Our Suppliers

Our suppliers are carefully chosen to ensure we consistently offer our customers quality products that are ethically produced. Many are family businesses like ours and all have the common goal of bringing innovative and fun items for children to market.    

Fed up with boring leggings, Mum of two Amanda, decided to do something about this and so Blade & Rose was born. She set about designing a range of colourful and unique leggings with a cute design on the bum. Her aim was also to ensure the quality of the fabric was durable, functional, would wash well and most importantly was soft and kind to babies' skin. The range has now developed to include coordinating items and even swimwear and although the brand is available worldwide, HQ is still in Cumbria. 

Following the birth of her son, Kirsten began creating a range of baby t-shirts that she could gift to her friends who also had new babies. Soon she began selling her t-shirts to her favourite shops and now the Bob & Blossom range has grown to include sweatshirts, tutus and babywear. As Kirsten puts it, "we are all about a cheeky slogan, a contemporary colour palette and ultimately, good gifting. We hope that each piece brings big smiles and happy times."  

 

Founders Rob and Karen live in North London. Both have a passion for unique and charming gifts. Rob likes to design them and Karen likes to shop for them! They set out to create products which encourage children to play whether on their own, inspired by their imagination, or together with friends and family. Their kits often have an educational theme but the main priority is that they are fun. 

 

Founded and run by Paola and her ten year old son Ziggy, Dr. Zig's manufacture bubble toys and environmentally friendly bubble mixes from their HQ in Snowdonia. It started as a hobby at the kitchen table but has grown into an award-winning business. "Running Dr. Zigs allows me, and Ziggy, to be innovative and disruptive," says Paola, "and all while spreading happiness - as our motto goes: Changing the World One Bubble at a Time!"

Floss & Rock is a British business based in the very traditional seaside town of Blackpool, famous for its candy floss and sticks of rock. Owned and managed by husband and wife team, Tim and Gill, they are passionate about designing gifts and toys for girls and boys aged 3 to 10.

 

Frugi was founded by Lucy & Kurt when they struggled to find clothing that would fit over their son's cloth nappy. The ethos of the company remains the same today as when it was founded over a decade ago, to strive to be as ethically and environmentally responsible as possible. That is why the cotton they use in their clothing is organic and they do not use chemicals in the textile manufacturing process. They also donate 1% of their turnover to charity each year. Their aim is to design clothes that children themselves love to wear and are characteristically bright in colour and print. The company is still based in Cornwall and for those who wonder where the name Frugi comes from... it means "Fruits of the Earth" in Latin.

 

Fifty years old this year, Janod is a French brand specialising in the creation of traditional wooden toys and games. They create toys with a focus on design, imagination and learning. 

 

Creating original and innovative soft toys in London since 1999, Jellycat continues to combine luxurious fabrics with designs that are sometimes quirky, sometimes cute but always with a little something different that makes them stand out from the crowd. 

 

Lazy Baby was founded by Mark with a simple goal in mind, "to give the right message to my kids, even if it's subliminal. That's why I insist that we have organic and fairly traded baby products, the babies are the future after all!" Their iconic "Just Done 9 Months Inside" babygrow is the product they are best known for but the range includes other products with witty slogans. Clothing for babies which makes you smile...

 

Catherine and her husband Sean had a dream to design kids clothing which was cool, stylish and different to the norm. And that is how Lella was born. Both have a background in Art & Design and everything is designed and created to order by Catherine in their studio at home. 

Founded be Georges Le Van, and later joined by his son, Steven Le Van, Le Toy Van have been making ethical and sustainable wooden toys since 1995. Their multi-award winning, hand finished toys are a true investment in play, for generations to come.

 

Little Green Radicals began as a range of humorous slogan t-shirts which its founder Nick sold in Greenwich Market. 15 years later it has grown into a band which is sold throughout the world but the passion for fun clothing for kids made from ethically sourced materials is exactly the same as it was then. It was one of the first brands in the UK to get Fairtrade certification. The farmers who produce the cotton for Little Green Radicals clothing get a guaranteed price and the factories where the ranges are produced are committed to looking after their employees and paying them fairly. Designed in London. Always organic. Always Fairtrade.

 

Mum of five, Rachel, had a passion for sewing and loved to dress her children in unique, exciting designs. She soon teamed up with her friend Alex to form a UK business handmaking children's underwear and the range has grown to include accessories and clothing. Martha is Rachel's youngest and source of inspiration. "Her face lights up and she loves it when mummy shows her a new piece of clothing she has made for her; we want and believe that every child will have this smile on their face when they see their new underwear." 

Mama Knows was founded by Lisa, a Manchester based mama of two. Tired of being scratched when feeding and having had several necklaces broken by grabby little hands, she started creating stylish necklaces made out of silicone that were safe for babies and doubled as teethers for sore gums. Mama Knows remains a family business today and the range has expanded to include teethers, bangles and dummy clips, as well as their fabulous necklaces. 

 

Mutha Hood is best known for its Strong Girls Club t-shirts. Founded and owned by Gemma, her aim is to empower women and girls though positive, strong and meaningful products. All of their t-shirts are manufactured under Fair Wear standards. The organic cotton used is sustainable and the yarn is dyed with GOTS approved chemicals. All clothing is printed in the UK using eco-friendly water based ink. Gemma has a background in fashion buying so garment quality and fit is something she describes as an obsession! In her own words, "Once upon a time I had two red-headed children and their births brought with them a sense of self doubt, with a good measure of PTSD from birth trauma alongside it. That's when I made the decision to help others; to speak about my experience, share the rebuilding of myself as well as my desire to raise both of my girls to believe in their worth."

*Strong Girls Club products are available in Whippersnappers Deal but not online.

 

 

Having struggled with their own mental health, Ali and Finn set out to create a tool to help others. Their first journal, The Positive Planner was published in 2017 following a crowdfunding campaign. Since then, the range has grown and a children's journal, The Positive Doodle Diary, was launched this year. 

 

Rachel Ellen is an independent greeting card, stationery and gift business based in Nottingham. The company was founded in 1997 when Rachel retired from a career as a professional ballet dancer and started hand painting cards at her kitchen table. Rachel's charming hand painted style is instantly recognisable and her drive to be creative along with her attention to detail and her insistence on quality have been key factors in making the company what it is today. All of their greetings cards are 100% British made, in fact after being designed in house they are printed and flittered within a two mile radius of their Head Office so have virtually no carbon footprint! They are then die-cut, hand finished, cello wrapped, checked, picked, packed and dispatched by the in-house team at the Nottingham HQ.

Rex London began life as a market stall in London's Portobello Market and is now an international distributor of original gifts. Their Head Office remains in West London today.

 

The Den Kit Co. was founded by ex-primary school teachers and Forest School Practitioners Kay and Jo who are both passionate advocates of outdoor play. Their vision is to, "inspire wonder and intrigue in the next generation through creative, fun and unprescribed outdoor play. Their kits are all designed, tested and assembled at their workshop in Shropshire. All components are sourced with sustainability in mind.

 

 

Tender Leaf create beautiful wooden toys that are made to last a lifetime. A family run company who design all of their toys at their HQ right here in the UK. Everything is made at a family-run factory in Indonesia which provides dependable employment for hundreds of local villagers whilst maintaining high standards of training and wellbeing. Committed to protecting Indonesia's natural resources, they only work with reclaimed rubberwood, a by-product of the latex industry. In addition, for every tree that they use, another one is planted. 

Tinc is a UK family-founded company that designs, makes and distributes extraordinary stationery, gadgets and gifts for kids of all ages. Founded by husband and wife team, Jos and Heli, the company began when they struggled to find cool stationery for their four children. The name Tinc derives from the three core values of Think, Inspire and Create, something that Tinc tries to achieve with every product in their range. 

 

 

The VAH woodworking company has been a family business for 35 years. They make wonderful wooden swords, accessories and dress up items for all those would-be pirates, robin hoods and warrior princesses out there. Almost all of their products are made by hand in Germany using local raw materials. Their products are beautifully crafted and they ensure no harmful dyes etc. are used in the production of their toys.

 

Emma and James, both born in 1973, formed the company whilst sitting at their kitchen table. Inspired by a shared love of cool design and typography, their brand has gone from strength to strength, guided by an uncompromising stance on originality and quality. The company is based by the seaside town of Brighton and sustainability is always at the heart of what they do. They use recycled paper, acid free inks and work only with local businesses on the production to support the economy and minimalise their carbon footprint.