Sweet Shop- Frog Loves Monkey {Giveaway Skirt or Boy's Pants}

We have a Winner!

CONGRATULATIONS - Lisa! (please email me thesweetestmemory@cox.net to coordinate your prize!)

I "Like" the Sweetest Memory on Facebook Lisa W.

March 13, 2012 9:42 AM

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Introducing my latest Sweet Shop -

Kiza owner of Frog Loves Monkey.

Learn more about her and her business, and check out the GIVEAWAY of an adorable skirt or boy's lounge pants of your choice!

1. What products do you make/sell?

We do a little bit of everything. I tend to think of our product line as being family focused, and that can actually encompass quite a lot. Given our backgrounds in garment construction and the fact that I have two small children, Mom and I tend to focus on children's clothes. But my attempt to lead my own family towards more natural, good-for-us-and-good-for-the-planet, and well-made items has led to frog loves monkey branching out into personal and home items in addition to child-focused items. (Because, really, aren't the spaces that we inhabit extensions of ourselves?) Our soaps have been popular, and we've recently added sugar and salt scrubs. We make things like reusable produce and shopping bags, pot holders and decorative banners for the home. We make soft toys like felt food (which has been a BIG hit in my kid's play kitchen!) and bean bags. And we offer quite a few baby and child items: mei tai baby carriers, car sat covers, play quilts and the like. I suppose a shorter answer could have been "If we think it's awesome or something we use ourselves, we make it for the shop".

2. What inspired you to start creating?

Honestly, I can't think of a time in my life when I *wasn't* creating. When I was younger I used different medium: words, paint, music, dance - but I've always had some sort of creative outlet. I turned to sewing in my mid-twenties, when I went back to school and discovered theatre.

3. What time of day do you work best?

Hmm... That's a tricky question to answer. With my kids and their natural rhythms, it seems to work out best for me to do my mental planning early in the day, sewing in the afternoon and evening and computer work in the evenings and after they're in bed. Not that I often get to do all of that in one day, but that's where productive times seem to fall in the day.

4. What room do you do your creating?

In the dining room. Technically, my husband and I have a little office/sewing room workspace, but it's tiny. Even when it's beautifully organized, two people can't really stand in there at the same time. So when I'm doing actual work, it ends up happening in the dining room. At the moment, because we're prepping for a trunk show, I've moved the table out of the room so that we could set up our work tables.

5. What is your favorite organization tip/tool?

I'm a list maker. I don't always check my lists like I should, but the act of writing things down seems to cement them into my brain better than just trying to remember them on my own. I'm also a huge fan of clear plastic bins, which is an obsession that I'm pretty sure I inherited from my mother. Our makeshift workroom is full of clear plastic bins (nicely labeled, because that's Mom's thing), and it's great because if I can't see what fabric we have available, it might as well not even exist.

6. What tip can you give others interested in making/selling similar items?

Do your best work, and set your prices where you're comfortable. I think that a downside of our big-box consumer culture is that we, as consumers, have gotten accustomed to shoddy workmanship and really low prices. Hand crafted and hand made items are a reflection on the artist that created them and they shouldn't fall apart like cheap, mass produced crap. With that, I don't think it's fair to expect makers of handmade items to accept next to nothing for their time and talent...but I'm also a VERY firm believer that hand made should be accessible, and prices should be set fairly.

7. What is your day job?

I'm a full-time mom. My son just turned four, and my daughter is 20 months old. And these guys are BUSY.

8. Describe your ideal weekend.

Well, my husband works weekends, so our weekends are kind of like everyone else's Monday-Thursday. But an ideal bit of time would definitely be family-centered. I like it best when we're able to spend no-pressure time doing things with the kids - moseying out for a relaxed brunch, maybe a little toy store window shopping, snuggling up on the couch watching a little tv or playing in the yard until we're all covered in dirt. Taking short trips always sounds like a good thing to do but, really, I'm a homebody.

9. What other activities do you enjoy?

Hanging out with my kids. Reading, though I don't seem to have much time for it now. Cooking. Learning new and better ways to be a bit more self sufficient - gardening, canning, etc.

10. What is your sweetest memory from childhood?

I think I'd have to say the time that my sister and I spent together, when we were just us. We were SO different from one another, but always got along just beautifully with one another. (As adults, it's possible that we share a brain.) I'm older by 18 months, but was always pretty much afraid of everything. She wasn't. Even at points that we had our own bedrooms, I'd end up sleeping in her room - either on a pallet on her floor or with both of us squished into her bed - because I felt safer with her. And she let me.

11. What is your favorite item in your shop and why?

Ooo, this one's hard. I really, honestly like everything in the shop (there wouldn't be any point in making it, otherwise!), though I do tend to get infatuated with different items. I think my biggest crush at the moment would have to be our kid's lounge pants. It's really kind of easy to come up with super cute things to make for girls, but good boy's items tend to be trickier. Since my daughter models (and so, keeps) most of the clothes that we make for girls, my son often ends up getting the short end of the look-what-my-mom-made stick. But we recently introduced the lounge pants, and he absolutely loves them! I think he's super cute in them, and he likes them so much that he wears his for as long as I'll allow. Since he's got a good eye for fashion and tends to be kind of picky about his clothes, I take this as high praise!

12. Anything else you want to share?

Frog loves monkey is no longer a solo operation! My mom, Sally, has been one of my biggest supporters from day one and, especially now that we're living near one another, she's been offering more and more support. Given the amount of time and money and man hours she was volunteering, it was really kind of silly to pretend that she wasn't a vital part of the business. So, as of February, the two of us are running this show together. I couldn't be happier about it. I love getting to work so closely with my mom. I'm most likely going to remain the "face" of frog loves monkey, and I handle the website and listings and facebook and twitter and and and, but Mom has brought a lot to the table in terms of product. She has some really great ideas on expanding our line, some of which we've already acted on and some that are still in the planning stages, she's drafted some super cute patterns and she does really beautiful, detailed work.

Find Frog Loves Monkey here:  Facebook . Twitter . Etsy

10% OFF Frog Loves Monkey Etsy Shop.  Use SWEETEST10 at Checkout!

 

Now the Exciting Part!  Kiza is giving away

a twirly skirt or boy's lounge pants of your choice!

Here's how to win!

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!)

Mandatory entries:

1. Like Frog Loves Monkey on Facebook- Facebook

2. Follow my Blog, the Sweetest Memory - Blog

Additional Entries (Extra chances to win! Yeah!):

3.  Follow Frog Loves Monkey Blog - Blog

4. "Like" the Sweetest Memory on Facebook - Facebook

CLOSED!  Thank you so much for participating! Entries close Tuesday, March 13th at 9:00 pm Arizona Time. A winner will be announced by March 14th. Good Luck!

**Would you like your shop featured in my Sweet Shop, please contact me for more information at thesweetestmemory@cox.net.**