Going Organic

We started buying organic food way back when I was at Art College. Although I probably couldn't afford it so it was really my then husband-to-be who stumped up the cash. The link between less chemicals, in the way of pesticides and fertilisers, and better health seemed quite obvious and there were articles and general musings in the press about the health benefits of organic food.

When we bought our first home we found an organic box company in Edinburgh called Grow Wild and had a box of fruit and veg delivered to our door every week. We did get the odd strange vegetable in there that we had no idea what to do with, but luckily they would put in helpful recipe ideas and were always glad to give advice over the phone.
I am afraid we still did most of the rest of our shopping at the nearby-ish supermarket in the car. Looking back, buying only organic food having driven to a place we could have walked to was somewhat ironic. When we return to the UK that is something I want to avoid.

When our first child was born we went down the cloth nappy route. I think I need a separate post about nappies - I love them! I avidly read magazines and scoured the ads. I found that there were some companies making organic clothes for children and we bought one or two things, although they weren't that easy to come by at the time.

When our daughter was nearly two and I was heavily pregnant with our second we moved to Switzerland where we found it was incredibly easy to buy organic food even in the tiny local Co-op supermarket and they even sold organic clothes for children and adults too. So now not only do our children get to wear organic but we do too.

I did a bit of research and finally came up with a company in the UK, Bishopston Trading who sell Fair Trade organic cotton cloth by the meter and wholesale too. I decided to order their minimum wholesale amount in order to make clothes for the children for the summer. It was fantastic to be able to make my own organic clothes, shorts, skirts and tops for the girls and lightweight trousers for me. And then when I decided to set up Pogglers I already had some fabric to create with.

The more I read about the difference between organic and conventional agriculture the more I am amazed. It is something I will talk about in another post, as the facts deserve their own space and some of the statistics are truly shocking.

Happy poggling!

How did Pogglers come about?

When my second child was born I had heard that it might be a good idea to give the new big sister a present from the new baby. I had a couple of knitting books which I had already used to knit some clothes for my first daughter from and they had some toy designs in too. So I decided to knit her a rabbit from the new baby. The instructions were for a family of rabbits and I managed to knit the biggest one and a pair of trousers and a tiny baby one too before time ran away from me.

My daughter was delighted with it and at age 5 is still quite protective of her rabbit. She was even more delighted with her baby sister and when she came downstairs the morning after the birth.

"It's a baby! It's a baby, its a baby, its a baby!" she cried over and over again, pausing only to look at another person to direct her excitement to. She said this over and over again for a full ten minutes non stop. And every morning for the next few weeks, the duration diminishing slightly every day.

I digress. Rabbit was a great hit and was carried around in her own child size 'Tragetuch', a baby carrying wrap.

We live in Switzerland, so a few German words might creep in here and there!

So when I was pregnant with my third I decided I had to make the older two something from the new baby again. This time I decided to make them each a large doll so they could 'look after' their own baby too. I bought a book and some supplies and set to work making my first Waldorf dolls. I really enjoyed making them and the girls were delighted with them when their baby brother arrived.

So thinking that I would like to earn some money somehow, preferably without leaving the house, and therefore the children, I thought doll making was something I could do. It also filled my need to be doing something creative as I haven't really done much of worth since leaving art college with a degree in Sculpture.

So I asked my Dad, who is an Actinic web site design wiz, how I would go about setting up my own site, and before I knew it I had managed to design one and get it online. I bought more material and started making stock, and four months later started taking orders online. Here we are coming up for 6 months later. I am always thinking of ways I can improve or change my products and there are never ending plans for new things to make.

Happy poggling!

Getting Started

Welcome to my blog. I am going to be writing here about my business, Pogglers, and online store selling hand made cloth dolls, dressing up clothes, toys, bags, accessories and more for babies and children. I'll also give you some insight into my life running a business with three young children to look after too, and no doubt some tales of mischief.

I will also write about topics that interest me and concern my business such as organic cotton, Fair Trade, environmental impact of business, doll making and designing to name but a few.

You will also find photographs of things I have made or stock in my shop and I hope also to post some instructions on how to make your own dolls and toys too.

I am always glad to hear your views on what I write or my products.

Happy poggling!