Christmas Cheer

With Christmas music playing and mulled wine warming, Berkhamsted Town Hall was full of Christmas cheer as the stall holders set up their tables on Wednesday evening, getting ready for the final festive fayre for the year.

Boxing Clever

Richard Roscoe Photography

Precious Memories

Prize Draw Basket - winner announced at the end of this post!

Happy Days Designs

Jamie at home

Make Do and Mend Quilt Co.

Millsy Designs

dolly blake

Edgartown Sourcing

Coup de chocolate

Bespoke Verse & Food to Heal

Vie at home

Pampering from Sharon of Vie at home

Katy Leigh Designs

Heartfelt Handmade

Emma from Rockabye Baby visiting Heartfelt Handmade's stall

Stealing Candy

Thirtyfive Flowers

Vintage Clothing from Mary Casserley

Clothes from Love Shack

Nevie-pie Cakes

Isla B Baby

Eco products and cosmetics from Pam Johnstone

Rockabye Baby

Marie Jahn - Funtabiedozie

Bijoux-Bijoux

It was a fabulous evening with a wide variety of sellers, a huge number of visitors, fantastic helpers, our wonderful cellist, Clare from Chroma, played beautifully and the More Than A Mama team were ecstatic that the fayre was supported so well. We are looking forward to a short break over Christmas and then we shall be planning our next fayre dates for 2010.

The Winner of the Prize Draw from the fayre is Sally Leppington, congratulations, you win a basket full of More Than A Mama goodies!

The Winner of the blog giveaway is Bridget from poppyart, Bridget turns out to be a seller from our September fayre we held in Harpenden! Congratulations Bridget!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you!

Love

xxx

Spotlight on Rockabye Baby

Emma Parkes-McQueen, designer and founder of children's wear line Rockabye Baby has a background as an art director, working in London and Amsterdam for 8 years. Emma worked on everything from New Product Development, Direct Mail, Marketing and Advertising before deciding to do something that she could manage around her little girl, Scarlet. Emma found that although she was working in a creative industry the work was very uncreative and hated not having the satisfaction of making something.

Mum Dad Tatoo Rompers

Emma says, "I think being creative is a really basic instinct that we all have, for example, the joy in a child's face when they bring home a toilet roll tube and cornflake box robot and can say ' I made that' is an emotion that all of us feel but most of us grow out of as adults".

the face of Rockabye Baby

Emma's daughter Scarlet, now almost 5 years old, has been her muse and her model, she set up Rockabye Baby when her little girl was only 10 months old and she has become the face of Rockabye Baby. Emma has kept it real with all of Scarlet's friends being photographed in the fashion shots for the website and catalogues and as she has grown, so too has Rockabye. Even more so now with the recent arrival of Scarlet's little brother Frederick Elvis McQueen, aged 13 weeks and no doubt a future (super cute) face of Rockabye Baby.

pop beads dresses (also available as tees)

All of Emma's clothing come in a free 10" record sleeve - cool huh?

Tie & sunglasses dresses (also available as tees)

In the last 4 years Emma has been busy selling Rockabye within the UK, Dubai, the USA, Scandanavia, all over Europe and even to Harrods.

pop drum and guitar tees

Rockabye Baby Accessories

Emma played a big part in bringing us 'More than a Mama's' together and all this after only having lived in Berkhamsted for a year and a half, looking after her business and juggling her 4 year old and new born baby. Emma says, " The thing I love about living here is the sense of community - you definitely know your neighbours here and people help each other out. Most of us, if not all of us, were working before we had children and although we love being mums we still have the passion and drive to do something else. We stop to speak to each other on the High Street and conversations turn into things. We look after each others kids to get work done and are generally there to bounce ideas off and share skills. Admittedly juggling is hard. Maybe we were born to work as well as bring up kids - or the idea that someday we will have businesses that we can leave to our kids or get them involved in when they are teenagers. But this close network really helps, I'm not sure I would have met so many talented people living in London. Not that they aren't talented people, just that people don't speak to each other as much as they do here."

this kid rocks tee

Emma's clothes are all 100% luxury cotton, with non PVC inks and 'sweatshop' free. Be inspired not to give into mainstream cute, Rockabye Baby clothing is perfect for a little star you know so come and visit Emma's stall at the Bumps, Babes & Beyond Fayre at the Town Hall this Friday, 12th June, from 9.30am until midday.

Love from

MTAM

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