Beautiful Things for Kids

I have a bad habit, a throwback to my childhood. I all too often choose cheapness over quality and end up having to replace the (broken, worn out, stinky) cheap item a few months down the track.
It's uneconomic. It makes no sense. It drives my dear hubby nuts.

One of the things I constantly find myself replacing is lunchboxes.
Last year I think I must have ended up replacing  lunchboxes two or three times during the year, after they repeatedly cracked, got stinky or mouldy. Ugh.

Schoolbags is another one. The $15 cheapies from the dollar store just don't hold up, long term.
One of these days I will figure out that if I spend more up-front to get quality, it will cost me less over time, because stuff will last longer.
Because quality inevitably costs more. But oh boy, good quality lasts so much better, doesn't it?


I recently had en email from a nice lady called Jenna, offering me the opportunity to try some products by Penny Scallan Design. Good Quality Kids gear. Lunchboxes. Backpacks. Gear Bags. Stationery. I could choose a bunch of stuff, they would send it to me, and share what I thought about it all with you.
Of course I jumped at the opportunity.

I headed over to the Penny Scallan website and starting scrolling through...
First on my shopping list was a school backpack for Scrag. He's starting school next term (gulp) and how awesome would it be if I got him one of these cool, sturdy cute-as schoolbags?

Cute, right?

Then I thought, heck the big kids will be so jealous if Scrag gets this and they get nothing, better find them something too.

I stumbled across the drawstring bags, and immediately thought of Sporty Dash. I've seen these bags around before and admired them, wondering where they came from. Now I know - Penny Scallan Design. I knew one of these would be perfect as a gear bag for swimming, soccer, triathlon training - you name it.

[don't be fooled by the scowl - that is Dash's "cool" face - he LOVES the bag]

Right, now for Miss Fab. Arty Miss Fab. Miss Fab who constantly writes notes and lists and stories. I headed to the stationery section and found...

...the cutest clipboards. These are so cute, perfect for the little "Teacher-in-training" that is my daughter.

These are perfect for car trips, practising your name and all sorts. I couldn't resist; I wanted all the kids to have one, so I picked the car design for Scrag, the Star design for Dash (to match his swim bag) and the chirpy birds for Miss Fab.

I also picked out a matching sketchbook for her (she loves to draw as well)...

I love the chirpy birds design, and the pricing makes these a great gift idea too - on par with Smiggle, but cuter.

As it turned out the backpacks were out of stock at the time, so Jenna picked out a lunchbox backpack for Scrag instead....

I've never seen anything quite like this product. It's a lunchbox, but a backpack too. It's perfect for kindy (it will fit spare clothes in as well as it's roomy).

Scrag is very taken with it and rushes to help make his own lunchbox every morning...

I don't usually like the soft padded lunchboxes as they tend to get smelly, but this one is very easy to clean and is like a "cooler bag", with silver foil inside.

Not only that but Scrag's kindy friends have all pronounced it "very cool". Bonus.

[Scrag modelling his new kindy lunchbox/backpack - love that pose!]

I am thinking perhaps Penny Scallan could be the answer to my cheapness vs. quality problem. The prices are reasonable, the designs are super-cute (the star pattern is even "cool" enough for a style-conscious pre-teen) and the quality is superb. My quality conscious hubby will be well satisfied.

Thank you Penny Scallan for the chance to test your products. I would spend my own money on this stuff. Love it.

♥