At Happy as Larry we’re dream weavers, child delighters and imagination merchants. Our goal is simple - to make products that are beautiful, magical and made to last.
12 Days of Larry Christmas Giveway
Its that special time of year again where gift giving abounds. Here at Larry HQ its no different and we are giving away 12 fabulous gifts. There will be 3 winners who win 4 prizes. Every 4 days starting from the 12 Nov 2012 - 4 more gifts will be revealed. So get cracking and enter below. Enter through facebook or email. Competition ends 30th Nov 2012.
12 Days of Larry Giveaway
Larry is wanting to share some love this Christmas with 12 days of giveaways.
3 lucky winners will WIN 4 gifts from Larry.
Its easy to enter and so many ways to gain more entries. I wanna WIN LARRY.......
3 lucky winners will WIN 4 gifts from Larry.
Its easy to enter and so many ways to gain more entries. I wanna WIN LARRY.......
For the Little Lady Lady
For the Little Lady in your life.
Ladybird Felt Ball Rug all inclusive package deal - offer extended until the 10th Nov 2012
Off to Market 2012
As I sit here preparing for a super busy month of markets and fairs it amazes me how the popularity of markets has grown. Only 3 yrs ago I found it incredibly hard to find a quality market to exhibit at. But I can see why they are so popular as people love to see unique, handmade treasures not found elsewhere. Markets also create community and beat online shopping anyday!
Here is an exhaustive list of where Larry will exhibiting until Christmas.
1. Subiaco Craft Fair - 28th Oct
2. Perth Ladies College - 2 Nov
3. Hullabaloo - cottesloe - 10th Nov
4. Churchlands Community Fair - 10th Nov
5. Perth Upmarket - 25th Nov
6. Light of Leederville Carnival -8th Dec
Here is an exhaustive list of where Larry will exhibiting until Christmas.
1. Subiaco Craft Fair - 28th Oct
2. Perth Ladies College - 2 Nov
3. Hullabaloo - cottesloe - 10th Nov
4. Churchlands Community Fair - 10th Nov
5. Perth Upmarket - 25th Nov
6. Light of Leederville Carnival -8th Dec
Colourful Range of Rugs for all spaces
Happy Customer Gallery
Here are some real life Happy as , customer rooms.This was a custom Felt Ball Rug in a whopping 3 x 3m size. I so wanted to keep it!
Incy Interiors and Larry
One of our favourite nursery furniture stores, Incy Interiors bought a Marshmallow Rug from us to feature with their new furniture range. Here are some of the beautiful photos featuring Kristy's daughter Polly.
Oh I so love the Yellow Egg chair (and they have it in Kid size too! ) Follow the link if you love Incy interiors furniture.
Larry's TOP TEN NURSERY DESIGN TIPS
Larry’s Top 10 Nursery Design Tips
1. Think Ahead: Design a room that your child can grow into.
Think furniture, cot and bed that can last the distance. Lets face it, you probably won't change the wall colours until they hit primary school, so don’t think too baby. A fresh change of linen, cushions and art makes a quick inexpensive theme change with each transition from baby, to toddler, to preschooler.
2. LIGHT – While sleep is sooooo important and investing in heavy curtains is a MUST, natural light is just as important.
Light fills the space with warmth and an opportunity to start the day afresh.
3. Storage , Storage, Storage – one thing you will soon realise that with a child comes many toys and clothes that are outgrown , packed away and stored for future hand me downs. Think practical as well as the unusual to store things. Old vintage suitcases, and metal buckets are ideal.
Open shelving is great for storing and showing off unique pieces that will add to your overall theme. Shelving in an awkward corner or nook serves a dual purpose.
4. One Large Art Work - one great artwork can make a room pop. Original artwork even better. The bigger the better!
5. Paint is any easy way to transform a room but stay away from the traditional blue and pinks. Why not add a splash of unexpected colour. White walls are all the rage, they are simple and easy to introduce colour accents in cushions, floor rugs and art. Why not add a splash of colour – to a wall or cupboard? Go bold. Remember its your space so go with your gut!
6. Mix modern with old – have a look around your home or your mums! Look for those treasured pieces. Furniture does not have to be new. Repurposed furniture is a hot look.
7. Floor time – remember children are little people. They spend their days at ground level. Invest is a good colourful rug or play mat. A well positioned rug is the anchor point of a room that will bring it all together.
8. Babies Looking up – young babies spend most of their time looking up. A hanging mobile above a change table is a welcome distraction while changing. They not only look great and finish off a room , they help with eye tracking and development. Check out our Pinterest board for unusual hanging mobiles.
9. A comfy chair is a must – Rockers are practical but a great chair can be used elsewhere in the house later on.
10. Be you – its your kids room.
Any others tips you would like to share ?
Leave a comment or share on our blog, pinterest or facebook.
And the Winners of a $50 voucher from Larry and a $50 voucher from Inuk are:
Carissa Hedland
Daniella Gulloth
Rebecca Blacklaus
Skye Rowe-Plaatts
(You will be emailed with a voucher code to spend in store or at markets)
Chow for now, stay tuned for our upcoming facebook and pinterest competition where you can pin a picture of your nursery or childs space !
Amy (aka Larry)
1. Think Ahead: Design a room that your child can grow into.
Think furniture, cot and bed that can last the distance. Lets face it, you probably won't change the wall colours until they hit primary school, so don’t think too baby. A fresh change of linen, cushions and art makes a quick inexpensive theme change with each transition from baby, to toddler, to preschooler.
2. LIGHT – While sleep is sooooo important and investing in heavy curtains is a MUST, natural light is just as important.
Light fills the space with warmth and an opportunity to start the day afresh.
3. Storage , Storage, Storage – one thing you will soon realise that with a child comes many toys and clothes that are outgrown , packed away and stored for future hand me downs. Think practical as well as the unusual to store things. Old vintage suitcases, and metal buckets are ideal.
Open shelving is great for storing and showing off unique pieces that will add to your overall theme. Shelving in an awkward corner or nook serves a dual purpose.
4. One Large Art Work - one great artwork can make a room pop. Original artwork even better. The bigger the better!
5. Paint is any easy way to transform a room but stay away from the traditional blue and pinks. Why not add a splash of unexpected colour. White walls are all the rage, they are simple and easy to introduce colour accents in cushions, floor rugs and art. Why not add a splash of colour – to a wall or cupboard? Go bold. Remember its your space so go with your gut!
6. Mix modern with old – have a look around your home or your mums! Look for those treasured pieces. Furniture does not have to be new. Repurposed furniture is a hot look.
7. Floor time – remember children are little people. They spend their days at ground level. Invest is a good colourful rug or play mat. A well positioned rug is the anchor point of a room that will bring it all together.
8. Babies Looking up – young babies spend most of their time looking up. A hanging mobile above a change table is a welcome distraction while changing. They not only look great and finish off a room , they help with eye tracking and development. Check out our Pinterest board for unusual hanging mobiles.
9. A comfy chair is a must – Rockers are practical but a great chair can be used elsewhere in the house later on.
10. Be you – its your kids room.
Any others tips you would like to share ?
Leave a comment or share on our blog, pinterest or facebook.
And the Winners of a $50 voucher from Larry and a $50 voucher from Inuk are:
Carissa Hedland
Daniella Gulloth
Rebecca Blacklaus
Skye Rowe-Plaatts
(You will be emailed with a voucher code to spend in store or at markets)
Chow for now, stay tuned for our upcoming facebook and pinterest competition where you can pin a picture of your nursery or childs space !
Amy (aka Larry)
Happy in Kathmandu
Namaste! or Hello,
We are back from our adventure to Kathmandu and what an experience it was! Paul and I had the most wonderful time meeting the locals and immersing ourselves in the culture.
We had a local family showing us around. They organised hikes, visits to villages and leprosy hospitals to name a few, so we got to really experience Nepal.
Nepal or specifically Kathmandu is a place like no other. The sights, the sounds, the roads and traffic, the smells are all memories we will never forget. The poverty has changed our perspective on life and we realise how happy you can be with nothing to your name. The Nepalese are beautiful, happy, gentle people but of course not without great struggles to get through each day.
From a business point of view it was lovely to meet the people working for me and visit their workshops. I was very encouraged that each of the workshops I work with are family based and employing local women for a fair wage. We took Romilla, a local Nepalese lady, with us to ask the women how they were treated and if they enjoyed there work. Romilla was also very helpful in interpreting for us as the communication was difficult at times.
Most of the workshops are small tin sheds, some in buildings with many levels. Subash is one of the owners I work with and he has a small family. His sister manages the production and trains new ladies in felting techniques. Felting is very labour intensive and we videoed the whole process and will Youtube it soon. The women are very strong and very skilful felters. I learnt some great felting techniques along the way. There are about 10 women working for him but it depends on the orders that come. Sometimes if they are busy they outsource to local women who can complete it at home. I now feel a great responsibility to these businesses, to support them in every way I can.
I have lots of new designs coming.......so stay tuned.
Romilla and her husband Ashok, our local guides, became our friends and shared with us their many stories. They are passionate about helping the disadvantaged in their country. They already support many children and schools by paying for their education. Last month they bought 16 desks for a remote school. They are also involved in Leprosy International and Ashok is on the board. Romilla's dream is to set up a workshop employing disadvantaged or disabled women to make jewellery. She showed me some of her samples and I bought them all! I also ordered 50 bracelets from her. She cried as this was her first sale and I believe a sign of things to come for her.
My plan is to sell the bracelets for $12 and 100% of the profits will go back into educating marginalised children and girls on the Nepalese border. It costs $10 a month to educate a child in Nepal and we want to support as many families as we can. About 12,000 girls on the Indian border are sold as sex slaves. Ashok and Romilla believe if the girls receive an education and are valued they will be less likely to fall into the traps of traffickers.
If you would like to purchase a bracelet you can do so online here:
Or if you would like to find out more about sponsoring a child for $10 a month we can send you more information. You will receive a photo of your child and regular updates and letters.
We had such fun and fulfilled all the goals I set out to do in our Pozible project. With your generous help and support we really feel that Happy as Larry Designs can now move into the next phase of expanding the business.
Lots of love, Amy and Paul xx
Give Larry Wings and Send to Nepal Project
GIve Larry Wings and Send to Nepal Project
I feel like my dreams and passions are slowly being fulfilled. I was reading through an old journal of a question that was posed to me, "What would you do if time or money was not an issue in your lifetime?" Get you thinking?
Well my dream was to own a shop and sell crafty things with an emphasis on fair trade. Part of this in a way has come true - 15 yrs later. I have always wanted to support other less fortunate people by provided them with an income source. Sure we can give money away and we do sponsor 2 children through Compassion but I want to empower people and give them an opportunity to support themselves.
Happy as Larry Designs is starting to fulfil my dreams. I use fair trade wool and my designs are being made in Nepal by a group of women. Which leads me to our Pozible Project now live online!
You can be part of Larry's mission to fly to Nepal and earn some super awesome rewards and discounts at Happy as Larry. Please share this project on your networks and help me make a difference. Here is the link for ease of sharing: http://bit.ly/sendlarry
Babies Looking Up
Babies see the world usually up. We are told to place them on their tummies in order to develop their neck muscles and core strength in preparation for rolling and crawling but the majority of the time they are on their back looking heavenward.
Mobiles are great when it comes to helping your baby develop visual-motor skills. Because they move and are mobile, they encourage your baby to keep his focus on moving objects and control the direction of his gaze. You can easily make your own mobile or buy one to match in with your nursery. (high-contrast colors such as black, white, red, blue and yellow are easiest for babies to focus on).
One thing to remember is making sure you mobile and its parts are securely attached. Here are a few lovely examples to stimulate your little one.
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