Tuesday 9 August 2011

The Story Behind our Collections: Rosie Flo

The story behind Rosie Flo is one that came from a need and a passion and, most importantly, the influence of 2 little girls who loved colouring in.  It's a story that I can very much relate to!  When we were little my sisters & I would sit for hours with our colouring books and pens, and since then we have watched with warm smiles as our own children discover the joy of colouring in.  When we came across Rosie Flo colouring books some years ago our colouring-in sessions were taken to a whole new creative level.  It's made us get back into colouring-in ourselves as Rosie Flo is definitely for adults too!

In the world of Rosie Flo heads, arms and legs are missing and it is up to you to add these body parts, along with a rainbow of colour.


Roz Streeten 'invented' the Rosie Flo colouring books through hours of sitting and drawing with her daughters when they were small. Roz says: They gave me instructions as to what I must draw and each time I promptly obeyed.  Dresses were the most popular items demanded of me and Sophie (now 14) would then do the faces, arms and legs. We drew all different kinds of people; rich, poor, fat, thin, tall, short, old and young. Sasha (now 11) became obsessed with simply colouring-in.


When Roz drew for her girls she left out the arms, legs & heads to let them use their own imagination with faces and hairstyles. Roz realised that she was onto something as she saw how her girls became fascinated with this way of drawing and colouring and Roz knew that there must be other like minded girls around - she was absolutely right!



Roz combined the middle names of her 2 daughters and Rosie Flo was born.  Roz designed some lovely themes to choose from, no doubt inspired by her own children and family life.  You can choose from Animals, Holiday, Games, Kitchen, Garden, Music, Arty and Night-time.  There's a sticker book too, as we all know how irresistible and handy sticker books are!




Rosie Flo colouring books really are outstanding.  The paper quality is thick, unlike colouring books from our younger days where the paper was so thin the felt tips went through!  The books are also designed to last so they can be taken on journeys, be stuffed in backpacks and are strong enough to become creative keepsakes.  The illustrations themselves are beautiful and can be appreciated by younger and older children as well as adults.




Roz has also introduced Johnny Joes to appeal to boys - hurray we hear from mums with sons! There are posters and postcards too. The posters are big at 54 x 40 cm - you and your budding little designers can create a unique piece of artwork to give as a gift or keep and frame as a memento of your childs' unique imagination.

       
The postcards are a great way to share creativity.  They allow children to make a personalised greetings card with a unique design to send to friends and family. The Rosie Flo postcards were Winner of the Best New Product Children’s Award at Top Drawer 2010. Very well-deserved we say!

The Rosie Flo household is certainly a very creative one. With Roz's husband Steve Kamlish, who is also a graphic designer, they design and publish everything in-house and all the products are printed in the UK.

Here's the Rosie Flo family in action:


Roz and her family have brought something so unique and magical to the childrens market and we as mums are utterly grateful.  It's wonderful to have Rosie Flo and Johnny Joe in the Sisters Guild Boutique.

If you haven't discovered Rosie Flo yet, take a look here.  For those who already know the wonder of these colouring books we know you'll agree with us on how beautifully designed they are and how they are for us as well as the children!

"It's beautiful before it's filled in and even better once it's finished" Angels & Urchins magazine

"Great gift idea" Marie-Claire


This is part of our series of blogs where we share the story behind our collections; because the collections and their creators mean so much to us here at Sisters Guild we want to pass the story on.

We bring a new blog each day; other series of blogs include our 'Monday Makery' with ideas and 'how to's'  to make and bake with all the family, Wednesday we woo you with our favourite pieces from the boutique and its new arrivals, Thursday is all about the art of living; discovering places and sharing new treasures and Friday we bring you the 'A-Z of Sisters Guild' a collection of pictures that convey the life behind the boutique

You can Follow us on Twitter here ,like us on Facebook here and visit our rather marvellous boutique here

Sign up for future news & offers:

No comments:

Post a Comment