A Sprinkle of ‘Bloesem Magic’ to Start The Year

It’s been quite a long hiatus since our last update on ePloof! and that’s because I’ve been busy with my son, Otto and my day job.

ePloof! for me is also a journey where I need to learn about how to promote my business, how to engage with like minded people, work on collaborations, identify opportunities for pop up shops and generate sales.  Since we don’t have a physical shop front, online visual content is very important to help reflect the quality and the unique range of kid’s products we have selected.

A New YEAR means a new start so I thought, right I really ought to learn about this and improve my online content creation and visual story telling skills. I had a long think about what visuals and online stores/children themed materials inspires me in Singapore? Time and time again, I find myself always looking wondrously at the beautiful pictures, compositions of Bloesem Blog by the talented Irene. I was pleased to see they held workshops on this EXACT topic too ‘The Art of Visual Story Telling‘! So, without further ado, I signed up.

In the session, Irene shared valuable insight on the colour palette, some tips and tricks of photography, setting the scene and most importantly, the harmony of the images together with the words, fonts and content to create a complete package. True to her philosophy, the session came complete with a yummy lunch and a useful beautiful notepad they had designed.

Bloesem workshop

 

Putting her lesson into action, recently ePloof! has been working on a partnership with a Japanese hair salon called Covo located on 43 Keong Saik Road. Incidentally, it’s where we get our hair cut and we take our little boy there too. The idea came up in that wouldn’t it be nice for mothers who were having their hair done that their kids can sit and play with some educational wooden toys whilst waiting? Or that mums can browse some unique kids products while enjoying a hair treatment? 🙂 Hence, the idea was born for ePloof! to have a Pop Up Shop event at the super cool Covo Hair Salon and to have it coincide with the Japanese ‘Girls’ Day on March 3?……..

When? Feb 3 – March 3.

Where? 43 Keong Saik Road (right opposite the cool burger joint, potatoe head). Call ahead to book an appointment on 62214585!

Selection of ePloof!  products such as:  Atelier Mokku Wooden Giraffe & Elephant Throw Hoops,  Arty Frog 4 pcs set of the ‘La Mer‘ and ‘Gaspard & Lisa‘ Series, the very popular Track Ball, Uncle Goose Alphabet blocks in Classic English, Chinese and French (upon special request), Musical Cars, Mastro Geppetto Animal Zoo (Noe Set), UK’s Kerry Layton’s Seventy Tree Prints and Posters and the beautiful ‘Butterflying’ cloud mobiles to name the key ones. So pop in store during the month of Feb and let your children explore, play and discover the art of playing with traditional toys while waiting rather than sitting watching the iPad.

SPECIAL OFFER – 15% OFF all ePloof! items bought in store at Covo.

SPECIAL OFFER – 20% off for all first time customers to Covo.

SPECIAL OFFER – $25.00 Wash & Style (UP $35.00) for all customers who quote ‘ePloof! blog’

And I’m proud to say to Irene & Zara, I’ve created this banner myself in photoshop (with some illustrator) with your workshop lessons and tips clearly in mind 🙂

ePloof! pop up at covo, 43 keong saik road

Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you soon at Covo!

*Elizabeth

 

Musical Ukulele Featured in our beloved Babyccino Music Maestro Top 10

ukule

I’ve recently given birth to a little boy of my own too 🙂 and we have the denim navy blue ukulele playing ‘Hey Jude’ to him and he loves the sound of it! You can see him smiling and kicking around, I guess it’s just one of those lovely tunes that babies naturally enjoy! At just over 3 months, he will turn his head and look for it when it’s playing the tune.  🙂

Normally the range retails at $85.00 but they are currently on special offer at $75.00 until Monday 15th September and the stock is very limited indeed!  They are an ideal gift for newborns or for children who loves music. You can see the range available at ePloof! here

ePloofie

Musical Ukulele Featured and Loved by ‘Young Families’ Magazine editorial :)

Young Families Mag – musical learning

How time flies, we are now in April! For me, preparing for motherhood is increasingly on my mind and occupying my time hence the lack of time to give updates and blogs to ePloof!

Many people think we only stocks wooden toys…… but did you know we also stock a number of selected, exclusive soft toys, room décor and prints?

One item we simply love is the musical Ukulele by a French brand, Olivelse. We’re pleased to share that it was also recently selected and featured in the ‘April Learning’ Edition of ‘Young Families’ Magazine in Singapore. The particular print selected is a limited edition of a Map of Berlin by illustrator Marie Jacobi.

Each musical ukulele is made with wonderful textiles by the husband and wife team Else and Olivier and there’s a number of patterns,  tunes to choose from. We stock mainly the Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ melody, the range is retailed at $85.00 – an ideal gift for newborns or for children who loves music. You can see the range available at ePloof! here   What do you think of them? Pssss…… We know of a number of parents who keep them for themselves too 🙂 haha!   As per the motto of Olivelse, each piece is unique and created in small series, we have only a limited number available at ePloof so grab yours soon!!

Ciao for now!

ePloofie

10% Off all Mastro Geppetto – exclusive to ePloof!

Did you know that Mastro Geppetto is exclusive to ePloof! in Singapore?

To celebrate Mastro Geppetto’s feature in the Monocle Magazine. We’re pleased to announce an exclusive offer to ePloof!

10% off all Mastro Geppetto products if you order by March 31st. 

Monocle 10% off at ePloof!

シンガポールではePloofだけのお取り扱いです。

Mastro Geppettoのおもちゃを3/31までにご注文いただくと、もれなく10%off！

お見逃しなく！

Ciao!

Reiko & Elizabeth

お久しぶりのブログです

こんにちは。久しぶりのブログアップになってしまいましたが、今日はエキサイティングなお知らせをお届けします！

まず、ePloof!メンバーのElizabethのベビーがあと二カ月ほどで生まれる予定です！ePloof!メンバー全員で楽しみに楽しみに待っているところです。

第二に、大好評のメラミン食器、Arty Frog Parisより新しいデザインが届きました。近日中にオンラインショップに並びますので、楽しみにしていてください。

三つ目のお知らせは、イギリスで創刊され国際的なトレンドを発祥しているMonocle誌に、 ePloof!でも動物のブロックnoeが大人気の日本のおもちゃブランド、Mastro Geppettoがフューチャーされました。私達が大好きな日本の良いおもちゃが世界から注目され、私達にとってもとても嬉しいできごとでした。

記事は購読者のみ見られるのですが、ここで特別にPDFバージョンをお見せしちゃいます。

記事は私たちがいつも質問されることと同じことに触れていました。いつも聞かれるこの二つ。

大量生産で安価なプラスティックのおもちゃだけではなく、iPads等もこどものおもちゃとなっている今、高価な木のおもちゃを買う親はいますか？

ePloof!が選んでいる商品は基本的に私たち自身が自分のこどもたち、大切な友達のこどもたちに買いたい商品です。プラスティックや電子機器とは違った、クオリティが確かであり、子供たちが触れることで何かを得られる物を、海外にもお届けしたいと思っています。

出生率が1.2となっているシンガポールをベースにしていますが、マーケットについてはどう考えているのですか？

私たちはシンガポールをベースとしていますが、オンラインショップであり、世界中へ商品をお届けしています。たとえこどもの数が少なくても、子を持つ親としては、かならず木のおもちゃを与えたいはずです。私たちはその気持ちを嬉しく思うのです。

Mastro Geppettoのデザイナーである富永周平氏は、こう答えていらっしゃいます。「この仕事をしているのは、情熱があるから。そしてクラフトマンシップやクオリティは、必ず人々の望みに応えるものだと思うからです。」

時々お客さまからこどもたちがおもちゃで遊んでいる写真が届きます。この写真はロンドンから！こういうこどもの顔を見ると、私たちは本当に嬉しくなるのです。

 Mastro Geppetto の商品はこちらから！

Happy Sunday all,

ePloofie, elizabeth

Been a while … but we’re back :)

Hello,

It’s been a couple of months of silence from us here at ePloof! But alas, it is silence no more, we’re back and on track with some exiting updates too!

• First of all, founder of ePloof! Elizabeth is expecting her first born soon – in about 8 weeks time so it’s exciting times for us.
• Second is that we’ve stocked new designs from Arty Frog Paris so the dinnerware has just gotten even more so better looking – watch this space when we feature the new designs and stock.
• Third is that we’re so pleased to announce that one of our Japanese suppliers, Mastro Geppetto has been featured in the Monocle magazine. I came across it last Sunday whilst lazy in the sun…

The article is available for subscribers only… but sshhhh…. we’ve downloaded a PDF version for you – click on the image above.

I liked this article not only because it features MG but because it’s tackles questions we at ePloof! get asked all the time

1. In times such as these you are competing with the cheap plastic mass produced toys at prices you simply cannot beat, furthermore most kids these days engage with iPads and not wooden toys. What makes you think people will buy wooden toys these days?

The products we choose here at ePloof! are based on the philosophy that each product is something that we ourselves have bought for our kids or our friend’s kids. We believe in the quality and want to make them available to an overseas market. The focus is definitely on quality kid’s products and having the kids touch, feel and gain a sense of keepsake for belongings.

2. You’re based in Singapore…… Isn’t the average kid per family something like 1.2? Is there a sufficient market for the business?

We are an online business model, we ship internationally though we are based in SG. We do have some wholesale and consignment customers whom we value in SG and we’re aiming to grow this customer base. In fact, we try to think of it in a positive manner in that since each household has only 1-2 children. As parents you want to give your children a variety of simulating education toys,  some of which will be quality wooden toys.

Thus in many regards, we share the same view as Suhei Tominaga-san, “We do it because we’re passionate about it and we think craftsmanship, quality is something that people desire.”

We really love it when our customers send us pictures of their children playing with the toys too – this one is from London – such a brainiac don’t you agree 🙂

The full range of Mastro Geppetto is available at ePloof!

Happy Sunday all,

ePloofie, elizabeth

Countdown to Christmas – pressies with a Wow factor!

Christmas pressies that WOW!

We’ve been really busy with our first Christmas orders! And we get asked for recommendations for gifts that are interesting, unique and best sellers. We put together a list here: It’s the Atelier Mokku Trackball – a large frame, study Japan designed wooden trackball. Fun for kids and parents and even grandparents! We also recommend Uncle Goose – alphabet sets. Also Olivelse’s musical Ukulele.

Don’t forget, we’re also selling our goodies and stocking fillers with many items less than $40.00 SGD at Oh Deli – at 421 East Coast Road so grab your pressies there too!

ePloofie

Oh Oh Oh it’s magic – Christmas is here… no wait… Christmas is at Oh Deli! East Coast Road

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way…. It’s that time of year again. My favourite! A time of sharing, laughter, good food, catching up with family & friends and a time of giving!

ePloof! is a proud partner with Oh Deli this year for the Christmas period – grab your pressies for the special little ones in your life. The selection includes:

• Fun and functional, designed by Chic Paris Petit Jours Paris Arty Frog dinnerware
• Beautiful designs from Amsterdam – Anne Claire Petit Crochet dolls
• From Japan –  Woody Puddy Fruit/Veg magnetic sets  and some really cool wooden stocking fillers.

Ohhh…. and if that’s not enough to entice you, we LOVE the Oh Deli team because they make the best sandwiches in Singapore AND they stock quality fresh produce. So you can always stop by for festive food from Phippas (Melbournians, you know what I’m talking about!) Plus… a secret is that their coffee is FAB!!  Don’t take our word for us, go and visit them at East Coast Rd now.

They are found here:

421 East Coast Road
Singapore 429008
Tel/Fax:	+65 6440 4409
Customer Hotline:	+65 9743 6628
Store hours
Monday:	Closed
Tuesday – Sunday:	8.00am – 9.00pm
(including public holidays, unless otherwise stated

ePloofie

Ready to Rock your little ones’s world! Rockabye Baby

A perfect idea for folks with newborns !

A cool French friend had just given birth to her second little boy. She’s the one who introduced us to ‘Rockabye Baby’ –  an American company that converts modern rock and hits into soft gentle lullabies that won’t drive us up the wall after hearing it for hours on end trying to get the little one relaxed and sleeping. The great thing is…. no excuses for anyone not knowing how to help sooth the little one – esp.  Dad’s – you can hum along to the famous tunes too. In fact we tested it out (like all the products we carry) and we found that the selection of music is universally accepted – our Japanese friends who may not be familiar with English lullabies managed to get hooked and listen to the Beatles and Coldplay Tunes whilst rocking their little ones to bed. And even the toughest of dads vote this clever little invention as a ‘hit’!

A hit and we love it  – come and see our limited selection here. 

 

You can also read a bit more about all the hype about Rockabye on their news site. You can also sample their tracks too. 

Ciao for now!

ePloofie

In addition to ePloof! What else do we get up to?

Apart from launching ePloof!, I also spend a bit of time on a charity project called ‘Shooting TING causes’. Shooting TING Causes is essentially combining  my love of photography with a charitable cause – working with the Arc Children Centre. This is a dedicated centre for children who are suffering from cancer and are too ill to attend regular school due to treatment or weakened immune system.

It’s often the case we are humbled when we complain about misfortunes in our lives when we face a child that’s terminally ill and yet making the best of every moment they can with a smile on their face!

Sad as it is, … it is a fact that life is fragile and can be seem cruel.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have healthy children from childbirth to adulthood….

It’s often that when children are sick, there’s little mood or time to think about taking photos of their moments together so I wanted to offer a service where we volunteer our time for an afternoon to take some pictures for the child and their parents, and capture them in a classic, timeless manner as a keepsake.  The photographic style is black and white portraits of candid moments, capturing the bond between a child and their parents, friends and supporters at their time of need and illness.

Last Sunday, I had the honour to present a charity project I’m working on which is www.shootingting.com/causes at the Arc Children Centre charity event.

The event was hosted by the patron and the chairlady of the Arc CC – Mrs Goh Chok Tong and Dr. Rita Yeoh respectively. The guest of honour was Mr Teo Chee Hean – the Deputy Prime Minister of SG.

It was great to see so many distinguished guests coming together to raise money for the centre and to talk about some new initiatives to engaged the children and parents of Arc.

Arc Children Centre Charity Event 2012

So all of you who have healthy little ones, don’t take it for granted. Enjoy your time together –  play with them, listen to music with them, take photos of them and enjoy them as they are

Adios,

ePloofie, Liz