A lot can happen in a year!

Today I celebrate my little boy Samson’s

(aka BIG Boy Bump, SamSam, Tsar, BamBam and naughty number 2)  

first Birthday.

The BIG 1

Woweeeee.

A lot can happen in one year. For starter’s my little boy has grown into a fully fledged coal eating, mud cramming in mouth and scattering round my house, walking, sort of talking, charming sweet little boy. He’s shocked me into the world of little boys. He throws, he chews, he bangs and he eats EVERYTHING!!! Literally everything. Cardboard, dirt,  bugs, you name it he’ll try it. And enjoy it and have it again. A delicacy! 

Such a lot of growing to make something so small turn into something so BIG and charming. He has a gorgeous sense of humour, a very cheeky personality and most certainly knows his own mind. And he’s such a BIG handsome boy! And i think looking like my Dad, his Granddad Allan everyday.

In the same way, little u-ni-k has grown. In the year that Sam has been around, u-ni-k has flourished and grown into a beautiful international company. Yes we have clients in Australia don’t you know!

Here is a little of what has happened in Sam’s first year.

Our cheeky paper friends featured in The Telegraph’s Christmas gift guide as well as our baby blankets in The Telegraphs S T Kids.

Our beautiful baby blankets featured in the beautiful Selvedge magazine.

All our beautiful gifts have featured in House Beautiful, The Sunday Post, Stylista Magazine, Simply Crochet, Angels and Urchins to name a few.

Samson himself and u-ni-k had a little preview in Baby Surrey’s Welcome to the World feature.

Our beautiful newly designed Website has grown and become something wonderful. I am very proud of its look and the coverage it and our beautiful gifts have achieved. The website is all Sarah’s handy work may I say! Sarah you make beautiful ideas come to life. Thank you for being the women “who knows” with website stuff. Without Sarah’s know how u-ni-k would not be! 

We’ve been shortlisted for a Mumpreneur award and managed to wangle ourselves a #WOW award from Jacqueline Gold herself!  Whoop Whoop!

Lily Allen’s little baby Ethel has a Shuktara baby blanket to snuggle up to at night.

And lots of lovely other babies and children get to treasure their u-ni-k gifts everyday.

We have new beautiful makers added to the website, like the beautiful patchwork blankets made from your babies old baby grows and muslins made by the lovely Susan. What Mum can throw away those tiny little baby grows!?? The perfect Keepsake for Mum and baby!

So what’s in line for u-ni-k's next year?

New suppliers in the pipeline…. beautiful new things to share with you all.

Most certainly weird and wonderful tales and musing from Sarah and I.

Plenty more Friday funnies….we always have plenty of humour !

A Theo Paphitis #SBS award perhaps?

A mention in a book?

And new babies ??

Who knows!

JOKE!!

Family treasures?

Anna recently helped her Mum move house, which meant that she found a host of family treasures in the attic. Like most people, Anna has lived in one family home for her childhood and her family have probably lived in the area for a generation or two. So her family have been able to treasure and store items for each generation and the next to enjoy! What a wonderful treasure hunting day it must have been discovering things in the family loft.

My childhood couldn't have been more different. We moved every 18 months or so, packing up our treasures in paper and placing them into boxes hoping that they would survive the journey to the next house. Many didn't, moving men in those days being of the 'throw it in the back of the truck' kind. This 'gypsy' lifestyle meant that we couldn't afford to carry around precious momentos that our parents had enjoyed as children. Since HM Forces didn't usually provide an attic or basement with their accommodation, we had very small storage and really had to be selective with our 'treasures'.

Now that I'm settled in a permanent family home [no more moving for me!], I'm keen to start a collection of family treasures – things that both Kathryn and I love and treasure. When she's grown out of them I'll put them up in our attic and save them for her children. I'm looking forward to the day when I send my Daughter upstairs to find treasures that we loved and that her children can play with!

It's this thought I use when selecting items to suggest to Anna that we sell through u-ni-k gifts. Some gifts for children should be investments in this generation and the next... a supersoft blanket to wrap baby in, a wooden car for them to brrrrm [or for future generation to laugh at the fact vehicles used to roll along the ground!], a memory quilt made from great granny's baby clothes with her name and birth date in, granny's name and birth date in, Mummy's name and birth date in..squares to add each generations name and date of birth. A true Mother to Daughter gift that will last generations!

The very talented Susan of Fat Hen and Flo famed put a lot of love and work into the Davies Family quilt and Kathryn has already sneaked a play in it before it was whisked off to be wrapped up for Christmas** . Here's a few photos of our family quilt:

 The quilt laid out on a king sized bed!

 The aplique details!

 Hand quilted with flowers, birds and hearts!

 A surprise detail...

 detailing around the side!

 Name square

 peekaboo! Bunny rabbits are big in our house

Memory quilts and lots of other lovely Fat Hen and Flo creations– coming soon to u-ni-k gifts.
Contact us for more information!

**yes Kathryn found and was delighted with the bunny when she sneaked a play in her quilt!