Handy by Handed BY - Yet Another Reason to Shop Online

When we moved to Germany, we didn't have many baby-related things with us, so we had to start preparing for the baby's arrival as soon as we had moved in to our new apartment in Wiesbaden. One of the first things I purchased (from an online store, of course) was a Wickeltisch (changing table, a very German product, I've been told). The table was very simple (Geuther Clarissa), so I had to also get some baskets for storage. I do not like the normal Wickeltisch baskets, which are usually made of rattan (I have had my share of rattan furniture in my room when I was teenager). And I wanted to find some baskets which I could use in other purposes after there would be no need for the Wickeltisch.

From a baby product store KönigsKinder (located in Arcade passage in Wiesbaden) I found lovely baskets made of plastic stripes.  From the tags I learnt that the baskets were produced by Handed BY. They were handmade using recycled materials and making sure that the craftswomen are not exploited. However, I didn't buy these baskets right away. But then I walked into another store in Arcade, Tribeca (it has since moved to the same block with the Cuckoo Clock) and found the same baskets there with lower price. That was it, I had to buy those baskets. I got this one small in pink-grey-white, and three larger ones in white.

Now that the Wickeltisch is no longer in use, I have found other functions for the baskets. The biggest one served as storage for baby toys, but quite soon there were too many toys to fit into the basket. We now use it for our daughter's books.

To store all the toys, I went back to KönigsKinder for even bigger basket, which I had seen in their window. I brought home (yes, actually bought from a real store and brought home myself!) one with a lid and colors matching our living room decor. I thought the lid would be good in hiding the toys, although it is not rigid enough to pile these over each other in case we'll need more baskets for toys.

Yesterday, a couple of weeks after buying this latest basket, I noticed that the handprint shaped stamp is missing. After some Google search I realized that the basket isn't by Handed BY, but by another company called Blessing! But don't they look similar? It actually says 'Blessing's' on the tag, but I had thought it was the name of the product... No wonder I couldn't find this from any online stores, when I was looking for the lowest price!

At first, I was a bit disappointed, because I had kind of liked the idea of buying something that is ethically made and is environmentally friendly, like the Handed BY products. To be honest, I'm not usually into this 'save the world' stuff, but it is a great add-on, when you find something nice.

And the lesson here? You better do your shopping online, when you can peacefully find all the background information you need before the decision. Fortunately, my daughter does not seem to care about the brand of the basket - she still likes to climb inside to play with her toys.

The Cruel World of Shopping

This happened already a month ago, but I'm still so disappointed that I need to whine about this... :)

I have really fallen in love with online shopping, especially with children clothes (more about that later). But once in a while it is nice to go and finger real clothes and get new ideas. A lovely store Kinderplanet closed down in August, so I was thrilled to notice that another store opened right next door.

I was familiar with this store from my online shopping experiences, so I had quite high hopes for it. Royalkid has a wide range of lovely brands in their selection.

I went to visit this new store in order to find something nice for my daughter to wear in her first birthday party. As I stepped in, there was an eager lady welcoming us. I told her what I was looking for and her immediate reaction was 'We only sell clothes for children older that 3 years'. From the sound of her voice and her body language I was able to read that she expected us to leave the store. Then she took a look into the buggy and commented quite surprised 'She is very big!'. She stormed to the rack and took a dress to me saying 'This might be small enough for a two year old'.

I saw the price tag and politely asked if they had anything else than clothes. Then I noticed a bowl of beautiful Il Gufo hairpins. I was about to try one on my daughter, when the lady commented 'But she doesn´t even have any hair!'.

At this point, I had had enough and thought that she didn't want to sell us anything. Thinking to myself that Royalkid should stick with the online store, I went to H&M and bought a nice dress and a hairpin for the birthday party.

© Citymami