I am please to introduce you to one of my dear sponsors - Ziezo Designs. This shop has beautiful Waldorf inspired creations that any child (or adult!) would love.
They are celebrating their one year Etsy-versary this week (quite exciting), and I asked shop owner Andrea to tell us a bit more about herself and her inspiration.
.:Please join me in welcoming Andrea:.
My name is Andrea, and I am a mother to 3 and married to my best friend. We have been living in Nairobi, Kenya for nearly 5 years now.
Online I sell a selection of Waldorf-inspired toys such as wool-felt crowns, silk butterfly wings, silk play capes, upcycled wool bunting dolls, knot dolls, natural ornaments, as well as children’s aprons out of East African fabrics.
I created my first children’s kikoy apron as a gift for a little friend of my son’s as she was leaving Kenya with her family. It was a practical gift with a lot of symbolism from the place where she was born. My son liked it and wanted one for himself when he was baking, playing, or crafting. Next there were a couple I made as birthday gifts and eventually people approached me to make some for them. This let to the final push from an entrepreneurial friend, who insisted that I create a label and sell them. . . and this is how my first ‘ziezo’ product with an East African flair originated. I also added a selection of Waldorf inspired toys that I had been crafting for my little ones early on and the general idea for the ziezo Etsy shop was born. I finally opened my Etsy shop and on 18 July 2011 posted my first listings. It has now been open for a year and it has been lots of fun creating and sharing these creations with people worldwide.
My main inspiration comes from my children and their respectful, wondrous, and innocent view of the world and nature. Creating something that enhances their imagination and creativity is such fun.
By living in Africa I have learned to work with the resources I have at hand. I have found beautiful fleece and wool at little women’s cooperatives, and gorgeous pieces of East African fabric at local town shops. I also like to re-use fabric out of ‘old’ clothing, and you will for example find upcycled denim and wool in my creations.
The silk play capes are the newest product in my line. A little friend who likes to be a super hero was the inspiration for them. While you can easily knot a play silk to make a cape, the Velcro closure makes it easier for little ones to dress and undress themselves in their play.
Soon I also hope to introduce a yoga/pilates mat bag in the shop with an East African flair.
Thank you for sharing with us, Andrea!
Today Andrea is offering one of you lucky readers these beautiful rainbow butterfly wings!
"Let your children act out their fantasy play with these 100% silk butterfly wings in pastel rainbow tones. The silk is hand dyed in non-toxic professional grade dye. The wings are embellished with a yellow satin ribbon on the back, creating the illusion of the butterfly's body. Elastic shoulder- and wristbands make it comfortable and easy for children to dress and undress themselves. The pure silk cloth moves gracefully with the airflow when your child "flies" through the air..
This 'large' size fits most children 5 and over with an arm length of up to 45cm/17 3/4"."
Andrea is also offering Frontier Dreams readers a 20% discount on all purchases in the shop! Use the code FDZIEZO1 at checkout. This discount runs until July 31st.
If you would like additional chances to win:
-Visit Ziezo Designs and tell us what your favorite item is in her shop
-Like Ziezo Designs on Facebook : www.facebook.com/ziezoKenya
-Post this giveaway to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog
-Follow Andrea's blog : www.ziezoKenya.blogspot.com
-Let me know you are a dear follower of Frontier Dreams
and please make sure to come back and leave separate comments letting me know you've done so!
I will close comments Wednesday July 25th and announce the winner within this post that day. Please be sure to check back to see if you won!
The winner is:
Hannah · The bunting babies are more favorites!
Congrats!!!
Good luck!!
p.s - If you saw my last post you know I am having some issues with my commenting system. I am going to save all of your comments via e-mail just in case something does go haywire while this contest is running. Then I will draw a name from a hat instead of my usual online random number generator method. So have no fear - no matter what, your comment will be counted!
