Tuesday

Dress Me Up: Organic Cotton Soft Blocks and Organic Teething Bonbons™

Dress Me Up is me, Tressa Brotsky – I’m a visual artist, mama of one, children and youth
advocate, lover of Ovaltine and gingersnap cookies, creating and playing on Canada’s West Coast. I am proud to be an independent cottage industry located in Victoria BC. All Dress Me Up products are handmade by me and my small team of accomplices, where I know every single every thing of each product as it is prepared, constructed and finished. I approach my work as an artist, not a manufacturer, and enjoy seeing my hand and the hand of my team, in each item that we produce. I revel in all things nostalgic. For my Organic Toys, I draw design inspiration from the stories of the tried and true toys of yesteryear as told by grandparents and great aunts. My sketches and drawings find their way onto the Organic Teething Bonbons and other Organic Flannel products, embroidered one at a time, making each piece a work of art that celebrates the foundation of all visual delights – colour, line and form – and invites children to create their own experience of exploration and discovery.

Dress Me Up was born after the arrival of my own little one in 2006 when I discovered the lack of affordable organic products and the over-production of new baby everything. I had been working with textiles for years creating a line of handbags from recycled upholstery leathers – and was inspired to take a fresh approach to baby necessities and provide an alternative to the mass produced, mass impacting baby product industry. From initial design to delight in your little ones hands, I am so pleased to offer a simple and classic line of sustainable baby and toddler toys and accessories that makes a difference in our individual lives and larger global community with beautifully artistic flair.

Healthy and safe for our babes and our shared environment, organic cottons are soft and beautiful – and simply wonderful to work with and inspiring to share. The organic cotton flannel I use in the Organic Teething Bonbon™ is certified organic and 100% grown and milled in the USA. The organic cotton prints I use for the Organic Nature Inspired Soft Blocks are by HarmonyArt. They are certified organic, and milled and printed in the USA and India. *Coming Soon! A fresh line of Organic Soft Blocks and Cloth Balls will feature original prints from my collaboration with Charlotte Campbell, a Victoria-based screen printer and fellow visual artist.

TEETHING BONBONS



Every parent knows the discomfort that teething causes their little one and we look for safe, convenient ways to sooth the pain. What could be more fun and helpful than a teething soother that’s free of plastics and brings to mind French sweets? Each Teething Bonbon™ is made from certified organic cotton flannel, sweetly stitched with delicious colors, stuffed with naturally anti-bacterial clean, carded wool and finished off with two knots.

TO USE:

1. Soak the knots in cooled boiled water
2. Leave the center area dry
3. Toss in the freezer until needed

Baby chews on the frozen knots to help ease teething pain. The wool center keeps Baby’s hand warm while the limited frozen area means no drippy mess. Safe, soothing and absolutely darling!

Teething Bonbons™ work just as well when not frozen given the density of the flannel knots, and come in 3 different stitch colors so you can keep track of which Bonbon is on the go. Naturally anti-bacterial and flame retardant, wool is a fantastic and traditional stuffing material for children's products. Organic Teething Bonbons™ stuffed with organic cotton instead of wool are available by special order for little ones with wool sensitivities.

WASHING INSTRUCTIONS:

Machine wash COLD DELICATE and line dry, or hand wash. Over time the wool center will ‘felt’ up. This will not impact the function of the Teething Bonbon™. If you’d like, you can pull and fluff the centre after each wash to keep felting to a minimum. Untie the knots for a thorough clean; the wool stuffing is stitched into place and will not slip down into the ends.
ORGANIC NATURE INSPIRED SOFT BLOCK SETS

1 - 2 - 3
What fun you'll have with me!

ORGANIC COTTON SOFT BLOCKS



These Organic Soft Blocks boast beautiful, certified organic cottons that have been printed with low-impact, water based dyes in nature-inspired designs by the amazing HarmonyArt. Each block is individually made in Canada and stuffed with clean, carded wool and comes with an organic draw-string bag for easy travel and storage. Organic Soft Blocks are the perfect toy for little ones as they learn to pick things up and then get excited about stacking and sorting. These gentle toys make a thoughtful gift and are perfect for when the little one needs a little something in a quiet place. Appropriate, safe and darling for every age - Newborn and up.

*Approx 4 x 4 inches.
*Set of 3 with an organic cotton draw-string bag.

Naturally anti-bacterial and flame retardant, wool is a fantastic and traditional stuffing material for children's toys. Organic Soft Blocks stuffed with organic cotton, instead of wool, are available by special order.

WASHING INSTRUCTIONS:

Hand wash or spot wash, line dry, fluff and enjoy!

PURCHASING:

Receiving fantastic feedback and customer support across North America and beyond, Tressa is steadily making Dress Me Up products more widely available. The Organic Soft Blocks and Teething Bonbons™ are now available in a handful of shops across Canada and the US who specialize in natural and creative play products for children.

ONLINE RETAILERS:

All Customers can purchase these products directly from Dress Me Up online at: dressmeup.etsy.com

Please note that Tressa is currently away on a retreat and won't be in as regular email contact until next week. Any orders placed between now and the end of April will be shipped in the first week of May. Since each product is lovingly made my hand, please plan ahead when purchasing gifts etc to allow sufficient turn around time. All products ship from Canada!

CANADA:

*NaturalPod.com

*BackToNatureBabyStore.com

USA:

*MaharDryGoods.com

*ShopKidDynamo.com


RETAILERS:


USA:

Lundeby’s Inc in Tulsa, OK

Hatched in Boston, MA

Chick Peas Co in Glen Carbon, IL


CANADA:


*Bare Bones Clothing & Accessories in Innisfail AB.

Success Through Play™ comments:

Happy Earth Day! We thought that we would celebrate Earth Day by highlighting an eco-friendly company, Dress Me Up, based out of Canada, which makes beautiful eco-friendly items which are lovingly made by hand. Tressa Brotsky, founder, uses her skills as a visual artist, talented seamstress and proud mama to create beautiful products for mom and baby.

The organic cotton flannel used in the Dress Me Up line of products is certified organic and 100% grown and milled in the USA. The organic cotton prints are also certified organic, and milled and printed in the USA and India.

Organic Cotton Soft Blocks

We received samples of the organic cotton soft blocks in a bright colorful patterns, which are visually appealing to babies. The blocks have smooth, rounded corners for safety and although soft, are stackable. Soft Blocks hold tremendous developmental value and your baby will love to squish the blocks, stack the blocks, toss them in the air to explore gravity, throw them and yes, even cuddle with them-creating wonderful opportunities to learn through play. Children will turn to these blocks during creative and imaginative play-is it a car, train, house?-let the imagination run wild! Soft blocks are great "first blocks" because they are lightweight and have no sharp edges, making the ideal for young babies. Each soft block is filled with wool and customers can make a special request for the soft blocks to be filled with organic cotton! This set will make a lovely Baby Shower Gift!

Organic Teething Bonbon™


The words "beautiful" and "teether" are usually not found in the same sentence, but in this case, they really should be! With all the toxic teething products on the market, we were thrilled to have found these non-toxic all natural Teething Bonbon from Dress Me Up which we think should be an essential product in your home! The Teething Bonbons have been designed so that just the outer knots are wet and then frozen, to soothe and comfort tender gums, while the inner center portion remains dry and comfortable for baby to hold. The teething bonbons are just the right size for baby's little hands and baby will be able to practice his grasping skills while soothing his little gums at the same time! Parents can rest assured knowing that baby is chewing and chomping down on organic cotton and not toxic chemicals! No batteries are required with this Teething Bonbon and an added is these "Bonbons" won't cause tooth decay, but will soothe tender teething gums! The Bonbons are sold individually and we recommend buying at least 2, so that you have a 2nd one on hand. We received a set of 3 Bonbons, which features 3 difference stitch colors, so parents can keep track of each Bonbon, a thoughtful detail which demonstrates the true quality of handmade products. The Teething Bonbon will make a wonderful supplemental Baby Shower Gift.

The Organic Cotton Soft Blocks Set (containing 3 blocks) arrives in a beautiful storage bag perfect for travel and which can be reused time and time again-the perfect eco-friendly packaging! The Organic Teething Bonbons™, when sold in sets of 3 or more come in an Organic Cotton tie bag, just as you received them. When sold individually or in a pair, the Organic Teething Bonbons™ come wrapped in a twist of waxed paper.

We distributed the samples to members of our parents panel and this is what they had to say:

"The organic cotton soft blocks are just darling. They remind me of the soft blocks that I used to play with as a kid! It's really refreshing to know that Dress Me Up is designing and sewing beautiful products that are safe and well made. My older toddler enjoyed playing with the soft blocks as much as my baby!"



"I really like that the soft blocks are stuffed with wool, which won't attract dust mites and bacteria! The blocks are beautifully made and my daughter loves exploring them! Perfect for quite times when you don't want to overstimulate your baby, but still want to keep her busy-especially when I am making dinner and don't want to wind her up before bed."

"The Teething Bonbons are simply adorable and work brilliantly! Up until now, I had been freezing standard teething products in an attempt to help soothe my baby's painful gums, however the entire teether was frozen and it wasn't comfortable for my baby to hold onto it, thus it was ineffective. I was really impressed with the design of this teething bonbon which allowed my baby to comfortably hold the center portion while munching on the cool knots. The firm knots provide him with the just the right texture and temperature to ease his gums. When I am on the go, I simply keep the bonbons in their storage bag and give me baby one as needed-even when not frozen, they soothe his gums! We are all much happier because of this product. Thank you"

"In light of the all recent recalls, we rid our house of toxic toys, which left us without any teething products and one cranky baby! The teething bonbons arrived at the perfect time. I was thrilled to learn that they are made from organic cotton and loved the fact that they are hand made. The bonbon are really simple to use and my baby loved them. His eyes light up when I bring him his Teething Bonbon and I will be recommending this product to all of my friends. Thank you!"

To view the full collection of beautiful handmade products from Dress Me Up, please visit:

www.DressMeUp.Ca

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Soft Blocks look terrific-I love that they are all natural!

Anonymous said...

The Teething Bonbons sound great-a nice change from the standard toxic ones! I am really trying to buy from smaller companies such as this one and banning all products made in China from our house! Thank you for finding such reputable companies that make such gorgeous items.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this article! I need to purchase Baby Shifts and these 2 products look perfect!

Anonymous said...

Happy Earth Day. I really enjoy reading your online magazine! I am familiar with this company and can vouch for their high quality and beautifully made items. There is nothing like hand made!

Anonymous said...

Terrific! I have been looking for an all natural teether and now I have found one! Thank you!!

Anonymous said...

The organic cotton blocks are so colorful and visually attractive! What a great gift idea. This company makes beautiful handmade items.

Anonymous said...

These look darling!!!!!

Anonymous said...

What terrific baby shower gifts these would make! I really love hand made products which are making a huge resurgence now.