I’ve been looking forward to Life Instyle since I found out about it in January this year. It was immediately in the diary. Life Instyle is Australia’s only boutique trade event. Come and check out the latest lifestyle brands, trends and products next week at the Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building. All the labels have been carefully curated to feature only original, creative and modern designs to suit its discerning clientele. Due to our busy lives, we all want our homes to be a place of relaxation and inspiration. My home desperately need a makeover. In fact, I’ve put off homeware shopping for months because I wanted to check out Life Instyle first! It will allow me to browse through contemporary, artisan products under the one (very elegant) roof.

There are a myriad of brands I am eager to see, but 3 labels stand out:

1. Così Towels

Founded by sisters Jo and Tina, a lawyer and an industrial chemist turned marketing manager, Così towels are overachiever towels. Good looking, irresistibly soft, made from 100% cotton and big enough for bubs and adults, Così towels are almost too stunning to be confined to the bathroom. To be honest, I’m having a hard time picking out a print because they’re all so gorgeous, and am not sure if I want to share…

Images from Così Towels

2. SKEANIE & uh-oh!

My lil one’s first winter sleeping bag was from uh-oh! and his first walking shoes were from SKEANIE. That light blue and white stripe sleeping bag literally saved our sleep! Previously Winston kept kicking off his blanket waking up in the middle of the night. But thanks to the soft, thick and warm uh-oh! sleeping bag, he was as snug as a bug in a rug! Up until he outgrew it… so next weekend I’ll be on a mission to find a bigger one for him.

SKEANIE shoes are super soft, genuine leather shoes for infants and toddlers. They’re cleverly designed with suede soles to provide good grip, elasticized collars to prevent slippage, and the leathers get even softer with wear. I love it that they’re Fair-Trade made. Winston loved his SKEANIE shoes. In fact, one of his first words was ‘shoes’! Some things are genetic… :)

3. Welly’s Wonders

Welly’s Wonders is a boutique wonderland for babies and children. Name after their son, and founded in 2013 by husband and wife team, Adam Murphy and Demelza Haines, the creative duo wanted to create beautiful and timeless clothing, accessories and artwork for the little ones. Adam is a gifted artist who started work as an animator at Disney when he was only 15 years old! He was one of the youngest animators to ever work for the studio, and has worked on a myriad of films from Aladdin to The Lion King. Demelza has a theartre background and has worked on more than 25 productions in the UK and Australia. Many of the characters in Welly’s Wonders are based on her father’s tales of his childhood in New South Wales. Talk about bringing art to life!

I was delighted when recently, Adam and Demelza sent me a signed copy of Jenkins The Hare, their first illustrated children’s story book. It’s a heart warming tale about a hare, a scarf and loyal bunch of friends. A perfect mix of life and style! After you read it, you’ll agree with me that we need more uplifting stories like this in our lives, especially in our children’s lives. I can’t wait to thank them in person. You can get your very own signed copy of the book too, just head over [HERE].

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I hope to see you at Life Instyle next weekend! Running from 30 July to 2 August at the Royal Exhibition Building, let’s swap notes afterwards!