NettoCollection Blog

Family garden

Our garden - the early stages.

My family is spending the summer on Long Island with my in-laws.  More so than the extra space, a pool, and close proximity to the beach, we are looking forward to our organic garden!  The goal is to grow all, or at least a good amount of, our own herbs and vegetables.  Lofty ambitions?  Perhaps.  But my husband, Tin, and my in-laws, Predrag and Andrea, are avid gardeners and really seem to know what they're doing.  Tin gets most all of our seeds from rareseeds.com, a fantastic website specializing in heirloom seeds.  Rareseeds also provides helpful tips for the novice gardener, which I find quite handy, as I have not gardened much, aside from the obscure rosemary plant.  Oh, and how is little Lukas taking to gardening?  Let's just say he's a natural:     

Lukas, honing his gardening skills in the "Community Garden" at the Brooklyn Children's Museum.

-by Alison

BEST IN SHOW

The trend for creating hip play spaces has been
well under way for a few years, and most of   these joints, while adequate, I could just take or leave--but on a recent afternoon in LA I discovered the gold standard of parent/child indoor enjoymental synergy. It's called the COOP, and its motto reads " Play Party Shop Coffee...Built for Kids Designed for You". Right on.

I've heard that before, but how they deliver: There is a ball pit. There is a lit dance floor. There is a masseuse for parents. There is a    really extraordinary two-story tubular slide,   which you have to climb up a mesh tunnel to get into...But most of all, there is a sense of certainty in the design of the place, of intimacy and enough coolness but not too much, that tells you the COOP was created by somebody who really knew what one of these facilities just ought to be. If there was a perfect play space in the movies, Central Casting, it would look like this.  When you're tired of being rambunctious, there are back rooms with futons and beautiful Moroccan pillows to recharge and read a book, with natural light pouring in from windows everywhere, and darkness in the main play room which makes it into a nightclub for kids. Very clever.

If you're in the Valley with your child and looking for fun, you can't do better than the COOP :

11118 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604
818.760.9613 t
www.thecoop-la.com

Oh, and if you have to make it to an appointment, beware when it's time to get your kid out of that ball pit...

-by David

MORE NORTH Gallery

God bless New York. Just when you think the whole town is now only about money, something happens that makes you feel there is still room for style in service of learning and fun and friendliness…And in the neighborhood of Nobu and Mr. Chow Downtown, no less, which Tribeca now assuredly is.

I’m talking about the MORE NORTH Gallery, a recent addition to the landscape of posh stores and art galleries near those admittedly delicious restaurants. MORE NORTH was recently opened by a trio of Scandinavian women who wanted to present the art of that region, both Fine and Decorative, in a space whose calmness and serenity conveyed something of the timelessness of Nordic design.

What they have added which I want to tell you about here is a sensational childrens’ area in the basement, which is far and away the most stylish and special playroom/childrens’ shop of its kind in the city. Look at the pictures. That birch grove you see popping up through the stairs emanates from the childrens’ world below, and in the best tradition of the city that has a whole ISLAND in the middle of it dedicated to children (I’m talking about Stockholm, but you know that) the area for kids is as lovingly and beautifully designed as the Art Gallery above, by KOKO architecture and design. Hats off.

Beginning this Fall there will be scheduled events such as Back to School nights, Storytelling on Saturday mornings, and Crafts Classes, but for now grab your kid and go check out MORE NORTH the gallery and shop. It’s a dream, and it’s one of the only places in NYC to buy Moomins books, one of my favorites—but more importantly one of my daughter Madelyn’s favorites.

MORE NORTH Gallery
39 North Moore St.
New York, NY 10013
www.morenorth.com
212-334-5541
Gallery hours: Mon - Sat 10:30am - 6:30pm (Closed Sunday)
Contact: Jennifer Lindblad

By David

Rocking it Old School

 

Rocking it Old School

Some months ago, my friend Sarah and I were talking about children’s education in these days of excess. We both were yearning for a simpler time, a time when the walls were orange and the carpet was brown. “Where are the ponchos?” Sarah said. “I miss the ponchos.” Although ponchos are not required dress at the Church Street School of Music and Art in Lower Manhattan, they might as well be. This school is Old School. The school’s director, Lisa Ecklund-Flores, teaches a music class for toddlers and parents in which she plays acoustic guitar and piano and the children sing along and move interpretively to the music – fast piano trills for running, slow and ponderous chords for big steps. Like the music class you took when you were a kid. This method, formally known as the Dalcroze method, fosters a real connection and love of music. And more, it’s what you grew up with. The art staff, including our daughter’s excellent teacher Anna Adler, guides children towards an individual relationship with the materials at hand. “Let them experience it themselves,” they say. In the case of our daughter, this involves a lot of eating of paint. But the stuff she comes home with is beautiful. Touch the material, love the art. As Sarah and I termed it, it’s poncho-based education.

By Claude

Mini Frye

I am sure you have seen the classic photos of Hollywood starlets pairing a rustic Frye boot with a frilly frock while dashing out of Starbucks to avoid the paparazzi!  And now you can share the same style with your little one.  Frye has a great selection of boots with their signature chunky heel and bulky toe and also have a nice variety of sandals but more pertinent is their collection of “Small Frye” boots.  You can start your child’s foray into the fashion scene as early as a few days old with their Harness Bootie, available for $32 in blue and pink for the gender specific parent and a dark tan for the gender neutral.

By Sarah

Made In The Shade: Summer Sun Part Two

Sunglasses: Catch the crows feet early!  Or more importantly protect your children from later getting cataracts and other eye problems. You can find sunglasses now for children as young as 0 months.   Though shouldn’t a newborn just be in the shade?  Just make sure they offer 100 percent UV protection. Target has a fetching Isaac Mizrahi pair for $19.99.

Hats. Ugh. I know babies who will wear any hat you plonk on their head. Mine was never one of them.  But oh, if I had ever got her to wear one it might have been this one from Best and Company or the simple white organic ones with ties at Sage Baby or Under The Nile.

Pop-up tents: park, picnic, the beach, anywhere. A pop-up tent can be the size of a Frisbee, a large New York pizza or a houla hoop depending on what you need and what you are willing to carry.  Most are UPF 50-98 and you can hang toys from the roof inside for baby. Safe Tots has a decent selection.

Now you're ready for the weekend.

By Liz

Little Blue and Little Yellow

By Leo Lionni

One of the strangest things about being a parent is the stuff that comes back to you from your own childhood when empty time looms up and you’ve got maybe some string (Cat’s Craddle, anyone?) or a glass of water (invisible juice?) or just an old story that bubbles up in your head while stuck in traffic with a three year old who is learning about colors. 

That is how I first told Kate about Little Blue and Little Yellow, two best friends who hugged each other so tightly they became green - in a bumper to bumper jam driving home from school in L.A.

We bought the book a few days later and I was happy to discover it is one of the most tender, delightful, and fun children’s books out there – and it’s about two jaggedy edged colored circles, their friends, families and adventures. 

It was Leo Lionni’s first children’s book, having had a highly successful career as a graphic designer, art director, and artist.  He went on to make 39 more:  Fredrick, Swimmy, and Alexander and The Wind-Up Mouse among others.

But I was pleased and surprised to learn that he came up with his first one on a dull train ride with his grandchildren.

Remembering Leo Lionni

By Liz

Summer Sun Part 1

RafiSol from Spain

Okay, you know the rules: don’t let babies and small children out in the sun between the hours of 11-3pm.

You know the facts: the majority of sun damage occurs before the age of 18.  Sun damage doesn’t just mean premature aging. It can mean skin cancer.

You also know real life, especially in summer.

What we didn’t know is that an average T-shirt only provides an SPF of 5 to 7 against those damaging UVA/UVB rays.   Here is some protective clothing we like because everyone, especially a kid, deserves a little fun in the sun. 

RafiSol from Spain, available on the internet, is so good with swimsuits we just had to include a picture.  SPF 50+ infant thru 10 years. 

Cabana Life offers 50 UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) beach cover-ups and other protective clothing for 6 months and up.  Their tunics and skirts, dresses and pants, are much more stylish than your average baby onesie and the boys octopus t-shirt is…well, I want one.

Of course, sunscreen is vital.  Consumer Reports rated the chemical-free, fragrance free Blue Lizard Baby Formula as tops.

Next week: baby sunglasses, hats, tents and more.

By Liz

Mothers Day Ellen Degeneres Show features Netto Collection furniture

The Serena and Lily Loft Crib and Changer/Dresser by Netto Collection were featured on a dramatic give-away Friday afternoon on a special Mother's Day episode on the Ellen Degeneres Show.  A lucky mother of twins was given two cribs and one changer/dresser on the show.  She gave birth to her twins on Monday.

Happy Mothers Day from NettoCollection!

Netto takes Hong Kong

Every now and then something happens that feels like a milestone on the road to better design for kids. One of my recent “Oh Yes!” breakthrough moments took place when I received pictures from our new dealer in Hong Kong, whose shop has recently opened.