had a great time doing something every day of the week. She enjoyed driving the jetski (see her with my hubby), but not as much as tubing (tubing with my daughter)! We finally wore her out by the end of the day! We enjoyed having her and most likely will make this a yearly event.

Since my trip to South Africa this past spring, I haven't had time to talk about the Hooligans styles. Sadly, due to unforeseen issues, they were not able to meet with me while I was there. I hope the manufacturing issues they had got resolved. I love the African Adventure range and wanted to focus on one of the girls shirts that really stands out for me. I asked the designer what went into making this shirt as well as the line and she was kind enough to tell me.


At left is the Safari Girl Top, which I feel depicts the essence of Africa. As Hooligans designer, Adri tells me, "This entire range is based on an 'Adventure in Africa' so the little girl is looking up in wonder at the friendly giraffe on her exploring and adventurous trip. The way in which she is standing depicts restraint and respect, yet awe for the animal and the look in her face is saying that it is also an educational trip for her."

She also references their swingtickets (which are the tags that hang from the clothing) saying, "when you buy the clothes you can pretend you are in Africa and be any animal you want to be!"

I love it when designers let you in on a little bit about what inspires them. I truelly think the Hooligans line brings out the essence of Africa and brings it to the level of small children. I am proud to say that I carry their line and hope you enjoy them too.

I got some exciting news today. 5 Minutes For Mom posted their interview of me today on their blogsite. Click "my interview" to see it. It really made my day. It's fun to look on their site and read so many other women's blogs. I get quite addicted and time can fly while on this site so beware. I also like looking at other mom shops as I like to promote other moms and their businesses. In fact I ordered something the other day. Shopping is another one of my downfalls.

Happy 4th of July! The celebrating is starting a day early since the girls are so excited. It started off with a small parade and patriotic songs. Click on the link patriotic songs to hear first my youngest singing "Red, White and Blue" and then both together singing (as they call it) "O Beautiful". Have a great 4 th of July!