Party Time!

Who loves to shop in the comfort of their own home? I know I do! So here at Pretty Princess we would like to introduce Pretty Princess Parties. Think Tupperware Party but with products from Pretty Princess. At this stage, while my little Princess still needs me to feed every few hours, we are still trialing parties with family and friends, but are hoping to introduce them to the wider public later this year.

I recently held a party with some friends and family, and my beautiful and talented friend, Emily, was kind enough to write about her experience...

Clothes ready to be viewed.

Emma is a dear friend of mine, and our two little Princes’ are the most charming of friends. I also have two little Princesses so have, of course, delighted in Emma’s new endeavor with Pretty Princess! I’ve really enjoyed browsing the website and picking out favorites but it was something entirely new and special when I recently attended Emma’s very first Pretty Princess Party.

Emma’s lounge room was transformed to the most beautiful personal boutique. Charming mobiles hung from the fan and the walls were lined with racks of clothes and tables laden with all manner of precious things. Not to mention the table of chocolates, cheeses and cupcakes!

Toys and accessories laid out for viewing

Once we had all arrived we played an icebreaker game, scoring points for the different items we had in our handbags. Never before have I actually wished I were carrying the baby bag. With a cleared out handbag I lost dismally but plenty of laughs were had in the process!

Drinks and catalogues in hand we listened to Emma’s presentation featuring a few of the outfits available. There were a few extra special standouts marked by a chorus of oohs and aahs!

My wish list filled pretty quickly so it was good to have the opportunity to look at and compare the clothes up close after the presentation. The fabrics were luscious and every stitch exquisite. I’d had my eye on an Eternal Creation outfit on the website for a while and having seen it in the flesh it made it to my purchase list immediately! I also bought a Little Leona dress at the party which is made of the lightest of fabrics, with possibly the most stunning embroidery I’ve ever seen, yet I’d never noticed it on the website before!

Emily purchased this Little Leona dress for her daughter.

It was a good opportunity to really become familiar with some of the Pretty Princess Products I wasn’t completely familiar with such as toys and linens. I also hadn’t spent much time looking at the accessories online, but found lots of perfect little pieces to match my girls’ outfits.

There were some great bargains to be had at the party; some brands were heavily discounted across the board. I was so happy with everything I bought and felt like I got a great deal. I think the best thing about the party was… well the party! It is so nice to be in a room of mums, chatting and laughing- and what better circumstance then over a bit of private shopping!

                            Emily

Australia’s Prettiest Princess – Win a $50 Voucher

Here at Pretty Princess we love giveaways, but who doesn’t love the chance to win prizes? So to let all our valued customers score themselves a $50 voucher to be used at our online store, we have a competition on Facebook.

‘How do I enter?’ I hear you say...well it’s simple! All you need to do is email a photo of your little princess ‘modelling’ an outfit purchased from Pretty Princess, to info@prettyprincess.com.au including her first initial and details of the outfit. The outfit can include one or more for the following items; shirt, skirt, dress, shorts, nappy cover, romper, costume, shoes, hat. The photo will be posted to our Facebook page in the album titled Australia’s Prettiest Princess. Once your photo has been uploaded, tag yourself in the photo. Please note, any inappropriate photos will NOT be accepted.

‘How do I win?’ The photo which has the most ‘likes’ will be announced the winner. To spread the word of your entry and gain more votes, click ‘Share’ underneath your photo to let all your friends know about your entry.

There are some conditions you need to know before entering the competition. Firstly, you must be an Australian resident to enter. Secondly, all entrants need to ‘like’ the Pretty Princess Facebook page. Voting will open Monday, 12^th March, 2012 at 9am (ESDT). Any votes before this time will NOT be counted. Also, only votes by people who ‘like’ our page will be counted. Voting closes Sunday 1^st April at 8pm (ESDT) with the winner being announced shortly after.

The prize: Australia’s Prettiest Princess will win a $50 voucher to be used at our online store (www.prettyprincess.com.au). It can be used on any item, including sale items, but excluding postage. It is not available in conjunction with any other offer or voucher and is not redeemable for cash.

So now that you have all the information you need-email your photo and get ‘liking’. GOOD LUCK.

                        Emma

Introducing Pinkberry Kisses…

It is an exciting day here at Pretty Princes! Yesterday we received our first shipment of our new range of hairbands and hairclips. We have found two new companies who make beautiful hair accessories for little princesses. The first new range comes from Pinkberry Kisses. Pinkberry Kisses is an Australian company that was started by Lisa, who wanted to make pretty hair accessories that actually stay in baby and little girls’ hair. The great thing about this range is that they have a unique non slip lining which ensures that they stay in.

Baby Pink Satin Flower Clip

Pretty Princess has a collection of the different headbands and hairclips, available through our store, starting at $3.95. You can chose from flower clips, butterfly clips, interchangeable bow and headband sets, and Alice headbands. There are various colours and the interchangeable bow and headband sets come in three different sizes; 0-6months, 6-12months, and 1-3 years. They are well made using the softest material and are the perfect accessory to any outfit!

When I opened the parcel yesterday with all the beautiful clips and headbands in there, I struggled not to keep any for my own little princess. Luckily she doesn’t have enough hair for the clips. However, the interchangeable bow and headband set would be perfect for her. I might my husband to hide them from me!

Interchangeable Bow & Headband Set - Pink

We invite you all over to view our new range.

Happy shopping.

Emma

 PS. We will be introducing our second new range very shortly! Can’t wait for you to see that range!

My First Viewing

At the start of this week I had the pleasure to attend my first ever viewing of the new range for some of our clothing labels. It was exciting and daunting at the same time. I had been looking forward to this day for weeks but when the day arrived, I felt nervous. My sister-in-law, Cherie, had been before, so had told me a bit about what happened and what to expect, but this did not seem to help my nerves.

The viewing was in Brisbane (a three hour car trip), so it was an early start for me and my baby princess, who being breastfed was unable to stay with Poppy for the day like her big brother. We arrived in Brisbane with an hour to spare before my appointment, so we enjoyed some lunch at a delightful little tea room/florist. This hour gave me time to relax after the drive (being from the country, I am not use to the hectic city driving).

When it was time for my appointment and I made my way to the office of the agency. I walked in and the first thing I noticed was all the walls of the office were filled with racks of baby and children’s clothing. I felt like a kid in a candy store! I had to remind myself that I was there to look at clothes for Pretty Princess, not for my own children. I was shown to a chair and given a glass of water, while being instructed about the procedure. When we were ready to start, I was shown the first label, and each new design/style that would be available for the coming season. There were rompers, dresses, shorts, shirts, wraps, and all the matching accessories. When that particular design/style had been shown to me, I chose the items I liked and they were placed on a separate rack. It was so exciting to see what was coming out and I had to really control myself with what I chose, otherwise I would have said yes to everything! The clothing was beautiful, stylish, made from the softest fabric, and fit for a princess. Once I had seen the entire range, I looked again at the ones I had chosen and eliminated any I had decided I would not purchase. All the chosen items were placed on order. While my order was processed, I was able to browse through the other labels on display.

I have chosen items from two different labels with the clothes due to arrive in the second half of the year. I am looking forward to revealing the ranges when they arrive.

Overall, my first experience at a viewing was exciting and I am looking forward to the next one.

                                                                       Emma

New Beginnings

Hello to all our valued customers and fans. I am very excited to have taken over Pretty Princess. I thought I’d write a blog to introduce myself and explain why I wanted to be a part of Pretty Princess. This is the first blog I have ever written, although I have read a few different ones. It is a lot harder than I anticipated. This is my fifth attempt at beginning. I remember from my university days that starting is ALWAYS the hardest part. Once the first couple of paragraphs were completed, the words would flow on.

So, let me start by telling you a bit about myself. I am blessed to be married to the most handsome, loving, generous, and funny man, Jordan. We will be celebrating three years of marriage this coming March. However, it feels like we have known each other our whole lives. I am grateful every day that Jordan is in my life – he is my best friend, my teacher, my cheer squad, my confidant, my mentor, and my knight in shining armour.

Jordan and I have been blessed with two beautiful and amazing children. Jarrod, our eldest, has been a part of our family for 21 months. He fills our life with laughter, love, and joy. Currently, he is obsessed with The Wiggles and our house is constantly filled with the sound of their music. Heidi, our second child, joined our little family only six weeks ago. She has already got her father and brother wrapped around her little finger. Heidi is our little princess, who we love to bits, despite the sleepless nights and loud crying. Our family may only be small but it is filled with enough love to fill the Milky Way.

Me and my Priness, Heidi, the day she was born.

One of the best things about Jordan was he was a part of an amazing (and big; he is one of six children) family. His beautiful sister in law, Cherie, was the previous owner of Pretty Princess. When I first heard of Pretty Princess, I loved looking at the stunning clothes and seeing the wide range she had to offer. Cherie did a fantastic job of starting and building up the business to be a respected and high quality brand. When she told me she was thinking of selling, due to other business commitments, I knew instantly that I wanted to buy it. So after some discussions with my parents, we decided to purchase the business together. I am looking forward to my new venture and continuing the legacy Cherie has left. I am excited to find and sell beautiful baby girl and young girls’ clothes, accessories, bedding, and toys.

Jordan, Jarrod and Me, 2010. Photo taken by Busy Bee Photography

Emma

PS. Look out for my next blog about the future (and exciting) plans I have for Pretty Princess.

Time to say goodbye

It is with mixed emotions that I write this. 

Having been over 12 months since I wrote my first and last blog for Pretty Princess, I feel a little bit disappointed with myself and my blogging efforts. Though I am sure there have been many other would-be bloggers like me who write one post, and that is as far as they get! 

I started Pretty Princess five years ago, and have really enjoyed the challenge of setting up a business from scratch and watching it grow and develop. I have also loved the task of selecting beautiful products, selling them, and hearing back from very happy customers. 

Unfortunately I haven’t had the time required to dedicate to the business of late. In November 2010 we took on another business venture, Ripples on the Creek – a 100-acre property which has two cabins and a restaurant. This has taken up much of my time over the last 12+ months (on top of being a wife and mother of two beautiful children) and has left me with little time for the further development of Pretty Princess. 

So the time has come to hand over the reins! And I am delighted to be handing them to my beautiful sister-in-law Emma, who has recently had her own beautiful baby princess, Heidi Pearl. 

Emma is very excited to be taking on the Pretty Princess business, and looks forward to taking over the job of selecting gorgeous products that are ‘fit for a princess’! While doing a stocktake, Emma has seen lots of things she wants to keep for her own little baby girl Heidi. From experience I know it takes a lot of willpower not to ‘steal’ all the stock for your own daughter!

I sincerely wish Emma all the best with Pretty Princess.You can stay up-to-date with Pretty Princess, by following our Facebook page.

Whilst I am feeling somewhat relieved to be reducing my workload, I am also a little sad to say goodbye to the small business which I have created. Though it hasn’t been without its hiccups, it has been a fun and challenging experience. I want to acknowledge the great job that my web designer, Phil (of Tube Media), has done with the website. Ever since we first started we have had heaps of great feedback about the design.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of the customers who have supported my business. It has been pleasure to serve you all to the best of my ability, and I wish you and all your little princesses the best for a very bright and happy future. 

I leave you with a photo of my own little princess, Isabella, wearing one of my favourite Luna Luna Copenhagen outfits – the ‘Evita’ dress in the ‘melon’ colour (and a Please Eloise hair clip). I love my little girl to bits, and thank her for being an inspiration to me in creating the business and choosing the products. She loves all things pretty and pink, and most importantly – dresses that twirl! 

Kind Regards,

Cherie. 

P.S. Please note that our website will be down for a few weeks to facilitate the changeover.

First time blog!

Well, this is the first blog for Pretty Princess - and it is actually the first blog I have ever written! So here goes...
I thought I'd start by telling you how 'Pretty Princess' came about. I had left my full-time job and was pregnant with my first child, and decided to start an online business to give me 'something to do'. Little did I know about how time-consuming a newborn baby was going to be, and that there wasn't going to be much time left over for 'something to do'!
I decided to go for products that were just for girls, for something different to the average online kids store. I started hunting around for products that were of high quality, very pretty and girly, and obviously 'fit for a princess'!
The website was beautifully designed by Tube Media, and we were up and running.

I had my baby in July 2007 - a beautiful little girl called 'Isabella Serentiy Rose', and had plenty of lovely outfits to dress her in! One of my favourites was the Luna Luna Copenhagen Tutu dress, which she wore for her dedication day. This dress has been the most popular product so far.
Since then, we have redesigned the website once, and again just recently. I would love you to take a look and give us some feedback www.prettyprincess.com.au

Incorporated into the new design is a 'product review' section, where I will be keeping you updated with new products as well us reviewing other products we have available. We are also hoping to have a 'wish list/gift registry' function in the future, which will be great for expecting mothers to use for a baby shower when they have found out they're having a girl.

Isabella is now 3 and I have a one-year old little boy as well called Samuel. People always ask me if I plan to stock more items for boys, and maybe I will, but for now I think I will stick with pretty things for little princesses! I do have a small range of items for boys, and you will find these under 'Prince Charming' on the website.

Working from home has its challenges, but it has certainly been a lot of fun as well! I do my best to give my customers a great shopping experience, and I love being able to help customers with things like choosing a flower-girl dress.

I hope to keep using this blog to tell you more about our products and upcoming promotions. So until next time, enjoy your little princess/es, and thanks for reading.