Latest news

March 2009

Spring officially arrives on Sunday and we're all very excited at the prospect of warmer, longer days! Infact, my 3 year old has gone off to play school this morning in her new season 'Kate' t-shirt (with a long sleeved top underneath mind you). It's a great look and good for getting extra mileage out of the short sleeved wardrobe on cooler days.

It has to be said that spreading the word about Kite is more difficult that it would initially seem. The main issue being financial! So, we've been busy looking for publicity that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and are pleased to say that you can read more about Kite, if you go to the following links.

http://www.thegreenparent.co.uk/articles/read/ethical-childrenswear

http://www.mumsrock.com/node/399

Also, look out for the April/May edition of the Green Parent magazine (due out at on the 19th March). We've been told that our 5 minutes of fame is imminent!!

Looking forward to getting the entire range on my children now they've bought in to the short sleeve over long look!

Jo x

January 2009

The Spring Kite Kids range is almost here! As you have seen, the product images have been uploaded on to the site to give you a taster of what is about to come. As I write this, the collection is somewhere between India and the UK and with a wing and a prayer should be available from the 16th February.

We've been busy making sure everything is just right for you – the colours, designs, details and of course the quality. We even made a special trip to the south of India a couple of months ago to make sure that the factory and the Kite team out there were really up to scratch.

It has to be said that India and their people are really quite amazing. From an environmental point of view they are, in many ways, light years ahead of us. With minimal money and resources they are very good at recycling and reusing their waste products extremely effectively. For example, the irons or presses that the factory uses are fuelled not by electricity, but by discarded coconut shells and waste timber. We loved this guy who spent all day stoking the boiler – very proud of his work he was too...

One of the most exciting discovery's of this trip was that our organic dye house recycles 90% of the water it uses. You may have heard the well quoted fact that to dye just one t-shirt uses around 15 litres of water – it's true and quite a problem if you are trying to produce an environmentally friendly garment. So I'm pleased to say that if you own a Kite t-shirt you can be happy in the knowledge that the water used to dye it has been cleaned and recycled so that it can be used in the same process time and time again.

Here am I getting to grips with the technology. I was fascinated with the dirty water coming in and the clean water going out – and no, I didn't have a glug, I'm not that brave!!

I hope you enjoy our new Kite Kids range...if you'd like to be reminded when it becomes available to buy just drop us a line at info@kite-kids.co.uk

Jo x

October 08

Back in April we were optimistically waiting for a summer that never really happened. And then to add to our gloom, the credit crunch provided the doom! Well, I'm pleased to say that despite the tough times we're still working hard at creating a fabulous Spring 2009 range and it is looking great.

For boys we'll have some 'endangered species' t-shirts, along with surf inspired designs and of course our ever popular 'help save our planet' t-shirt. Girls will love our pretty aquas, pinks and greens with nature inspired designs including butterflies and birds. And of course, our super soft brushed back sweats will be back, in the form of a fabulous spotty beach dress and stripy hoody for boys.

We've also enlisted the support of some equally enthusiastic retailers who have ordered the Kite range for their shops in the spring. The positive feedback has kept us going. Comments such as “organic yet trendy”, “really lovely quality and such a great price” and “beautiful colours and graphics” have reassured us that Kite really is a special brand that people love.

With little else to report I thought I'd just leave you with a very useful home made play dough recipe, which is 100% eco-friendly – no chemicals or preservatives and of course a very cheap alternative to the shop bought stuff!

I mislaid this recipe during a house move and tried all sorts of versions from the internet. But none of them worked as well as the original (re-found only this week and producing perfect play dough once again!)

1 cup of flour

1 cup of water (including a few drops of the chosen food colouring)

1/2 cup of salt

1 tbsp cream of tartare

1 tbsp cooking oil

Mix in a pan, heat over a medium heat stirring constantly. Eventually the liquid mush will start to bind and with a little elbow grease the mixture will come together and away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Take play dough out and knead into a smooth ball. For extra girly play dough add a sprinkling of glitter to the mixture before heating.

Happy squidging! x

April 08

You've probably noticed that we haven't launched our Spring 08 range yet! Well, it's a long story but if you've got a moment...Launching a brand new business is difficult enough, combine this with a market that is only just starting to develop (organic cotton) and you have a journey that is full of ups and downs!

Despite getting the Kite word out locally and being quite successful at becoming a recognised brand in Poole and Bournemouth, this was never going to be enough.We knew that we needed a website in order to extend our reach and what a great experience that has been. Unfortunately though our web audience, albeit a far-flung and supportive one, is not growing at the rate that our suppliers would like!

"So what happens next?" I hear you ask. Well, our suppliers need us to buy bigger quantities and the only way we can afford to do this is to sell Kite through like-minded reputable retailers that can help spread the Kite word. We are already working on our Spring 09 range and hopefully, by around February 09, you will be able to find us in some of your local shops (if you know of any that you think would like the Kite range, please lets us know!). We will also continue to run our own website to give you the option of buying on-line - if you are already registered with us we'll drop you an e-mail to let you know when our new range is in.

Wish us luck - we'll need it!

Have a great summer - I'm sure it;s just around the corner!

Jo - Kite Kids

Oct 07

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who helped to get Kite Kids off the ground over the last few months. It has been great to receive the incredibly positive feedback from you all and to spot so many local children wearing Kite Kids clothes. Now that we know we have a great product we want it to be available to as many people as possible, so please spread the Kite word!

90% our styles are made from organic cotton (except the two fleece top styles where minimum order quantities wouldn’t allow us), but as we grow our quantities will increase and everything will be made in organic materials.

Kite Launches New Website

Now at the start of our second season, we are delighted to announce that we have launched our website to give you access to our range, wherever you are. We know it’s sometimes hard to trust a brand that you have never experienced before, so to encourage a ‘leap of faith’ we’re offering free delivery for the whole of this season. (Not a financially savvy decision, but one we’ve made to help get Kite Kids on the map!).

This season’s collection is made up of some great autumnal pieces. We’ve concentrated on getting the comfort and colours spot on along with making sure that the styles look just a bit different to everyone else’s. We hope you like them.

We would like to thank Roger Turner for his fantastic photography on the site and also the Forestry Comission for allowing the shoot to take place on location at Moors Valley in Dorset.

Kite Range Set to Increase

At the moment our range is quite small, so please bear with us as we develop more choice in seasons to come. As each original Kite Kids design is developed by ourselves, (nothing is bought off of the shelf), we need to work slowly and carefully to ensure that we get the product just right for you. We encourage your feedback and promise to offer more styles as each season goes by. Thanks for your patience while we go through our growing pains!

Kite Competition Launched

If you want to find something for your small people to do on a rainy autumn day, check out our colouring competition (see our home page for details). All you need to do is print it out and give it to them to colour in. Then send it in to us and we’ll judge them all and hand out some Kite Kids t-shirts to the best 3 boys and 3 girls. (Closing date is 30th November).

Thanks again for your support. Have a good autumn term and we’ll keep you posted as our news changes.

Kite Kids x