Joie de vivre

I'm very pleased to today unveil our Fabulous Find stallholder at Mathilda's Market in Brisbane on Saturday 19 June ... Mon Petit Poppet - tah-dah! Stephanie Phillips is the creative wonder behind this little and lovely label. Stephanie lovingly designs and creates beautiful children's clothes, accessories and toys, all with that unmistakeable and irresistible "ooh-la-la" French feel.

Mon Petit Poppet's clothing line is entirely handcrafted by Stephanie, who uses only the highest quality linens, cottons and denims to create gorgeous yet practical clothes. So how did you come to launch Mon Petit Poppet upon an unsuspecting and appreciative public, Steph? "As a first-time Mum to my own poppet, Bijou, I found little girls' clothes were often too frilly and impractical for a crawler or toddler, and featured unnecessary flounces and fripperies," she explains. "I wanted her to look pretty, but also be able to explore her world with the same ease as her male peers. So I've designed and handcrafted comfortable, yet trés chic clothing, because I don't believe you should compromise style for comfort!" We here at Mathilda's Market agree wholeheartedly, Stephanie!

"My clothing range includes smock tops, denim pants with contrasting cuffs and ruffles, dresses, capes (a gorgeous alternative to jackets!), hats and skirts. I also make rosette brooches, hair accessories, ballet bags and delightful French girl's dolls," says the force behind Mon Petit Poppet. "I am meticulous about attention-to-detail and high-quality, and add that special touch to my creations with self made bias, decadent trims like velvet, high quality threads, adjustable elastic, overlocking on all edges (always in matching thread), hard-to-find fabrics and careful hand-stitching on dolls and toys, rosettes and hair accessories. I am always challenging myself to create items that are timeless and chic, but also a little bit quirky." Steph says she really wants her creations to have "I've never seen that before, where did you find it?" appeal!

Scary, exhilarating, daunting, empowering, nerve-wracking, energising and fulfilling are words Steph uses to describe taking the plunge into starting up her own business and embarking on this new chapter in her life. I'm sure other creators reading this blog can identify with such feelings! "This adventure is so rewarding and who knows where it will take me - Rue de Cambon, Paris I hope!" says this cheerfully optimistic lady.


The former prep teacher lists some of her favourite things as all things crafty, beautiful fabrics, books, Baroque music, eating chocolate, eating cake, eating full-stop, all things French, her Mum and Dad, vintage buttons and habby, flea markets and antique shops, baking, Sunday breakfasts, rainy afternoons, demolishing things with a crow bar, fashion, Audrey Hepburn movies, watching her man with their little girl, and long baths till she goes prune-y. I can't help but that think that a day spent with the spirited Stephanie would be full of laughs and joie de vivre - stop by her blog to see what I'm taking about! Or better still, pay the Mon Petit Poppet stall a visit at Mathilda's Market in Brisbane on Saturday 19 June.

Peta x
Mathilda's Market blogger