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We are pleased to announce that we (Joy and Joe ltd) are one of the current sponsors for the new BCIA safety brochures. The BCIA-Baby Carrier Industry Alliance exists to increase awareness of the value of quality baby carriers and to support those in the baby carrier industry. Please follow this link to download the new safety brochure. We will also be having some paper copies of the brochures as well. http://babycarrierindustryalliance.org/2014/04/safety-brochures/
....a special infusion of ethnic elegance and cultural sophistication into the babywearing scenery' Introducing our ethnic woven wrap design-The Kente woven wrap sling With this design, a traditional African design meets the modern British weaving. This is an infusion of a popular ethnic design into the babywearing scenery. We’ve had a look around and we can safely say that we are the first company to commission the weaving of the popular Kente design in the United kingdom. The Kente cloth is originally handwoven in West Africa and we have been liaising with some Ghanaian weavers to see how we can re-engineer the hand-woven Kente cloth into wraps but we now decided to bring the design into the UK and experiment the weaving of the design on the Hattersley Loom woven by our UK master weaver. Kente comes in diverse colours and we will be weaving this on a barley white warp with a black or green weft 100% combed cotton initially. Within the Kente symbolism, black derives its significance from the notion that new things get darker as they mature and physical aging comes with spiritual maturity. The Akan people of Ghana often blacken most of their ritual objects to increase their spiritual potency. Black symbolizes an intensified spiritual energy, communion with the ancestral spirits , antiquity, spiritual maturity and spiritual potency. While white denotes vitality and balance. The pattern in our current collection is composed of the Nkyinkyin and the Babadua. The Nkyinkyin is a zig zag pattern which signifies that ‘life is not straight’ and the Babadua which stands for strength toughness, reslinecy and superiority’ This indeed is a celebration of ethnic sophistication. History of the Kente design Kente cloth, traditionally made by the people of Ghana, is very beautiful and meaningful. It is made by weaving long strips that contain symbolic patterns. There is a pattern to illustrate joy, a pattern for royalty, a pattern for newborn babies—nearly every important event in a person’s life can be expressed in Kente cloth patterns. When several strips of fabric are woven, they are cut into even lengths, and then stitched together to create wide sheets of cloth. Although Kente, as we know it was developed in the 17th Century A.D. by the Ashanti people, it has it roots in a long tradition of weaving in Africa dating back to about 3000 B.C. The origin of Kente is explained with both a legend and historical accounts. A legend has it that a man named Ota Karaban and his friend Kwaku Ameyaw from the town of Bonwire (now the leading Kente weaving center in Ashanti), learned the art of weaving by observing a spider weaving its web. Taking a clue from the spider, they wove a strip of raffia fabric and later improved upon their skill. They reported their discovery to their chief Nana Bobie, who in turn reported it to the Asantehene (The Ashanti Chief) at that time. The Asantehene adopted it as a royal cloth and encouraged its development as a cloth of prestige reserved for special occasions. Kente is more than just a cloth. Like most of Africa's visual art forms, Kente is a visual representation of history, philosophy, ethics, oral literature, religious belief, social values and political thought. Originally, its use was reserved for their royalty and limited to special social and sacred functions. When its production increased, it became more accessible to those who could afford to buy it. However, its prestigious status was maintained, and it has continued to be associated with wealth, high social status and cultural sophistication. Today, in spite of the proliferation of both the handwoven and machine printed Kente, the authentic forms of the cloth are still regarded as a symbol of social prestige, nobility and a sense of cultural sophistication. According to Akan traditional protocol, Kente is reserved for very important and special social or religious occasions. Originally, it was not meant to be used for commonplace daily activities or as an ordinary wear. Its use for making clothing accessories was limited to items deemed scared or special and were used only for special occasions. In many cases the use of Kente has a sacred intent. It may be used as a special gift item during such rites and ceremonies as child naming, puberty, graduation, marriage and soul-washing. its significance as a symbol of prestige, gaiety and glamour is evident during such community celebrations as festivals and commemoration of historical events, when people proudly wear the best of their Kente Cloths to reflect the spirit of the occasion Kente is used not only for its beauty but also for its symbolic significance. Each cloth has a name and a meaning; and each of the numerous patterns and motifs has a name and a meaning. Names and meanings are derived from historical events, individual achievements, proverbs, philosophical concepts, oral literature, moral values, social code of conduct of conduct, human behavior and certain attributes of plant and animal life. Patterns and motifs are rendered in geometric abstractions of objects associated with the intended meaning. Sometimes some of such patterns and motifs are arbitrarily determined, and their forms have no direct structural similarities with the concepts or objects symbolized. Their relationship is primarily conceptual rather than representational. Patterns and motifs are generally created by weavers who also assign names and meanings to them. Forms, names and means of such patterns and motifs are sometimes given by weavers who may obtain them through dreams and during contemplative moments when they are said to be in communion with the spiritual world. Sometimes, kings and elders may ascribe names to cloths that they specially commission. Generally, names are based on the warp arrangements of the cloth, however, in some instances, both warp and weft arrangements determine a name of a cloth. There are over 300 different types of cloth designs, each with its name. Each cloth design comes with numerous variations-in color and distribution of motifs. This chart presents names of 54 different cloth designs, and 42 motifs, their literal meanings and their symbolic significance. Symbolism are given interpretations on the basis of the general Akan culture. Color symbolism within the Akan culture affects the aesthetics of Kente. Colors are chosen for both their visual effect and their symbolic meanings. A weaver's choice of colors for both weft and warp designs, may be dictated either by tradition or by individual aesthetic taste. There are gender differences in color preferences, dictated by tradition, individual aesthetic taste and by spirit of the occasion. As a convention rather than a strict code of dress, women tend to prefer cloths with background or dominant colors that are lighter or tinted, such as white, light yellow, pink, purple, light blue, light green and turquoise. Generally, men tend to prefer cloths with background or dominant colors that are on the shaded side, such as black, dark blue, dark green, maroon, dark yellow, orange and red. Social changes and modern living have, however, led some people to ignore these traditional norms, resulting in color choice based on individual taste. Conclusively, we hope that the Kente woven wrap design will bring a fresh air of cultural elegance into the babywearing scenery . This indeed is a celebration of ethnic sophistication. A sneak peak into our new and intriguing ethnic woven wraps woven right here in the UK
We would like to introduce you to our weaver. He’s the elderly man in the first picture on the right here. Well, your guess is right; on the left is Adebisi, director of Joy&Joe limited, UK and mother to two cheeky and special children, joy and Joseph. We fondly call our weaver ‘baba’ which is a Yoruba (African) word for father. He is truly a father though he behaves likes he’s our friend. Baba has been acclaimed a master weaver in the UK due to the expertise he’s brings to UK weaving over the years. He’s told us before that he won’t retire when it comes to weaving because this is his life passion. We often show him our facebook page and he’s so happy to see mothers enjoying our woven wraps. He is often assisted by his son. . They are the only two who runs the weaving house that we use. So you see why weaving is a slow process . More about him, since 1952 he has spent all his working life working within the English Textile Weaving Industry. He has achieved the reputation as a master craftsman in the art of fine weaving modifying his conventional looms to accommodate the most intricate weaving designs and materials. From his workshop in North of England, he uses his wealth of experience to create unique colourways and designs using many different fibres and has been weaving his own range of fashion scarves since the late nineteen nineties. These are displayed and sold in UK craft galleries and more recently in Madison avenue Gallery, New York. Well, I guess you guys know about Joy and Joe founder Adebisi , if not, here’s her personal website http://bisiosundeko.weebly.com/ (still under construction though!) Well, we wanted you lovely mums and dads to appreciate that we (Joy&Joe) are into weaving your superb quality woven wraps because we are deeply passionate about quality, babywearing and subsequent rejuvenation of the UK weaving industry. Even our weavers praise us about the fact that we don’t charge too much for our wraps compared to other high end companies he works with. That’s because it is more expensive to weave in England compared to other parts of Europe, China, or India. The wraps we produce are definitely unique to the others, those who own a Joy&Joe can testify. About the thickness of our past SMPs, what we like to do is to listen attentively to you (mums and dads) and we will continue to adjust the thread count till we know that all (at least most) are happy! So if you have a Joy&Joe wrap you have masterpiece of a woven wrap sling woven by a master weaver supervised by a babywearing consultant (Adebisi). You now know that lots of factors makes your wrap special. Joy&Joe wrap woven wrap is not the same as every other woven wrap on the market. So enjoy it always with your adorable little ones. Have a lovely weekend Read this review to see how the blackberry ripple compares to other woven wrap in terms of its width. Our appreciation to Amy for taking the time to review our blackberry ripple woven wrap New stretchy wrap versus old stretchy wrap In case you missed our facebook post a while ago introducing our new stretchy wrap carriers, here’s how our new stretchy wraps compare old stretchy wrap carrier. It is worth mentioning that our old stretchy wraps are still perfect for those who already own them but our new stretchy wrap improved upon the qualities that we love in our old stretchy wraps. So here are a few points: 1. Our new stretchy wraps are softer and more velvety to touch. This is due to the fact the cotton interlock in the new stretchy wrap are of a higher grade and this is very evident from the first time you even attempt t wrap with it. 2. Our new stretchy wraps are wider than our old stretchy wrap and this provides a even comfier seat for your baby when babywearing 3. The weight limit and compliance to the UK/EU requirements is still the same and we have documents available on request for anyone looking to inquire. Please email to info@joyandjoebaby.co.uk 4. The length of our new stretchy wraps is also slightly more than that of our old ones making them even more suitable for plus size mums 5. Sagging of your stretchy wrap even after a few months of constant wearing is now a thing of the past and we’re so happy to have advanced in this area 6. The colour options are more limited compared to that of our old stretchy wraps. In our new stretchy wrap collection, we only have black, turquoise, red and fuchsia for now. Many more colours will be added with time. 7. Same integrated pocket design that allows you to store your wrap in a compact, practical style especially when you’re on the move Why not give our new stretchy wraps a try today for you to enjoy the benefits of a very premium quality stretchy wrap that you and your baby will love. We are 100% confident that you will love it and. For this festive period only, use code XM2013 and you get a fantastic 10% off the cost price along with a free pair of festive winter leg warmers for your little one. 40% discount is available for sling libraries and babywearing consultants please email us at info@joyandjoebaby.co.uk for your discount code if you run a library. Thank you. This is an excellent quality wrap that is woven with yarns that are organic from farm to fabric... The blackberry ripple wrap was released a few days ago and It is great seeing this gorgeous wrap in flesh at last. For those who do not know about how we came about this wrap. Here’s a recap. Early this year, we secured a sizeable quantity of a very pretty pink jacquard woven wrap fabric that was woven by a company we respect. However, we observed that pink didn’t suit everyone because of the girliness attached to it. So we conceived the idea of weaving a neutral woven wrap that will appeal to mums of both boys and girls and if like me you have both, you can use the same wrap for both children irrespective of their sex. So lots of neutral colours came to mind and we put these colour options on our face book page. Of all the colours, aubergine won the votes. Then using the poll system we then asked our customers for the colours that can be paired up with aubergine and then purple came out on top. So we went for stripes because we wanted something simple and beautiful.As for the name again, mums on our face book forum suggested a couple of names and the name ‘blackberry ripple’ had the most votes. Using all the info we gathered, we used did a computer mock up of the design (see picture). The weavers have been busy with several other projects so you can imagine our relief when our blackberries went to the loom towards the end of the school holiday. The blackberry ripple was finally woven and it’s amazing to have this wrap come to life from one’s creative thoughts. This is a wrap that is woven with yarns that are organic from farm to fabric. The weavers have worked with several high profile woven wrap manufacturers and I can guarantee that they haven’t disappointed in the case of the blackberry ripple woven wrap. They’ve never worked on an aubergine wrap before so this particular wrap is a product of our collective hard work, patience and dedication. The wrap has traditional German style broken twill which has been hailed as the optimum for woven wrap carriers. It has a very noticeable diagonal movement to its fibres and it feels very soft to touch. It’s very breathable and as seen in some of the photos; its pores are very visible to the human eye. The wrap is of medium weight and the wrap feels light to wrap which makes it a very good beginner wrap. With this wrap, a wide array of carries can be achieved because of its floppiness. You can be assured that you can rock it on any outfits of any colour or style. We wove a specific number and when it’s gone, Its completely gone as we won’t be reweaving it. So don’t miss out on the chance to own a very durable aubergine woven wrap.
Happy Babywearing.
Photos from joy&joe albumMy experience at the People’s health lottery Tea party hosted by the famous Simon Cowell
Yesterday I was at the peoples health lottery tea party at the London claridges hotel. The event was hosted by Mr Simon Cowell. The were several other celebrities there like Katie Walsh(of the Apprentice), Cheryl Ferguson, Kimberly Walsh, Chantelle Houghton. Brendon of the strictly come dancing. It was a very well organised event and the catering was fantastic. I had a really good time so I thought I should just say a little about how I got involved with the lovely charity, Scope who invited me to the event. A few years ago, I moved over to the north west from the east midlands and like every other family with disabled children, isolation set in on a very big scale and my children’s key worker told me about the face to face scheme where parents with kids with similar disabilities will be put in touch with each other, Katie Walsh said it’s like a match-making sort of. I tell you, getting on the face to face scheme is one of the best things to happen to me. By the way, face to face is funded by Scope or rather under scope. So face to face sent this lovely lady called Sarah to my house, she’s also a mum of a child with down’s syndrome. From the first day, Sarah and I really clicked and it was so lovely to chat with a mum that has walked the same path as you or rather someone who’s on a similar life journey even though our children are uniquely different like every other child. Sarah is a really good listener and very kind lady. There’s so much to say but with several visits and Sarah even visiting when my daughter was at the intensive care ward at the Manchester children’s hospital, I have made a friend for life really even if we don’t see each other every day. Face to face helped me to build my confidence again because one of the things that often suffer when you suddenly wake up and find that your child has special needs and it’s for life is one’s self esteem. I believe in myself more now and I now have a small business, very small but growing. It’s Joy and Joe baby wrap carrier and I’m proud of our small achievements as a family. Joy has been healthy thanks to God, she’s not been in hospital for almost 2 years now except for checkups, Joseph is thriving very well too and they both love school and nursery rhymes. On the business note, I've been able to get my baby carriers safety certified by a reputable government laboratory and they now conform to the BS EN 13209-2:2005, standards for soft baby carriers and duly insured too. I would really recommend the face to face scheme to other mums and dads with disabled children, the emotional support you get is second to none. Its great and a massive thanks to Richard Hawkins, the director of Scope for kindly introducing me to Simon Cowell at the event and taking a photo of us:). To the People’s health lottery, thank so much for supporting Scope charity, you can tell that their impact is being felt around the UK by families with vulnerable children. To everyone, please buy lottery tickets from the health lottery scheme and continue to support worthy causes such as these:) Our children will be grateful in future for this as well. Thanks so much I love this quote: A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving To celebrate Mother’s day, we’re giving 3 inspirational mums a very attractive infinity/circle scarf(pictured here) . To be in the chance of winning one of these scarves, simply nominate a mother that inspires you and one reason why( click ‘comment ‘on this blog post to enter ). Please note that it’s absolutely fine for you to nominate yourself as an inspirational mum Depending on the entries and whoever sees this giveaway!!, we’ll choose three of the entries whose reason absolutely melts our heart ! In case you’re wondering who the panel of judges are its me, my hubby and our two lovely kids-Joy and Joseph!. So go on, get nominating and best of luck! About Joy and Joe baby Wraps
Joy and Joe baby wrap carrier is designed by a mum who was inspired by the need to facilitate kangaroo care and bonding between parents and little. Her children passed through the neonatal intensive ward and she experienced first-hand the importance of holding babies closely and how this can benefit both mother and baby. Joy and Joe Baby Wrap carrier is approximately 5meters long and made of 100% natural British manufactured cotton (interlocked cotton jersey). It is designed to enhance the special relationship between the wearer and the baby by offering a unique feeling of close contact. There are different carrying positions, it adapts itself to the baby's development and the wearer's build. Joy and Joe baby wrap distributes the weight of your baby around your back. It utilises shoulders and back due to its fantastic width that moulds around your body and baby’s. The beauty of baby wraps is their versatility in that they can be tied in several ways without limitations due to the fact there are no nasty buckles or clips or snaps that bruises tender skins that babies have. Because this wrap is suitable from birth, little babies whose necks are developing will be well supported with this wrap as shown in website www.joyandjoebaby.com. Enough of fussy and crying babies as your baby will be comforted with the sound of your heart beat and body warmth enhancing mother-child bonding. Research pioneered by Dr Sears has emphasised the importance of baby wearing backed up scientific statistics. If you’re new to baby wraps, you can practise with a big teddy with a realistic baby size in other for you to have an understanding of how to carry your baby close and safely. Baby wearing is so sweet especially when you do it right. Please exercise patience when you’re doing it for the first time. |
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May 2023
AuthorHello, my name is Bisi, babywearing consultant (SoB CIC), mother to two cheeky & very special kids (Joy and Joseph). Our 3rd baby has been christened Joy&Joe baby wrap slings! and we loveeee babywearing :) |