WOW! Our Amazing Photographer is now a Celebrity!

Marcy Working Some Magic

Marcy Maloy, the very talented photographer that takes the amazing photos of our clothing, is now a true celebrity!  Marcy and her partner Ron are one of the couples selected for this season’s Amazing Race on CBS!  This is the 15^th season of The Amazing Race, with a huge audience and fan base. 

Marcy has been photographing le•top for over 10 years – our offices are filled with her fabulous photos!  It would be impossible to describe how Marcy works – her energy and connection to all the children is truly legendary!  Marcy is a very well known fashion photographer; she has national ad campaigns in her portfolio.  When we met Marcy we knew we were very lucky to have someone with her talent to capture the essence of the “le•top look!”  Every time we have a photo shoot I look forward to hearing about Marcy’s new adventures (trapeze lessons, hula-hoop lessons, traveling to exciting locales!)  Wow!  The next photo shoot should be enjoyable …just hearing about her ultimate adventure!

We are really excited that one of the le•top ‘team’ will be featured on this very entertaining and exciting show.  Knowing Marcy we are POSITIVE she will add enthusiasm and her own special vibe to the show! The Amazing Race season 15 premieres Sunday, September 27th 8/7c.

Marcy – we can’t wait to watch you – hope you do great!

Marcy Generating Excitement

Marcy with Three Little Cuties!

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Are You Ready for Some Football???

The sun is dipping lower in the sky and the nights grow just a bit cooler…do I see the hint of color in the leaves?  Fall is in the air!  With the fall season fast approaching there is excitement brewing here at le•top!  It’s Back to School!  Well, we do get excited about Fall fashions, but there is something else that stirs the senses – FOOTBALL RIVALRIES!  Yes, this cute and cuddly children’s clothing company is home to some serious fans – so while we are busy shipping our FABULOUS Varsity Blues collection to waiting retailers our football fanatics are ‘showing their colors!’  Since le•top is available in retailers across the United States we thought we would ask a few ‘fans’ here in the office where their loyalties lie.

Sarah and Diana in Their Team Jerseys

Sarah, our le•top assistant designer loves her team!  Sarah, growing up in Montana, really had the freedom to choose any team in the country – they are not ‘next’ to anything!  She relates that her mom, a native of North Dakota has always favored their ‘neighbor’ – The Minnesota Vikings.  Her Dad went with the Chicago Bears – but Sarah had to break with the family and choose the Indianapolis Colts.  Why???  Peyton!  She fell in love with football when Peyton Manning hooked her with his ‘Hail Mary!’  Now she is here in the San Francisco Bay Area…Niners? Raiders?  She maintains “I’m a Colts fan for life!’

Diana, our customer service specialist extraordinaire, took at little different path to loyalty…She grew up in Los Angeles – a ‘city girl.’  The Raiders, based in LA during her childhood, gained Diana’s loyalty as she watched football with her older brother.  She followed football just because she idolized her brother, and football was the common bond. When Diana, a ‘Navy Brat’ moved to the Bay Area (her father was stationed at Treasure Island) found out that the Raiders were moving back to the Bay Area there was celebrating in her family!  She can’t wait until September…Go Raiders!

If you are “READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!” check out the le•top Varsity Blues collection – you fans and dads will love it!  And as for me…NINERS RULE!

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First Day of Kindergarten

Miranda Wearing Cute as a Button Rib Knit Shirt and Baby Wale Corduroy Skort Set

The long-awaited day has arrived. My daughter has been so excited! Alas, it is here…The First Day of Kindergarten.

The night before, we carefully selected what her first-day-of-school outfit will be. She wanted to wear a dress (to give her teacher a good first impression) but I wanted her to wear shorts or pants because sitting on the carpet will be more comfortable. So, we decided on le•top’s 2009 Fall collection Cute As A Button ensemble. The skirt has built-in shorts!!! (My favorite part—why didn’t they have those when I was growing up?) And it went so well with her new Back-to-School ‘do!

For the past month, I have been mentally preparing myself NOT to cry when I drop her off at school. All I could think of was that my baby is growing up, and from now on until she graduates from high school, she will be in school everyday, five days a week, with only a few weeks during the year when she can enjoy childhood. But on the flip side, I realized that I would now have mornings to devote to my 5-month old son who needs my attention now more than ever.

Today, as we drove to school, there was no time to cry. We were running late, the parking lot was full, cars were parked all along the neighboring streets, and the classroom was filled with paparazzi parents snapping cameras and videotaping this monumental day. It was hard to just get my daughter INSIDE her classroom, let alone me and my stroller. After 10 minutes of listening to the teacher take roll and the students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the teacher instructed the students: “Please look for your parent and wave goodbye so they can leave and we can start class.” Miranda found me, waved goodbye with a big smile, then sat down for Circle Time.

I exited the classroom then walked back to the car. A single tear rolled down my cheek. All I could think of was that my little girl is a BIG girl now.

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Viva New York!

Table-Side Guacamole Maker

A few weeks ago we had a successful and exciting start to our Spring 2010 season at the Children’s Club Show in New York!  The le•top team, exhausted but happy, was rewarded each evening by the wonderful restaurants that populate New York – we do have a reward besides the satisfaction of happy customers!

Eating is always one of the highlights of our trip, since we LOVE good food!  We have our favorite places, including Gotham Bar and Grill (beautiful, and just FEELS like New York,) Il Cantinori (great Italian with lots of ‘celebrity spotting’) and  Parma (a REALLY OLD favorite – in every way!)  By the way…New York has FABULOUS Italian food, and always seems different than what is available here in California (because New York is closer to Italy than we are???)

The le•top crew (Californians all!) decided to break it up a little and sample some cuisine native to our area at Rosa Mexicano, an energetic and happening restaurant with 3 locations in Manhattan.  We hit the location at Union Square that features architectural accents inspired by the late, famed Mexican architect, Luis Barragan, including an illuminated electric-blue tiled water wall featuring cliff diver figurines and candles within the cascading water – very cool!  We jumped at experiencing the table-side guacamole, both spicy and mild …then just had to order a third bowl!  Honestly, this is the best guacamole!  We enjoyed all Rosa’s menu items, including enchilada suisas, chicken flautas and tortilla soup – and of course treated ourselves to some fabulous Margaritas!  After indulging we were spiced up and eager for another great day at the Children’s Club Show!

If you are ever in Manhattan and want a taste of Mexico, be sure to visit any of Rosa Mexicano’s three locations, you won’t be disappointed!  Ole’!

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Snug as a Bug!

Butterfly Kisses and ladybug hugs…sleep tight little one like a bug in a rug” – author unknown

Judy Novininger has a passion for all things beautiful.  She shared her vision by opening an upscale gift boutique in the Camp Hill area of Pennsylvania named for Pennsylvania’s state bug – Lightning Bug.  In September of 2003, inspired by new grandchildren and the continuing quest to fill the need for wonderful gifts with a personal touch, a new entity ‘flickered’ to life – Baby Bug and Me. Six years later Baby Bug and Me is thriving in its new location on Market street just below the West Shore Farmers Market in downtown Lemoyne, Pennsylvania.

Baby Bug and Me has achieved Judy’s desired goal of excellence, recognized for four consecutive years as the winner of Harrisburg Magazine Reader’s Choice Award in the children’s clothing category.  First honored in 2005, Judy tells us that these awards have brought her wonderful and memorable moments.  The superb and extensive merchandise selection has propelled Baby Bug to the top of the accolades list.  Featuring shoes (Judy’s new favorite,) clothing (le•top is a best-seller in both girls and boys!) books, toys and more.  Judy enjoys selecting the Christening and Dedication outfits she offers for both boy’s and girl’s special day.  Phone orders are gladly accepted at this first-class boutique, as well as offering the ability to easily order basics for a child’s wardrobe at www.babybugandme.com.

All photos compliments of Annekatherinephotography.com

Judy is an involved member of the community as well, choosing a special charity to partner with each year, ranging from the Cerebral Palsy Foundation to the YWCA. This fall the leading collections at the store will be featured in the YWCA Power of Style Fashion Show, benefiting the Women’s and Children’s Crisis Center in Harrisburg.

Judy and her staff are accommodating and attentive to all their customers “little” needs. Take a short jaunt to the Lemoyne area, or just peruse their website, to be greeted by a friendly face, a caring staff and the best selection of baby and children’s items in the area.

Cute as a bug in a rug!

Baby Bug and Me
900 Market Street
(Inside the West Shore Farmers Market building – lower level)
Lemoyne, PA 17043
717.763.1780
www.babybugandme.com

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A Peak Behind the Scenes…

Hmmm, do we need a bigger office???

Although it seems as though the Fall 2009 photo shoot was just yesterday… another season’s photo shoot has come and gone! This amazing moment in time was for our Spring 2010 line. (Already spring you say?  We work well ahead of the ‘normal’ calendar!) Our model tryouts (in the biz known as a go-see) happened on July 9th. It was organized chaos with over 100 children turning out to smile and pose (a wonderful crowd!) and way too many adorable little ones – making it a very challenging series of decisions! The photo shoot for both Le Top and Rabbitmoon happened the second to last week of July. It was an exhausting week – but a fabulous success! Many thanks to everyone who assisted, especially the delightful kids! We can’t wait to share the Spring season’s collections and all the adorable photos with you but…it will have to wait. Sometimes it’s hard for us to keep track of what month, season and year we’re working on perfecting!  We are currently shipping Fall 2009 collections to our fabulous retailers, so take a gander at all the fabulous styles.

Out comes the infamous ‘tickle stick!

I think everyone wonders what happens ‘behind the scenes’ – here are a couple under-cover shots from the Le Top photo shoot.

Beware – baby ‘off’ board!

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We Love the Pitter Patter of Little Feet!

Adornment is never anything except a reflection of the heart.”  ~Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel

Children’s hearts – pure and innocent – are the inspiration for Le Top clothing.  The whimsical designs we create here bring smiles to our faces – but children cannot live on clothes alone…they must have shoes to go out in the world!  When preparing for our Fall 2009 photo shoot we looked around the market and came up with the idea of collaborating with a children’s shoe company, hopefully one with the same design esthetic as ours – the choice was easy, pediped™!  We love the shoes – and knew them first hand, since they had been the choice for many le•top and rabbitmoon outfits for Chris’s grandsons.  Anna Carpio (our Design Room manager and Technical Designer) planned everything with Penny Redlin and Lauren McGlynn at pediped™ footwear over the course of three months to find the perfect accompaniment to each outfit in our collection.  Anna says, “They were so easy to work with. They are very family-oriented like we are and have a fun, quality product. It was a pleasure working with them on this project.” 

For the current season each company will feature the other’s products in their catalogs and marketing materials. “It seemed a natural fit for pediped™ and le•top to share our collections with each other from a styling standpoint. Our collections complement each other well. I think that the result has been fantastic! Congratulations to le•top on another fabulous collection,” says Angela Edgeworth, co-founder and president of pediped™ footwear. Find the style that goes with your little ones outfit at www.pediped.com.

 About pediped™ footwear:
pediped™ footwear was launched in 2004 by Angela and Brian Edgeworth in their quest for the perfect soft-soled shoe for their first daughter. Exceptional quality, unsurpassed comfort and distinctive styling have made the award winning company one of the fastest-growing children’s footwear brands in the United States. pediped™ footwear is sold in over 2500 stores in the United States and 40 countries worldwide with an offering of more than 120 designs for boys and girls between their two lines, Originals and Flex. Originals (soft-soled shoes for newborns to age 2+) and Flex (rubber-soled shoes for children 1-6 years) are available in EU sizes ranging from 17 to 29.

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