Some of you may have seen my tweets recently, or have volunteered to guest-write for us, so will already be aware that this morning we launched our new-look blog. As our posts are going to increase in frequency, and we want to make the blog more interactive, it was decided at DCB HQ that something more functional than what we currently have was required. Our new style blog, which can be accessed by clicking the WeeMee on the right hand side of the site, will pop up in a new window, but don’t worry, it’s still us! You will be able to see our upcoming events, view archived posts, leave comments and check out our mentions in the press and other blogs.

To mark the launch of the blog, we’re welcoming our very first guest writer, Claire Willis from SnugBaby and Get Your Hands Back. Come back from 9am on Thursday morning to read her post about the benefits of babywearing! Also this week, we have our fab competition running on Cafe Bebe. With not one, not two, but THREE ways of winning a gorgeous DaisychainBaby giftbox, you really do have to be in it to win it!! If you’d like to come and say hello and in and around the London area, our fab stall is going to be at the Angel Canal Festival in Islington on Sunday 6th September from 11am to 5pm - we’d love to see you! You can also become a fan of DaisychainBaby on Facebook and keep in touch that way.

So having called time on “Latest News” in it’s current guise, it’s time to sit back with a nice glass of wine - for the next half an hour or so anyway!

It’s the last public holiday before Christmas and the schools are soon re-opening - it would be easy to feel despondent that summer is over! Yet this week for DaisychainBaby is going to be one of our busiest and action-packed yet.

The fun all starts tomorrow as we take our stall to the Harrow in Leaf horticultural show, which runs on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Located at Harrow Heritage Museum, there will be lots of stalls (including our friends Mad Moo Toys), as well as bouncy castles, fairground rides and archery. The event runs from noon until 6pm both days, and there is free parking adjacent to the museum.

Also happening on Bank Holiday Monday is the launch of our very FIRST competition in conjunction with the wonderful Cafe Bebe. I met Cafe Bebe founder Karin through Twitter and when she mentioned that she was looking for competitions for her new look site, I jumped at the chance. Up for grabs is a gorgeous DaisychainBaby gift box featuring a babygrow, bib and lovely organic baby skincare. Our competition will run for one week until September 5th with the winner being announced on September 6th. Look out for another blog entry on Monday with full details!!

Most exciting of all (that we can mention right now anyway!) is the launch of our new-look blog. This will be in place on September 1st and replace our “Latest News”, looking and feeling more like the blog styles we’re used to seeing. It will allow readers to leave comments, see archived articles and link to sites we like. We’re also thrilled to have a wonderful line-up of guest-writers in place (including Karin from Cafe Bebe) who will be writing about everything from life as a new mummy to why they go green. We’re sure you’ll find these new articles informative and chatty!

There are a couple more surprises in store for this week and there will be almost daily updates to our latest news - be sure to check back and be part of DaisychainBaby’s exciting week ahead!

If there ever comes a time when you look around and wish you were anywhere but here, yet family/finances/mortgage/jobs/relationships/every excuse under the sun mean that you’ve long since given up living the dream, then STOP what you’re doing. And think again. It’s never to late to climb Mount Everest, set up a donkey sanctuary or, in the case of Melissa Talago, compete in the first leg of the Clipper Round the World Race by sailing from the UK to Brazil.

I recently saw Melissa’s tweets (little messages posted on Twitter by @melissatalago) looking for items that she could use in an online auction to help raise funds for her expedition. Intrigued by the 140 characters, I decided to check out her website http://www.moretolifethanlaundry.com and was thrilled by what I read. As well as being a mum of two young boys, Melissa has her own business and of course has to find time for all those things that I’m sure most of us hate: domestic chores. Yet despite what she describes as “insurmountable obstacles”, Melissa has been determined to do something for herself and on seeing an ad in the Sunday Times back in January, applied to be a crew member.

An undertaking of this nature requires a huge amount of dedication and a fair amount of funding. One of the ways Melissa hopes to raise finance is by an online auction which finishes this Sunday, July 26th at 10pm. There is a fantastic range of items which can be bid on, including our gorgeous hooded cardigans from Green Eyed Monster. The cardigans are made in Peru by artisans using a fairly-traded luxury alpaca blend, on handlooms to create a beautifully soft garment that doesn’t irritate baby skin. Suitable for little ones between 1 and 2 years old, the cardigans come in either blue or lilac and you can bid on one at the online auction and hopefully be a happy winner!

I have complete admiration for Melissa and know that she’s going to have an amazing adventure. We’re nearly all guilty of putting everything else first and ourselves last, so I hope that by reading about her plans, more of you are motivated to follow your dreams and do something life-changing!

At the end of May, we ordered some gorgeous bandana bibs from the very talented Channa Mills, having spotted them on Misi. We at DaisychainBaby knew they were gorgeous and would do brilliantly but weren’t quite prepared for the overwhelming demand, and sold every last bib at the three events we attended in June. It was lovely seeing our happy customers putting the bibs straight onto their little ones, definitely the trendiest babies in town!

Thankfully Channa is a dab hand with her sewing machine and we’ve restocked ready for a very busy July. The bibs are stylish, fun and excellent value for money - a must-have for babies who are going through teething as all the extra dribble can cause nasty rashes. See the latest additions to the range here.

As always, if there’s something you would like DaisychainBaby to stock, please drop us a line - we always love new suggestions!

We’ve had a really hectic couple of weeks at DaisychainBaby HQ and it feels like June has flown by! Three consecutive Sunday outings with all our wares have left us craving some escape time and so this weekend we’ve purposefully scheduled no events. The first thing I will do when I get home tonight is turn off that alarm clock…bliss!

Behind the scenes, we’ve been working on our summer sale, which will last until August 31st. Starting today, there are fantastic offers on Green Eyed Monster, Bamboo Baby, Raw Gaia and Pure Potions available online, in some cases up to 50% off. We hope you’ll be able to bag a bargain or two…

In July we’ll be off to our usual markets in Harrow on July 12th and Ruislip on July 26th. DCB also has a stall at the Highfield Park Fete in St Albans on July 25th and I’m sure a couple more events might find their way into the schedule too. Please keep an eye on our Events page, or become a fan of our Facebook page which we regularly update with news of DCB outings.

July will also see some lovely new goodies added to the site. Two new brands will be joining those already stocked, as well as new items from Bamboo Baby, Aden & Anais and C&C Bandana Bibs - when a box of new stock arrives it’s much better than Christmas! We’re sure the new products will be just as successful as those we already have.

Last but by no means least, a brand new blog will hopefully be unveiled very shortly. It will be much more of an all-singing, all-dancing one that what we currently have in place, allowing people to read and leave comments. Finding one that can be integrated into the site and yet still have full blog functionality has been a little challenging but fingers crossed we’re very nearly there!

Phew, that’s about all the DaisychainBaby news for now, don’t forget to check out our sale items!

We’re currently running a survey at DaisychainBaby HQ, and would like to know your views on ethical parenting. Being the eco-conscious peops that we are at DCB, passion runs high for lovely organic products and committment to being environmentally savvy is paramount throughout our business. But what we want to know is what you, our cutomers, think? Do you want only the best for baby no matter what, or during these purse-tightening times, are you more inclined to sacrifice the green credentials of your purchases for some extra savings?

Please complete our short (10 question) survey when you have a spare 5 minutes, and one lucky responder could win a complete set of Beaming Baby organic baby skincare, plus one of our custom DaisychainBaby “Bags for Life”!! Click here to take the survey.

We can hardly believe it, but DaisychainBaby has turned one month old today! In the grand scheme of things, it’s perhaps not a massively significant milestone, but I’m sure all the parents out there can relate to having your lives turned around, every day bringing something new, exciting and challenging.

That’s certainly how we feel about DCB, which in it’s short life has already taught us so much about ourselves that we probably didn’t know before - tolerance levels taken to the max, sheer determination, and the realisation that humans can consume an alarming amount of tea and coffee in a short space of time without any obvious side effects!

Above all else, it’s been a brilliant month as we continue to hear the word spreading about DaisychainBaby. We’ve got new stock to upload and lots of changes ahead for the site as it continues to grow, but we couldn’t have done it without everyone who’s been along for the ride so far. A huge thank you to our friends, family, suppliers, journalists and fellow forum members who’ve provided invaluable advice. One last extra special thank you to the Shiba Inu puppies over in San Francisco who have kept me calm during the more chaotic times. I’ll miss you guys when start heading off to your new homes this weekend!

With Love,
Lins, Founder of DaisychainBaby
http://twitter.com/daisychainbaby
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DaisychainBabycouk/40173904918

We’re delighted to announce that it’s been a fantastic November for two of our suppliers, Raw Gaia and Beaming Baby, who have both ended the month as award-winners!

Raw Gaia have been “Highly Commended” as the Best Ethical Range in Lifescape magazine’s beauty awards. Lifescape is the only British glossy vegan/vegetarian, fairtrade, organic and cruelty-free magazine, and the Raw Gaia team are “very proud” at receiving this award. Not content with that however, they have recently been informed that The Ecologist, the world’s most respected environmental affairs magazine, has shortlisted Raw Gaia as one of the top 25 ethical skin care companies!

The Beaming Baby organic baby skincare range was awarded bronze in the Best Skincare Product category at the 2008-09 Mother and Baby Magazine awards. No strangers to awards success, a win in this category for the second year in a row shows just what firm favourites the body lotion, baby wipes, bubble bath and shampoo/body wash are with mums.

A huge congratulations to both brands - we’re proud to be stockists!