We would like to welcome onboard a new retailer for TikiBoo Kids!
Angelfish Dragonfly is a new online store full of delights, and specialising in handmade or limited edition clothing, accessories and other lovely things for children.
They are the exclusive online stockist for our
"Playful Pig" Samba dress - in the delightful Olivia the Pig print which is sure to be a hit with all little girls!
What’s the story behind the name “Angelfish Dragonfly”?It took a lot to come up with this name. My first choice turned out to be connected with a site that was not suitable if you know what I mean, and they had trademarked that name! Using my daughter’s name didn’t bring much success either as any form of Charlotte Rose is already taken! So then I thought of butterflies and there are so many businesses to do with children, with Butterfly in the name or on their web pages as graphics that I then thought of an animal that I like that is more symbolic of vintage and sophisticated than a butterfly – Dragonfly it is! Then I tried registering Dragonfly Child and got the domain name so quickly rushed in to town to register the business name (I had been advised by Qld Govt. to do it this way). I then found out they had declined this name due to a similar name – Dragonfly Kids (which I couldn’t find in any of my searches!) It was very frustrating! So over a weekend I tried doing business name searches for Dragonfly in other languages: Italian – Libellula , French – Libellule, to name a few but all taken and registered. Then decided it would be too hard for people to pronounce anyway if I tried to change the spelling. So I thought of my other favourite animal – Angelfish! These are very elegant fish and beautiful. Angel also being the start of my name. Put the two together and nothing at all came up in any searches – Hooray! I also live in the tropics – Townsville so this fitted perfectly.
My logo – we concentrated on the Dragonfly and made it’s body the thread that passes through a sewing needle and around the wording. I had a clever graphic artist come up with this idea – I just twigged it. I have had many great comments on my logo.
What inspired you to start your online store?There are many reasons as to how this all evolved. I have always been interested in babies fashion in particular. Although I can sew and have done some fashion design studies much earlier on (& won a few fashion design competitions) my career led me away from fashion. With an interest in quality craft markets, I have done craft markets occasionally throughout the years but find it difficult with working fulltime to get enough products together to sell. My last craft market stall before starting this business was successful but it took so much effort to get together enough products just for one market and this was done when I was on un-paid Maternity leave.
It took the birth of my beautiful daughter to inspire me to start Angelfish Dragonfly. For my baby’s Christening at 4 mths old, I managed to hand smock her gown in about two months in between feeds etc. Every time she slept – I sewed! (mind you I had never smocked much before and my last attempt I was told “ keep practicing dear” by a dear lady at the QCWA.) Her dress turned out beautifully! Then I got to thinking – I am really lucky that I know how to sew but it was hard work to get the gown finished! There must be many others out there who can sew, who are time poor and are unable to find time to create the beautiful garments, appreciating handmade Australian clothing for their little ones.
I have always been inspired by the timeless styles of vintage clothing and fabric prints, so I wanted to bring together collections that ad a new fresh or modern image to the garments as well as some timeless pieces. Along the way, I have discovered some wonderful products and I now have these in my boutique as well, so we are not just fashion but accessories and other baby products. My sister has always been telling me that I should start my own baby boutique and now I am thrilled that it is finally happening! I couldn’t do B & M due to having a small child and didn’t want to be tied to a shop all week.
I decided mid last year to finally take the plunge and make a change in my career, adding another ‘string to my bow’ – by having an online baby & children’s boutique. I wanted to find a way to earn more money whilst having more time to spend with Charlotte and this was something I could do to fulfill my life-long dream and creative side at the same time. I have actually worked with at least one designer to create certain designs exclusive to Angelfish Dragonfly.
When you’re not running your business, what do you do for fun and relaxation? At the moment – Sleep, sleep, sleep, and not enough of that! As I am currently running two business completely different and I also teach music and have an active 2 yr old it doesn’t leave much time for other activities. I love to spend as much time with Charlotte and my family as possible. Time is so precious and they are little for such a small amount of time.
But I do love to cook (my daughter is my ‘sous’ chef, we have great fun cooking), and love the cooking shows if I can ever get time to watch a whole show. I love porcelain doll making and painting but haven’t done this since Charlotte came along due to it being a very expensive hobby and very addictive (very ease to go overboard on my dolls!) I love gardening (having won a garden competition for our garden that I designed and started myself for the New Home section of the annual Garden Competition. I love to knit, sew, crotchet, anything crafty.
So, tell us more about your store!Angelfish Dragonfly – Baby & Children’s Boutique. Vintage Inspiration with Modern Appeal. We specialize in exquisitely handmade garments with limited edition runs, with some styles exclusive to our boutique. Reminiscent of eras when children were simply children.
From Vintage styled in modern cool fabrics, organic cottons, or lightweight merino wool (cool in summer/ warm in winter), to modern styles with retro prints. From pretty pastels to bright prints there is something for everyone! We stock exquisite handmade Christening Gowns and hope to become known for these. Especially in North Queensland where there isn’t much available. We have cot rail protectors, safe from chemicals & unlike any other on the market, modern cloth nappies, hair accessories, Organic Infant Skincare and toys, unique handmade woollen dolls, room décor, knitted booties, embroidered baby clothing, shoes and much more. We are aiming to expand our boys collections in the coming months as this is an area that many are calling out for. Having spent many hours searching and also travelled across the country to meet/ source some of our suppliers, we aim to bring only the best unique, beautiful products for Newborns to 6 yrs (although we are getting requests to expand our sizes!) We are new – 2 months old but hope to expand our brand name to become one of the most well known online boutiques if you are looking for handmade Australian products and beautiful products for you precious little ones.
