Tribute to Grandmother - Original inspiration to Kradle Kouture

So on September 26th, 2009, my grandmother died after 90 years of living on this earth.

See grandmother owned her own home and loved to live by herself and do all the things she wanted to do with no one breathing down her neck.Being so independent and such a strong-headed individual, she never liked to be told what to do or how to do things, because frankly she could do it all! One of the things she also liked to do was walk her own journeys. Yes, that is correct...she would walk to most of her destinations as opposed to calling a cab or calling on someone to give her a ride. Now don't get me wrong, if it was quite a trip beyond 5 miles, she would have no other choice but to call a cab.

So about 2-3 years ago, during one of her 'casual' strolls to her friends' house, a driver sped over her foot! Shockingly enough, this happened a second time around on a different occasion. In both instances, she had to be hospitalized and treated for intense pain. Never did we know that this was the beginning to the end of her independence and eventually her life because her health began to fade slowly till she was confined to a bed, unable to do the things that she had loved to do all these years without any assistance from anyone.

I decided that it was only befitting to honor her legacy and the knowledge of her creativity & the art of craft that she imparted to me by saying a few words about how she was so instrumental to my life and Kradle Kouture. Below is my prepared tribute speech for her funeral, that has been scheduled to what would have been her 90th birthdate (November 21st 2009)...................

Grandmother, a true angel on earth – Written by grand-daughter, Nana Adwoa Abeasi

It was December 2005 during my engagement ceremony, when my Grandma, amidst a group of guests, blurted out, “Nana dea, ose me ooo” (Meaning – “Nana Adwoa looks just like me!”) as she put her hand on her hip and did what appeared to be an amateur catwalk down the porch. Funny thing about this picture is that my sister was one of the bystanders listening to grandma rattle on about how much I resembled her in her younger days and not making any mention of why perhaps she and my sister shared something in common also. With a grin on her face, Akua watched Grandma from the side of her eyes, waiting patiently for grandma to brag about her or at least tell the guests that Akua was named after her or something. That ‘light, camera, action’ moment unfortunately didn’t come.

But you see that picture had more meaning, sentiment and purpose to it than the obvious at the time – I was of a svelte stature just like grandma in her younger days. I like to believe that she was trying to predict something of value to me of which at the time, I did not see or realize or better yet wouldn’t have even believed it if she had told me.

So who is Mrs Elizabeth Agyeiwaa Abeasi? Wow, do we have enough time to really say and be honest? Well I’ll be respectful and make it brief. See Grandma was such an inspirational angel-on-earth. Grandma taught me the importance of Christianity. She did an excellent job in imparting the wisdom of religion to her sons, of which I’m proud to say are my father and Uncle Jeff. I have never seen successful men who are so deeply rooted in being Chris-like as Grandma’s sons. This just shows that her legacy is to be continued through her sons and the next ‘Abeasi’ generations to come. I vividly remember her reading to me from the bible and made me memorize Psalm 23 and 27. She told me to “count my blessings”. She was my role model for what a woman of substance could be - charismatic, independent, loving, humble, radiant, beautiful, Christ-like, domestic, artistic, talented, innovative, and creative. In addition, Grandma was a strong black woman; she had a long, healthy, loving life.

Grandma was the most independent and strongest woman I have ever known. She lived in her own home and took care of herself as well as others who lived with her. She was very involved with her church; she arranged her own means of transportation – even if it meant walking the entire journey. She supervised and took care of her entire compound and all her tenants. You could always rely on Grandma to be the only one in the family who would remember your birthday, not missing a single year, and not going through the day with either a phone call and/or a card to wish you well. Distance didn’t matter to her. Even if you lived at the North pole, she would find a means to get in contact with you on your birthday. A life-long homemaker, she was a wonderful cook and made everything from scratch. How many of us have that skill to date?

Another lasting impression of grandma is that she was so innovative, creative and crafty. I remember whenever we would go visit after school, I would be so mesmerized by all the jewelry, clothing, and cakes that she would make and bake all by herself. They were all created with so much color, radiance, precision and love. I remember thinking that all these craft items were nice and that Grandma was a genius when it came to being creative and innovative; I definitely knew where to go and who to see if I wanted some homemade cookies or some sort of intricately crocheted table plate mats! In May of this year, I unraveled my own creative side. Seeing my daughter create her own fashion sense from wearing socks as arm warmers and gloves, I knew that creating children into fashion icons in every sense of the word was my calling in some shape or form. I suddenly thought about taking some sewing, craft and crocheting classes to help me start a new business – a kid’s clothing line. But you see, if only I knew this was going to unfold, I would have studied Grandma a bit more closely; I would have sat with her more often to get free sewing, and crocheting lessons; I probably would have learned the skill of baking, as well. Now look at me, having to pay for a talent that I could have developed with her help!. All these skills could have definitely come in handy right about now.

So you see, it began to dawn on me that Grandma and I shared a lot of interests, mannerisms, and thought processes. I only pray that I live up to her standards. I’m yet to explore the realm of being domestic and I’m working on being more Christ-like. So Grandma, I have a huge task ahead but I know with your support, it’s certainly do-able. Never did I think that I, a trained analytical engineer would develop an interest in crafts. I will say that it’s not likely that I’ll ever be interested in baking but it is worth a shot, right?

During her last few years on earth, Grandma lived at home where she got around with a walker and the assistance of others due to her fragile state. That was when she began to lose her independence. It was very painful for me to see my once very strong Grandma relying on others to move around. However, she did live a good life; she was God-fearing, humble and the best Grandma a child could ever have! The most comforting thing about her home going is that she is in a much better place now, free of any kind of pain or suffering. I am confident that she has joined the heavenly host with our Lord, where she rightfully belongs.

I am thankful that I had the relationship that I had with her for my 30-something years. I am even more thankful that she had an opportunity to see and spend time with my new family also – her grand son-in-law, Kelvin and her great grand-daughter, Ava-Mirre Akosua Owusu-Ansah.

I think everyone who knew her would agree with me that she truly touched every single life that she came in contact with in one way or the other. And for this reason, I am proud to be closely related to her.

Grandma, I only pray that you’ll continue to utter those words in heaven, “Nana dea, ose me ooo”. I am truly honored to be compared to you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! We hail you. We love you. We miss you. May you rest in peaceful bliss with the Lord.

Special birthday shout-out.........Fashion Faux Pas for kids

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AVA-MIRRE!!!

So today marks a very sentimental point in my life – My baby girl turns 2. Wow! It felt just like yesterday when Ava-Mirre and I were trying to figure out each other for the first time. Today brings bitter-sweet feelings, in that, time has flown by so fast that I feel like I didn’t have enough time to enjoy her being a baby who completely was dependent on me for everything. On the other hand, I consider Ava-Mirre as a gifted child – in a good way though – because within the past 2 years, she has managed to go through all the milestones 3-4 months ahead of the average child. It’s been very

intriguing to see her develop so well and I can’t wait to see her blossom into a toddler, young girl, teenager and eventually a woman.
So as I sit here analyzing our journey that past two years, I can’t help but to drift off into deep thought and reminisce the sequence of events leading to this special day – finding out I was pregnant and experiencing pregnancy for the first time, the labor and child-birthing process and finally going through the daily activity of raising a baby & toddler. One thing I wish Ava-Mirre could grow out of – being a finicky and picky eater. It’s been a long ride but hopefully as she grows older she’ll be more willing to try more meals. I’ve been told that she’s just following her mom’s footsteps when it comes to eating. Well no baby, this is one thing I don’t want you to copy – at least not now…maybe starting from your teenager years. Lol!

So what’s my favorite milestone yet? – having full conversations with her. After Ava-Mirre turned 13 months, I started to get panicky about the fact that she wasn’t saying ‘mommy’ or for that matter, ‘daddy’ while you could identify her classmates beginning to embark on that journey pretty well. I read some books and I was informed that if by month 18, a child didn’t have a vocabulary of about 50 words; it could potentially be a sign of some speech impediment or language delay. Oh God, NO, I thought to myself. So every day I would try to encourage her to say some words and I was literally counting and writing down words that I would hear her say every now and then. Call me Crazy!!!! But after all that, I really had nothing to worry about because once again she started talking earlier than the average child and now it’s almost impossible for anyone to get her to hush for a second! But I love it!

Anywho, let’s go ahead and tread in some rather ‘interesting’ waters…….

The Scoop on Kids’ Fashion Faux Pas (Part 1)
- Written by Akua Abeasi & Nana Adwoa Abeasi

*Disclaimer – I am by no means a fashion expert (even though I aspire to be just that! Lol!) . This article piece is a result of a sample group of mothers and other women selected and asked to give their responses to the topic.

Motherhood is a blessing and sometimes involves on-the-job training – especially for new mothers who are trying to get the hang of this thing called motherhood. Despite the many self-help books, advice from family members and friends and other seasoned mothers – a true mother follows her instincts and will always do what’s best for her child! Nevertheless, that does not mean advice from the so-called experts will go ignored – a mother’s final decision is usually made up of 80% mummy intuition, 15% expert advice and 5% daddy’s input. (according to my calibrations, lol!). So there is definitely a useful need for expert advice every now and then – today we are going to explore the fashion dos and donts in children fashion. Yes, this is a very relative and subjective discussion, however I still like to exercise my 15% influence in mummy’s fashion decision for her kid’s wardrobe.

Mothers, with every item discussed, let’s keep one thing in mind about our kids, LET’S KEEP THEIR INNOCENCE!

CLOTHING

• The good thing is that there are so many colors in the rainbow, not to forget adding colors to other colors to get new colors, however the sad thing is that we sometimes get so narrow minded and boggled down on the idea of pink being for girls and blue being for boys that we miss out of other possible colors out there. Let us be open to other expressive colors and stay away from the routine, mundane obvious color choice of clothes. And yes, in most cases the clothing manufacturing companies are to blame by providing outfits drenched in our favorite two colors.
• Mummies and daughters do hold a very special bond that is quite obvious to the viewing public; however some mummies see the need to make this bond a little more evident by having baby and herself dress alike. This is always cute and refreshing, however it gets a bit scary and overboard when baby girls are dressed centuries older than they really are. Come on lets keep their innocence intact…I mean that is what being a kid is all about!
• Tight clothes never look appealing on anyone, so why would it look appealing on our kids? Yes, we all have our favorite outfits but when what’s supposed to be pants now look like long shorts or we see a little belly hanging from under a shirt, then we know its time to make a quick run to the mall, department store or wherever it is we get good deals on our kid’s clothes.

HAIR

• I believe they are still investigating the effects of the perming ingredients and process on adults so please lets stay away from introducing such chemicals to our kid’s hair …the jury is still out! Permed hair not appropriate for young girls …or boys for that fact.
• A child’s hair looks better neat and simple. Putting a million and one bows and ribbons in a child’s hair not only looks distracting to the viewing public but I cant even imagine how the child is feeling with all those ribbons crowding her cranial space.
• Neat is the key word here. If you don’t have time to redo your child’s plaits at least once a week (or every other week) then I would humbly ask you to cut her hair into a low cut . Month-old plaits/braids beg attention – the wrong kind of attention!

MAKE-UP
Ladies & Gentlemen, let’s just say no!!!

• In no shape or form do we want to start introducing the idea of beauty imperfections to our little ones, therefore I do not think it appropriate to teach them the magic of makeup…unless of course if they are attending a birthday party and the clown insists on face painting…even that is a far stretch!
• So one may ask my opinion on beauty pageants and modeling for kids…a big no no in my books! Please lets let our kids be kids and don’t live though them by forcing them to partake in activities that we wanted to but lost the chance to…yes I am talking to the wanna-be pageant queen mothers out there!

NAILS
Simple rule: keep short and clean.

ACCESSORIES - Jewelry
Adorning kids with too much jewelry. Not only is it a choking hazards but it’s also tacky.

Note that this will be an ongoing discussion. We will gladly accept other mothers’ opinions and ideas to add on to this discussion. So submit your suggestions by giving your comments and/or sending it by email to naabeasi@comcast.net

My Inspiration..Aaah, C'est finit!! VIOLA!!!...

MY INSPIRATION

The Introduction of Ava-Mirre – DIVA-in-Training

A mother’s perspective on childbirth.......

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve always loved ‘the little people’. I think babies are wonderful creatures and anyone who has them is truly blessed. As a young adult, I used to tell my mom that when I was a bit older and ready to have a family that I would like to have a football team of kids. Mind you, I was probably 18 years old. I vowed to myself that I would follow my mom’s foot steps on starting a family when I turned 22. Boy, was I naïve! So come my 22nd birthday, and I wasn’t even dating at the time let alone claim I was madly in love and thinking about the future of having a family so I knew things were going to change. My plan didn't seem like it was going to be feasible. Boohoo, waaan waan! I became extremely baby crazy at that point. I never knew that it would be several years before that dream became a reality.

After I got engaged in 2005, I revisited the subject of baby making. At least by now, I knew I didn’t have anything that could hold me back! (laugh). You know, I always used to wonder why I would hear people say, ‘Oh, we’re going to try to have a baby next year’. What? If you want to have a baby, it’s easy. I thought to myself, seemed like everyone else was having a baby that quick irrespective of their age. It wasn't rocket science, right?! It shouldn’t be a big deal, just do what you gotta do and make it happen. But it was time for me to consider having a baby, then that statement began to make sense to me. Baby making is a ‘delicate’ major task! I want to believe there is a strategy to a successful baby making process. How crazy is that? Thanks to that one little plastic stick, my life changed in the span of three minutes. That smiley face was the best thing I had seen in a while. Piece of advice to potential "want to be" mothers - make sure you're not in a stressful situation or stressed out when you're in the process of 'trying'....stress kills literally in all aspects of the process.

So, one miscarriage, several faint spells and breathing problems, lack of sleep, 9 months, 3 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy, 1 shot of epidural (best thing ever!), 6 pushes later, I realized on October 14th 2007, that all that work and stress was well rewarding in the end. The most wonderful 6-pound, 11- ounces-18-inch-long-cone-head creature had been born to ME! Me? Really? Wow, that's just amazing! Thank you Lord! I'm finally going to be a mother, I thought to myself. It turned out, Ava-Mirre was truly a miracle of life. Might sound cliché but very true!

The birth of Ava-Mirre led to the birth of Kradle Kouture…………

In the adjacent pictures, Ava-Mirre shows off her modeling stance as well as glimpses of what you should be expecting from Kradle Kouture's fashion line. She loves to use phones, real phones for that matter, as her props! Don't ask me why but I'm still trying to figure out why and how babies/kids always seem to know the difference between toy phones and real phones and tend to go for the latter. A couple weeks ago, I decided to try out a 'test' photo shoot with her so she could get some practice for our upcoming Kradle Kouture photoshoot and all I can say is that she is truly a diva-in-training! Why? I caught her in all these posing and stances without any form of direction from anyone and when she figured she had got the posing just right, she would scream and say "Mommy look".

We (myself, my sister and our photographer friend Priscilla) would then scurry around trying to get the best shot of her expressions. My favorite pose of all time, was when she took center stage by standing on top of a table, dancing and in the middle of her own dance routine, stopped, pushed her waist/hips/butt out to the side with her hands on her hips and remained still until we had acknowledged that she was ready for a shot! Let's not even talk about her dance moves! Talk about a 20 yr old pro in a 2 yr old body. Friends of mine believe Ava-Mirre literally has her own version of 'Stanky waist'! I guess that's her creativity working again, right? It's always a Kodak moment with her. Many a times I find myself catching a glimpse of me in her mannerisms and I'm sure most parents if not all can attest to that with their children also. Hopefully, she'll have a better life than I did and overcome some of the hurdles I was unable to overcome if and only if that is the path she decides to embark on.

MY HUMBLE BEGINNINGS.....

I didn't want to be the average type clothing designer in that, I didn't want people to have the perception that I was going to be behind the scenes with my legs crossed and propped up on a table delegating folks to design, sew, manufacture and what may have you. I wanted to be in full control of the tasks involved. I wanted people to know that the show literally was to start with me. And believe you me, I am certainly not a control freak...maybe a neat freak but definitely not a control freak! Lol!

So, having had that passion in mind, I decided to take up some sewing and decorating classes. I was totally geared up for the experience and it turned out to be just plain marvelous! I remember that as part of our 'supplies' list' for the class, we were encouraged to purchase a sewing machine of our choice. I was so excited because I knew that would be my 'make or break' moment. If I was able to purchase one, I knew that would give me confirmation that I was in it for the long haul!

Boy, I have never researched so much in my life. But I had to do it to figure out what I needed at the time. I was thinking I just needed one of those manual sewing machines that our parents used to use back in the day. It sickened me just at the thought of it. I thought to myself that there got to be something technically better and more user-friendly these days. Come to find out that there are several major improvements these days - We have the traditional mechanical sewing machines, electronic machines, computerized machines, sergers, and a combo of electronic and computerized machines.

And so after buying a $300-worth sewing machine, 4-3 hour sewing classes, and numerous trips to Barnes & Nobles to research on everything about sewing, it was a done deal....I was in it for the long haul for sure now!

Oooh Lalaaa, C'EST FINIT!! VIOLA!!!...... (Can someone please give me a drum roll???)

After my very first sewing class, where the basics of sewing was taught, I felt that I was ready to challenge myself, to test my true abilities. Crazy, right? Well, I like to think of myself as a 'recovering' perfectionist, so what do you expect me to do folks? So, yes I kindda 'jumped the gun', in that, whereas my other fellow classmates were busily working on the project of sewing aprons for our Sewing class 201, I thought I would embark on a more challenging task of sewing my first real kids outfit in class instead and be able to utilize the time I had paid for to get assistance along the way and make sure that I was dotting my 'i's and crossing my 't's in the sewing world. When I realized that that was more productive than just participating in sewing projects that I felt were not going to benefit me and my goal, I decided to continue focusing on finishing my 'special' assignment for the last two sewing classes. So, technically by second sewing class, I had charged myself to be fully competent to sew a whole outfit! Talk about being a perfectionist!!!

My very first piece of fabric was also quite symbolic to me too. Ghana celebrated 50 years of being an independent African nation in 2007. Remember the previous blog article where I talked about how each type of fabric had a story to tell and always symbolic for something, someone or some event? Well, during this celebration in 2007, special printed textiles were produced in honor of the festivities. So I was fortunate enough to embark on this journey with my first piece sewn out of a rich and ceremonial piece.

If you look at the six pictures of the finished product, you will find that my first piece that I decided to sew is a form-fitting toddler dress composed of a nice structured bodice with a flowing skirt bottom. Specific detailing was given to the bottom lining edge of the skirt as well as the (spaghetti) straps of the bodice.
As you can see, the fabric has rich colors of orange, yellow, black and blue. I wanted to bring out the more subtle color which in this fabric was orange. Then I wanted to put more emphasis on the orange by using grosgrain ribbon in that color as the straps for the dress and added two tied bows to the straps. Mind you, I could have used yellow in the places where I had the orange detail but I don't believe the contrast would have been that flattering enough, for the lack of a better term. In the future, customers would be able to place an order for a particular style of dress and have the option to change the color of some of the specific detailings like the orange in this item.

Finally, even though I mentioned that initally Kradle Kouture would like to focus on the girly fashions before delving into the baby boy/boys fashion wear, I did want to encourage people and prove to people that that is indeed a serious goal of Kradle Kouture. To demonstrate this, I also had a complimenting boys-wear version using the same fabric as that used for the girly outfit. The model, Christopher Ethan, my nephew, is seen here with a boy's short-sleeved flannel shirt also with specific detailing. Focus is placed on the collar and the pocket(s) where I decided to also bring out the subtle orange color in the fabric by incorporating an orange pocket handkerchief and an orange collar. Man, you should have seen this hot boy pop that collar to show his little budding 'swag'. It was truly 'fierce'........ uuuh I don't think his dad would appreciate that word so I'll try this again - IT WAS TRULY 'Swagger-licious'.....Nah, that doesn't sound good either. Okay, He had so much SWAG, it was truly insane. He had the perrr-fect hair cut to go with it - a half-bow MOHAWK! LOL!

PS: KK Bloggers, please don't forget to give me your comments and feedback. I will sincerely appreciate it. Constructive comments only! (LOL)

Talk to you soon KK Bloggers!

A little history on African textile fabrics

Kradle Kouture (KK) aims to be the trend setter in children clothing and accessories by offering garments that personifies individuality and creativity for the fashion-conscious mother and child. Our main focus in this clothing line is tapping into the use of African fabric. As such, I think it is only befitting to talk about or give a little history about African fabrics. With Kradle Kouture, it’s all in the fabric, literally!

Growing up in Ghana, West Africa, I recall that we were always encouraged to wear ‘kaba and slit’ – these are dresses made from genuine African fabric and designs and typically worn by most West African women or specifically, by Ghanaian women on an everyday basis. These dresses came in various ranges of different styles. See, it really didn't matter if and whether these women were going to church, a friend's house, public gathering, the market, or to some social event, it was common to see Ghanaian women or for that matter most West African women wearing their Kaba & Slit. Mind you, the word, ‘Kaba’ refers to the top half of the dress and the word ‘Slit’ is the skirt-like bottom part. In essence, for the lack of a better comparison, the 'Kaba and Slit' can be looked at as the African version of the American 'maxi' skirt and fitted top.

Picture to left: Example of Kaba & Slit

And I used to think to myself , ‘wow, I wouldn’t be caught dead in that’. I wanted to wear exactly what I had seen the kids wear in America. I would find myself watching shows like BET and MTV and day dreaming of being that kid/person walking down the fashion runways rocking my ‘cross-colored’ jeans.

It was only when I came to the United States and started modeling that I observed that some top designers like Oscar de La Renta and fashion icons like Madonna, Fergie and Solange Knowles have been seen to rock African-inspired outfits and make it their own. So, I'm thinking to myself, 'If these well-known celebrities can appreciate my culture, my tradition, my country's wealth and richness of African designs and history, I should be ashamed for underestimating the same item and taking such richness for granted. I felt sick at the thought. I had done my country and the culture and traditions it stands on WRONG!

Pix to left: Fergie in African outfit

This was my wake up call. I felt I had betrayed my roots, forgotten my culture! and I was going to do something to make up for it. African fabric & design - Such a captivating and intriguing concept! The thing that comes to mind is the rich colors, provoking patterns, and profound history behind the motifs and symbols printed on each cloth - such captivating allure!!

There is a lot of history involved in African fabrics. Each piece of fabric tells a story in its own unique way. In Africa, when we use traditional cloth/fabric, it represents wealth and culture. Typically, when we use special fabric it could be used to represent important events; to communicate with or without words; and to distinguish rank, and/or esteem as well. For instance, Ghana’s well-reknowned ceremonial fabric called the ‘KENTE’ cloth is the official cloth for royals.

"Kente is more than just a cloth. It is a visual representation of African culture: our history, our ethics, our oral literature, our moral values, our social code of conduct, our religious beliefs, our political thought and our aesthetic principles. "
(http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/fiber-kente/kente.html)

Picture(s) above: Local King in Kente cloth & examples of different types of Kente cloth.

So I charge you to embark on this journey with me of exploring the richness of African fashions. I’ve come to appreciate the authenticity, creativity of African fabrics and designs. It’s truly an area that demands attention.

As a good friend of mine stated about the emergence of African fabrics and designs in the fashion world – ‘The beautifully detailed and boldly colorful fabrics from the motherland are getting their due in the world of fashion'. Some of the African fabric that Kradle Kouture will be using include, kente cloth, mud cloth, batiks, silks, brocade, tie dye, suede, woven and 100% cotton fabrics and in terms of designs, various designs ranging from African masks, figures, African Safari animals like elephants, Ghanaian adinkra symbols and other designs in vibrant colors. See some of the fabric types shown.

Kradle Kouture Fabric Selections
Just to give you a brief ‘synopsis’ of what type of radiant, beautiful authentic fabric/print that KK will be using in the construction of the kids’ garments, please see below.

To mothers - Please rest assure that most of the African fabric pieces are made of 100% cotton hence perfect for the construction of kids' clothing. The use of cotton for babies and children's clothing has become quite prevalent recently mainly because research has shown that cotton happens to not only provides air circulation hence removing body humility but it is also extremely soft against the skin and consequently the best option for making children's clothing. Most importantly, cotton is versatile, sustainable and very easy to care for.


A Note from the Designer's Seat

I would like to think that babies and children need not be left out of the fashion "hoop-la". It certainly need not be limited to just adults, and perhaps the youth, primarily because I truly believe that our babies and children fortunately or unfortunately are and will also be influenced by what they see. Consequently they need to ne able to bring out their best.

As a designer, KK will be working full time to ensure that our little ones are dressed for every occassion, in order to keep abreast with the ever changing fashion trends. Our aim here is to make sure we bring out our kids' creativity and purity of their age. We are looking into styles and designs where the kids not only look good, but can 'strut' the different 'catwalks' (their various activities) in their lifes without any hesitation and/or inhibitions.

Come, Spring '10, we will be showcasing and offering items like pants and shorts with very functional pockets; short and long-sleeved onesies and graphic tees with cute appliques, embroidery designs and/or printed pictures; tunic and sundresses; cute colorful tops; layered and/or maxi skirts and tutus and a lot more.

In terms of the colors that will be used, all I can say is that its truly going to be a plethora of beautiful, cute shades of all colors under the rainbow dependent on the season. Just to name a few - khaki, kelly green, orange, olive, fuschia (lots and lots of it! lol!), hot pink, beige, yellow and etc. These are really my favorite colors!....hahaha...lol!


So let us help your child bring out their individuality with style.....let's let our fashion 'kiddie boos and kiddie babs' hit the runways strutting!


Talk with you soon KK Bloggers!

Fellow KK Bloggers, please don't forget to give me your comments and feedback for every blog article posted. I will sincerely appreciate it. Constructive comments only! (lol)

Welcome to Kradle Kouture Blogspot!

Welcome to Kradle Kouture Blog!
– The Mommy Fashion Babble Spot

Kradle Kouture Mommy fashion babble spot is a mom’s BlogSpot about my journey as a professional, an entrepreneur, a new mother and a designer in the children’s fashion industry. Most importantly, the mommy fashion babble spot will serve as a depository and/or library for information on the latest trendy baby girl clothes and design that Kradle Kouture will be producing as well as other featured kids’ designer creations. This BlogSpot will also offer advice on what and what-not to have your children wear (fashion faux-pas) and ultimately, we will have discussions on how to raise fashion-forward kids. This mommy’s blog will have all the information you need to keep your princesses looking ‘fierce’!

SO WHO’S BEHIND KRADLE KOUTURE?

Kradle Kouture, Inc fashion items are the inspirations of owner, entrepreneur, designer and very busy mother, Nana Adwoa (pronounced na-na-ju-wa). Nana Adwoa hails from the beautiful plains of West Africa, particularly Ghana – known as the Gold Coast. Even as an infant, Nana Adwoa has always been fashion-conscious and had an immense passion for fashion. Her mother was known for winning a lot of beauty pageants of which she followed suit. Her biggest accomplishment in pageantry was when she won 1st runner up for the Miss Lux 1996 – pageantry resembling the well known Miss Ghana pageant. Despite the fact that she actively works and was educated to be an electrical engineer, she managed to participate in several fashion shows, working as a freelance commercial, editorial and runway model for all her life. She has also mentored and trained young adults in the art of cat walking. She continues to work as a freelance print and commercial model since fashion is her greatest passion.

SO WHO OR WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND KRADLE KOUTURE?

Wow, that kinda sounds like a trick question…..My fashion-forward first-born 2-year old child named Ava-Mirre. As a matter of fact, Kradle Kouture will be launching its clothing line in Spring of 2010 with the premier ‘AVA-MIRRE’ Spring Collection – a dedication to this special daughter of mine. Ava-Mirre has been my inspiration to start this business from the very beginning. Being a new mom of such a smart yet fashion-forward child, I was inspired to make cute clothes for her. My daughter, Ava-Mirre will be the muse and motivation for the clothing that I create. I’ll do my best to see if she would be willing to make a ‘debut appearance’ in the next article.

I wanted to be able to give kids an opportunity to be noticed in the glamour limelight by being able to create ‘miniature copies of adult designer fashion couture’ for them. Since the birth of my daughter, I have had a strong desire to develop a reputable (female) children’s wear brand.

So why not a little background on Kradle Kouture, Inc?

Kradle Kouture, Inc is an online boutique specializing in exceptionally funky, trendy, chic, sassy custom-made designer children’s’ clothing and accessories for the world’s coolest little divas. We cater primarily to little girls from infancy stage to toddler size 8. We anticipate expanding out business into catering to little boys’ clothing in the nearby future. We are different from your average kids clothing boutique, in that, our fabrics are adorned with authentic African fabrics and designs.

Please note that KradleKouture.com is under construction. Look forward to updates on the official website launch in Spring 2010 and the like on Kradle Kouture blogspot.

We carry custom-made high fashion kids’ apparel made with intricate and authentic African designs and themes. All these styles would be designed with custom-made, hand-made authentic fabrics, local wax, batik, tie-dye and screen printed fabrics as well as imported cottons, linens, and silks such as internationally renowned hand woven ceremonial Kente cloth and batakari material. Contemporary designer (suppliers) will also manufacture western-style trousers, skirts, shirts, sweaters, dresses and jackets, often incorporating indigenous African designs.

One might wonder where the inspiration for this venture came from. Well it’s two-fold. First and foremost, inspiration is deeply rooted in my origins and background. Secondly, let me pose an important question - have you ever felt tired of always seeing other kids wearing the same brand and/or style of clothing as your Lil’ dude and/or diva kids? Even more upsetting to me is my major ‘pet peeve’ – can someone explain to me why departmental stores, and other typical children’s clothing stores think it is acceptable to just slap any color on any type of fabric and calling it ‘cute’ baby girl clothes. Well I beg to differ. This is the main reason for creating my own ‘hip’ line to give these little divas of ours a sense of individuality, creativity and pizazz. To capture my goal with this venture in a few words, Kradle Kouture, Inc seeks to offer ‘miniature copies of the favorite top designer outfits with a ‘splash’ of African flavor.

And so, if you believe your kid is the next fashionista, the next international top model, then you’ve come to the right venue for your child’s daily catwalks.