Mouse Jump

I saw a little brown mouse jump out from behind our piano the other day. If it had been wearing a dress like this, I wouldn't have minded. 

(via Mouses Houses)

P.S. I started a Filly and Foal tumblr 

In The Market

Filly and Foal is now available at the Arts Market, 1114 Queen Street East in Leslieville :)

A Few More Reasons To Love Mr. Rogers

(image via The '60s at 50)

From Ned Hardy via Bunch:

"1. He basically saved public television. In 1969 the government wanted to cut public television funds. Mister Rogers then went to Washington where he gave an amazing merely six minute speech. By the end of the speech not only did he charm the hostile Senators, he got them to double the budget they would have initially cut down. The whole thing can be found on youtube, a video called “Mister Rogers defending PBS to the US Senate.”

2. “Certain fundamentalist preachers hated him because, apparently not getting the “kindest man who ever lived” memo, they would ask him to denounce homosexuals. Mr. Rogers’s response? He’d pat the target on the shoulder and say, “God loves you just as you are.” Rogers even belonged to a “More Light” congregation in Pittsburgh, a part of the Presbyterian Church dedicated to welcoming LGBT persons to full participation in the church.”

3. According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it.”

4. Once, on a fancy trip up to a PBS exec’s house, he heard the limo driver was going to wait outside for 2 hours, so he insisted the driver come in and join them (which flustered the host). On the way back, Rogers sat up front, and when he learned that they were passing the driver’s home on the way, he asked if they could stop in to meet his family. According to the driver, it was one of the best nights of his life—the house supposedly lit up when Rogers arrived, and he played jazz piano and bantered with them late into the night. Further, like with the reporters, Rogers sent him notes and kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life.

5. Most people have heard of Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla who could speak about 1000 words in American Sign Language, and understand about 2000 in English. What most people don’t know, however, is that Koko was an avid Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fan. As Esquire reported, when Fred Rogers took a trip out to meet Koko for his show, not only did she immediately wrap her arms around him and embrace him, she did what she’d always seen him do onscreen: she proceeded to take his shoes off!

6. Once while rushing to a New York meeting, there were no cabs available, so Rogers and one of his colleagues hopped on the subway. Esquire reported that the car was filled with people, and they assumed they wouldn’t be noticed. But when the crowd spotted Rogers, they all simultaneously burst into song, chanting "It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood." The result made Rogers smile wide."

Also, this song:

Back To School

Happy Back-To-School from Filly and Foal! Today was Madeline's first day of junior kindergarten, so we're feeling pretty emotional around here...

Great Stinking Badges

Some real button magic was made at the Leslieville Flea last Sunday. Thanks to everyone that made it out, it was a gas! :)

Back To Old School at the Leslieville Flea

Tomorrow we're returning to the Leslieville Flea for our last big event of the summer, so if you're in the neighbourhood, you can find us as Queen and Leslie, behind The Duke from 10am - 4am! You probably know the deal by now-- cute clothes, books, and buttons galore! But in addition to that, all clothing and books will be 20% off tomorrow, AND for the rest of August. That means both online* and at Penny Arcade. Yay! 

*if shopping online, use password: OLDSCHOOL

Kid Notes

OMG, this note.

(via Lauree Myler's Instagram)

Bless Our Triangular Home

From Mathemagic / Volume 13 of Childcraft - The How and Why Library (1982)

Eventual Events

Filly and Foal will be at the new Brick Works Flea this Sunday (Aug 4), and the Mercer Union Small Press Book Fair Curio Vintage Sale the following weekend (Aug 11). I know I've said it before, but it really is so lovely to do these kinds of events and to meet people face to face! I'll have lots of new little outfits for sale, and a button-making station as usual. Hopefully see you there? 

Frownton Crabbey

From How to Be a Grouch by Carroll E. Spinney (1981)

via Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves

New New

Trying to keep things fresh in our shop, so I'll be posting updates here and on Instagram periodically :)

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Filly and Foal has a new online shop! For those of you that don't live in the GTA, now you can buy our stuff from the comfort of your computer or mobile device! You also might be thinking, "Hey! The Filly and Foal shop looks just like the Filly and Foal blog!" and you'd be right because we like to do things matchy matchy here! And since we like to make things easy, you can also find a direct link to the shop conveniently placed at the top of this page :)

Casper

Some selections from my friend Ruby's ongoing project: "A portrait of my child once a week, every week in 2013". It was hard to choose just a few, because they're all so beautiful, but you can follow Ruby's progress on her tumblr and blog  ♥

Here's one more of Casper and his dad, Steve, that is not part of the series, but I love it so much:

All images by Ruby Hoppen

Blown Away

Yesterday Filly and Foal participated in our third outdoor market of the summer, at the brand new Parkdale Flea. The weather was beautiful for most of the day, with the exception of a few moments where I thought my whole tent was going to take flight, and the half hour after the sale the when the whole sky opened up. But by the end of the day, I was the one that was blown away (pun intended) by how lovely it's been to talk face to face with customers, and other vendors, and I feel like I'm learning so much. Thanks everyone for helping make these experiences so valuable, and for all the help from good friends and family :)

Take The Cake

Wow! Check out this fun and colourful photo series by our friend Shannon Echlin, with cakes and styling by Corey Moranis. Shannon is the super talented children's photographer behind our Allan Gardens photoshoot from earlier this year. See more of Shannon's editorial work here, or check out her kids portfolio here.

Wooden Whaler

"'Wooden Whaler' is a whale sculpture made out of two derelict wooden fishing boats by British artist David Kemp." More here.

(via Chutes d'Images)

The Kids of Nat Geo

National Geographic always makes real life seem so beautiful and a little magical, and at their new FOUND tumblr, it's no exception.

"FOUND is a curated collection of photography from the National Geographic archives. In honor of our 125th anniversary, we are showcasing photographs that reveal cultures and moments of the past. Many of these photos have never been published and are rarely seen by the public.

We hope to bring new life to these images by sharing them with audiences far and wide. Their beauty has been lost to the outside world for years and many of the images are missing their original date or location. [...]

This is just the beginning of a great adventure. We will be adding new voices, stories, and artifacts as we go. We look forward to sharing this experience with everyone, and hope you make FOUND your home for inspiration and wonder." (http://natgeofound.tumblr.com/about)

All the pictures in the collection are wonderful, but naturally I picked out a few that feature kids to share below. Enjoy!

 Girls eat large swirls of cotton candy in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 1963.

 PHOTOGRAPH BY GILBERT M. GROSVENOR, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Turkey farm in Idaho, June 1944.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MAYNARD OWEN WILLIAMS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 

A boy between two mounted lobsters caught off the New Jersey coast, February 1915.
PHOTOGRAPH BY WALTER L. BEASLEY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Tourists in the old town hall of Bremen look up at a model ship in Germany, January 1969.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES P. BLAIR, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 

Victoria amazonica water lilies can reach 20 feet in circumference and support up to 300 pounds each. Perching children atop the massive leaves was all the rage in water gardens of the time. Salem, North Carolina, c. 1892. PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANK HEGE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Boys exploring cave with flashlights look up in wonder near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, March 1957.
PHOTOGRAPH BY VOLKMAR K. WENTZEL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Girls watch artist painting picture of statue of Flemish artist in Bruges, Belgium, May 1955.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LUIS MARDEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Ear-deep in watermelon, a boy eats a juicy slice at a festival in Florida, December 1963.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES P. BLAIR, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 

A dog plays on a seesaw with children in Scotland, March 1919.
PHOTOGRAPH BY WILLIAM REID, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Four boys bob for apples in Martinsburg, West Virginia, 1939.
PHOTOGRAPH BY B. ANTHONY STEWART, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC