Founded five years ago by Swedish born Corina Papadopoulou and her husband Franco Ofili, Kidsen is one of the leading children’s stores in London.The shop carries some of my favourite clothing brands including Bobo Choses, Mini Rodini and Soft Gallery, together with a selection of footwear, interiors, toys and gifts. Kidsen exudes a relaxed and friendly vibe, allowing you to browse some of the coolest collections around.

If you don’t get the chance to stop by Kensal Rise where they are located, check out their online shop, with both UK and international shipping available.

A very warm welcome to our brand new London correspondent, Tabara N’Diaye!  This is her first post. Tabara is the founder and editor of Bubble and Speak, a blog dedicated to children’s fashion, home products and daily inspirations.

Now in its second year, the world’s biggest Easter egg hunt . The Big Egg Hunt, challenges children and parents alike to find 101 eggs across the UK, whilst raising vital funds for Action for Children. The two and-a-half-foot high fibreglass eggs have been designed by leading artists and feature some of the country’s best-loved children’s characters including Peter Rabbit, Peppa Pig and Moshi Monsters.

Come down to Covent Garden from this Friday, collect your Hunt Book from one ‘eggspert’ and start looking for the giant eggs hidden around the area. After April 1st., they’ll be auctioned off to raise money for Action for Children.

For those of you in London or visiting there, one of my fave British labels has recently launched their first shop in Ledbury Road in Notting Hill. I would really love to visit this shop – it has the same quirkiness about it that I love in their clothes. The address is, 57 Ledbury Road, London, W11 2AA. And it’s open seven days a week! Check for operating hours on the No Added Sugar site.

I just heard that The Conran Shop are finally on the parent bandwagon and from Sept 20 will launch a special new ‘Kids’ Shop’. I am a longtime fan of JC and would love to be able to browse those 650 children’s interiors products with items like the Marc Newson minimalist white rocking horse (above) and the charming Canal House wardrobes (which I blogged about here). The ground floor will be transformed into an amazing children’s wonderland with neon-painted play sheds, candy coloured sheepskin bean bags and tree house bunk beds.

The Kids Shop at The Conran Shop, Michelin House 81 Fulham Road, London, Greater London SW3 6RD

This is a guest post by Florence Rolando of the fabulous blog, Pirouette. And the second in our series of 3 Top, Free Things To Do With Kids in different cities. Here is our first one from Melbourne.

1. Soak your feet in the pool at the John Madejski Garden

The Victoria and Albert’s Museum (V&A) is a great place to hang out with kids, especially when the weather is hot as they can play in the garden’s shallow pool. The elegant courtyard is a real oasis for families, with a small restaurant offering a wide range of healthy food for all tastes. Parents can take turns to visit the permanent collections, or take the children to the British Design exhibit which is lots of fun and a must-see (until August 12) : architecture, design, fashion but also video clips from the Beatles and David Bowie and a room dedicated to video games. Cromwell Rd, London, SW7 2RL. Some exhibits are free, check http://www.vam.ac.uk

Every year I excitedly await the opening of the Summer Pavilion, a programme involving a sequence of world-class architects transforming the space outside the Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens into a temporary Pavilion. This year’s efforts are by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. It is the first time the Pavilion has been partly underground and it is a cool, contemplative space dotted with slightly mushroom-shaped cork stools. The design really invites you to plant yourself, linger, and look out and around – as opposed to just admiring the exterior. Our daughter, like all the children there, felt an irresistible urge to turn over the cork stools, line them up and otherwise personalise the space. The architects are interviewed here.
 

 

Today we took to the Wapping Project housed in the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station to see This is not a House by Edgar Martins (A series of photographs exploring the collapse of the US housing market and the sub-prime mortgage crisis.) and enjoy lunch in the sunlit industrial space. Wapping is part of London’s Docklands but feels quite the place apart with its maritime atmosphere and sandy river banks, that yet overlooks the highrises of Canary Wharf. If you can’t make it over to see this exhibition, there is also a  great book which documents the complete exhibition called none other than, This is Not a House! Available here.

One of the photographs from the exhibition. Photograph © Edgar Martins

The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green is part museum, part indoor playground, as far as our daughter is concerned. Last year’s Judith Kerr retrospective included a replica of the kitchen in “The Tiger who Came to Tea”, which she found magnetic. Exhibitions aside, there are multiple play stations dotted across the floors – dress up, lego, a wooden fire engine, an old-fashioned play kitchen, rocking horses… There is also a dedicated craft space where children can help themselves to glue and glitter in pursuit of that day’s craft activity. On the day of the royal wedding, they wisely chose crown making and our daughter’s “Princess Kate” crown survives to this day (a bit battered). There is a very sweet museum shop with a small, but well-chosen, collection of books and some great toys, games and exhibition souvenirs. When it’s time to leave, the experience can be partly recaptured through reading “Lost in the Toy Museum” by David Lucas, which sets a toy adventure inside the museum. It seems when the lights go out, the toys wake up.

Current exhibition of Cathie Pilkington’s sculptures in the foyer

This little snuggle of bunnies resides in Spitalfields, London; a vibrant area on the eastern edge of the City that also houses the Spitalfields Markets, St John Bread & Wine, Verde and some other truly scrumptious independent stores. Said bunnies are adored by children and our daughter considers riding them a highlight of any trip to Spitalfields. Every now and then their configuration changes or the bunnies are moved onto the grassy patch behind them. It’s as if they were alive…

I was delighted to come across British label, Caramel Baby & Child at Playtime New York. Designer Eva Karayiannis started off as a lawyer and became a designer when she started Caramel Baby & Child and we’re so glad she did. Their Fall/Winter 2011 collection is exquisite, relaxed, understated, yet chic with little surprises here and there like that intricate little collar and cuffs peeking out from under this rich sapphire pullover. Also, love the yellow dress with the flower sprigs and gold trim and electric blue pullover for the boys. You can purchase Caramel Baby & Child directly from their website, from their adorable shop in London or from outlets all around the world. If you are in New York, Bergdorf Goodman stocks them among others.

This post is from my friend, Michelle in London.

The Tate Modern is one of the most child-friendly places in London. Even getting there is a treat: crossing the Millenium Bridge with St Paul’s behind you, the Thames below you and the Tate just ahead. Children love the main entry into the Turbine Hall – charging down the sloping floor that evens out into that famous cavernous space where some of the Tate’s most popular exhibitions have been held. There is an interactive zone where you’ll see small escapees from exhibitions being minded by their tag-teaming parents. When it’s time for lunch you’ll find the Tate is in tune with today’s foodie parents. Children’s meals include a small sandwich and juice (served in special Tate cups) and allow little ones to add to the meal by selecting a few pots – fresh carrot sticks, grapes, raisins… Of course there will be crayons and colouring sheets for the kids. Breast feeding? You are welcome. Need to change a nappy? Just over there. And you cannot go without spending a serious half hour in the Tate shop, and I am not even referring to the art books.  If you’re too energised to leave, you can hop on a Tate to Tate boat which whisks you off to the Tate Britain near Trafalgar Square (which is admittedly a more sober affair for children).  If you’re heading home via St. Paul’s tube station, don’t forget to stop at Bea’s of Bloomsbury on Watling Street for some of the best cupcakes in London