45% Mako cotton, 25% linen, 25% lambswool, 5%Silk
RD:25/03/17

Many thanks to Laurna for coordinating the babywearing modelling for this shoot and our appreciation also goes to Simon Jolly photography, Scotland

Remember that when we introduced our plans for 2017, we announced that in addition to some new designs that we will be introducing, we will be tweaking some of our existing designs (feathers and connected).
Tweaking them involves adjusting the scale or size of the intricate aspects of the design, so like in the case of our connected, the microscopic leaf's veins are bolder and bigger giving the design a completely new artistic look. Likewise our feathers, the feathers are on a larger  scale compared to our previous fluffy shade of feathers pattern.
These two designs will also be woven on a weave similar to our 2014 SMP noir, 2016 chilli/purple rain. However due to the style of the pattern, the texture of the feathers woven wraps is similar to a broken-twill structure. A modern textile design technology called ' weave shading' has been used to create the feathery silhouette effect in the feathers so these wraps have a combination of 3 different weaves in one wrap! This is good news for those looking to experience something different when it comes to wrapping qualities!
The new connected has a shinny lustrous front side and the other side is subtle in appearance.  Without further ado, meet our affordable collection. The prices are further down this page.

50% Mako cotton
50% combed cotton
Amaranthus Vicki Feathers will be listed on our website on the 22nd of March, 2017

Things to love about our affordable range

1. They are all cotton blend wise
2. Easy care so very easy to wash
3. Woven in Lancashire
4. Tailored and packaged in St Helens
5. 4 different colourways to choose from
6. Popular and existing designs woven in a completely different dimension design wise
7. They are seriously trendy 
8. Bright and colourways completely new to Joy and Joe woven wraps
9. Toddler and squish worthy
10. No pulls. Yes, the weave structure is tighter!

Price list for our above affordable wraps
( AVANT GARDE LANCASHIRE WEAVE )
SNOOD: £22
RS: £99
MEDIUM (SIZE 4): £105
LARGE (SIZE 5): £115
XL (SIZE 6): £125
XXL (SIZE 7): £135

Release date: Wednesday 29th March, 2017
​Photography by Melissa Rae photography, USA

We had a blast at the recently concluded #nse event which took place at the Octagon center in Sheffield. Our appreciation goes to the organizers for putting together such a fabulous event. Our appreciation also goes to our ever supportive ambassadors and Joy and Joe friends, who rallied round to ensure that visitors to our stand were well looked after. 

Our appreciation also goes to everyone who bought something from our stall. We also love that lots of you got to try on some of our new 2017 wrap releases. The amazing response to our stretchy wrap release was heart-warming. Thanks to every sling librarian who popped around to purchase one of our improved stretchy wrap.

Last but certainly not the least; we appreciate the northern sling exhibition volunteers. From Friday, we sensed that this event was going to be epic. There was always someone on hand to assist us in offloading our wares and also to load our car. Sam was the person who assisted ourselves and other exhibitors in ensuring that the car parking went well. We also had a lovely welcome from one of the NSE volunteers who told us that a Joy and Joe sling was her very first when she started babywearing. We felt really welcomed to Sheffield. Lest we forget, we had a surplus supply of water to ensure that we stayed hydrated!!! Thank you  Dr Rosie and the NSE organizing team.

We also had an opportunity to meet and network with some other fabulous UK based sling manufacturers, many of whom are hardworking women we admire. This was a well organised event and the venue was very spacious, a massive upgrade from last year! Bring on #nse2018! ohhhh, I just remembered that my legs are still aching me badly from prolonged standing, one of the side effects of the #nse2017 excitement!!! Well, the exciting NSE vibe was all we needed as we embark on setting up our very first brick and mortar Joy and Joe sling gallery (shop) this week!! Our NSE photos and videos are below for your viewing pleasure.

PS: Did you discover Joy and Joe baby slings for the very first time yesterday at the #nse2017 event? We would love the opportunity to get to know you better. Plus, we are a really joyful bunch to roll with, please join our closed Facebook group. See you there <3

Bisi O.

Some of our new Facebook live discussions will be facilitated by our 2017 ambassadors.

The following is our live discussion schedlue for the month of January

2. Before our pop-up shop happened, we can't forget our epic 5th year business anniversary event. The venue was the lighthouse Manchester and our event was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who attended and bought something on the day.

​3. One of the most remarkable event this year was our first ambassador program, we wanted to create an opportunity to have a some of our customers or fans or even complete Joy and Joe newbie(s) on board to support us as we propagate our customer-centric vision online and offline. With the support of our ambassadors, 2016 has been a very fun filled year, we have seen relationships blossom both on our chatter page and offline. Thank you so much ambassadors for leading the way action photos /social media wise and infusing our brand with loads of friendly chatter and happiness. We can certainly say that as a brand, we are very fun and friendly.

4. How can we talk about 2016 without mentioning the amazing wrap releases we had this year! Please forgive my mummy brain! This year, our first woven wrap release was the monochrome dream around the month of March. You need to join our chatter page to catch the 'team gold' versus 'team silver' daily chatter, photos and excitement. The monochrome dream was undoubtedly one of our most enjoyable wrap releases this year thanks to our every supportive 2016 ambassadors who ensured that we were never short of beautiful real life babywearing photos and videos.

5. Our PR/customer happiness manager, Becca settled into her role in Joy and Joe and it has been great getting to know her and her family

6. We added some new colours to our stretchy wrap collection

7.Our first meet the maker event happened this year 

8. Our first book 'dear new babywearer' was published via Blurb this year

9. We were featured on the 'still made in Britain' website

10. We released our super soft cuddly, connected and Cartostyle range as a sequel to the 2015 trillusions, feathers woven wrap. Which one of our beautiful slings came to live with you?

11. We expanded our live video customer service and moved it from blab to Facebook live!

12. We released a special woven wrap collection to celebrate our 5th year brand anniversary

13. Wrap you in love released a video showcasing breastfeeding in a long woven wrap to commemorate the breastfeeding awareness week and guess what? It was a Joy and Joe wrap she used! Yayyy!

14. We raised money for several charities this year. Some of the charities are UNICEF, Focus on disability, Friends for disabled children etc

15. We enjoyed some really awesome babywearing moments during our instagram takeovers organised by our 2016 ambassadors. We can't forget Te's babywearing moment when she showcased how she multi-tasks as a mum of 3 boys! You can catch up with these posts from our instagram platform ​

16.Our chatter page members aka the super lovely #joyandjoefam requested that we re-weave our popular SMP in two new colourways and guess what? The hot chilli and purple rain was born! Okay, we said 16 memorable moments but we can't forget witnessing Laurna wear close to 30 snoods at the same time live on video, breaking the babywearing world record as the first person ever to do this. Last but in no way the least and you will agree! Our super thick, beastly Quad blends and shimmery cranberry dream woven slings beautifully wrap up 2016 for us. We have also recieved some fabulous feedback eg 'I'm honestly taken aback by this being a 100% cotton blend! It seems most people are into their silk blends these days, but this blend renders cotton underrated!
The only cotton wrap mildly similar to it is Mako, but the Cartostyle blows that out of the water. It also has less of a budget feel'~ Lisette from Wrapt (Australia) . We've have a fun ride with our customers this year and we are so grateful <3

2. ​Custom woven wraps. We choose the warp and you customise your weft! Awesome!

3. New packaging! Our higher end wraps will be presented to our customers with a luxury custom magnetic box, all nicely presented as per our usual. Our regular range will be presented with our new branded postal bags.

4. Subscription style service ( we will tell you more about this later! Yes, you need to watch this space so that you won't miss out when we finally launch this service)

5.Our kangaroo care collection will be finally introduced 

6. New woven wrap designs, new patterns

7.Our first SSC.. Yayyy (We've been working on this forever! Please cross your fingers for us. Manufacturing on a bigger scale isn't child's play)

8.New accessories
9.Our very first brick and mortar boutique style showroom will be launched and open to the public by appointment

10. A re-design of our teaching wrap

11. A more robust support system for sling libraries and babywearing groups

12. We will also host some epic events this coming year (6th year anniversary, babywearing meet-up events, ambassador meet-up events?
13. Interesting and engaging Facebook live discussions from us and our 2017 ambassadors (we will add more photos soon)

 14. Instagram takeovers where you get to know each of our 2017 ambassadors better
15. We are re-stocking our sold out stretchy wraps next year
16. Joy and Joe archive where you can read about some of our past slings
17. More amazing giveaways (Yesssss, you know we are very generous) We said 17 points! One more thing! From our family point of view, we are also planning to create a lot more awareness about the African kanga carrying which is a core part of our heritage, kangaroo care from our family experience and disability advocacy.

First of all, can we start by apologizing for keeping you waiting with the introduction of this particular release. We know that many of you have been waiting and anticipating this particular collection.
The three slings in this collection are quad blends so they are the final 2016 members of our high-end artisan luxury collection. When we wove our initial artisan collection, the final wraps were super limited so we immediately started working towards re-weaving more  as soon as we sold some of the collection because we really don't want to disappoint our Joy and Joe families.  With our purple SMP, we decided to try a darker shade of purple and we ended up with gentian violet !!

With our plain double weave, woven end to end, we were fascinated by the spark the dark purple SMP had from the moment you set your eyes on it, so the electric indigo was born. For the black SMP, we had some pastel moss green-like mixed blend yarns so we decided to utilize this as a weft instead of weaving our usual black and white SMP, so here, the bronze opal SMP was born.

The final colours are so hard to describe because moss green changes its colour shade depending on the intensity of illumination it is exposed to. With the lavender cartostyle, this is our very first purple cartostyle. Previously, our cartostyle was woven in jewel and red colours. We couldn't resist the urge to experiment in newer colours ( our scientific curiosity at play here). Well, our cartostyle design with its abstract geographical contours resulted in our purple shade being beautifully diluted before the regular human vision, creating a soft purple outlook, the lavender cartostyle was born! Lest we forget, this is our very first quad cartostyle so the texture is nothing like you've every experienced before.  The lavendar cartostyle has this subtle hairy or should we say fuzzy feel to it when you run the back of your palms across it. 
Yes, this is a special , uncommon collection and it is a grand way to conclude our woven wrap releases for 2016.

Electric Violet SMP Quad
Gentian violet (dark purple) and optic white
35% silk, 40% linen, 15% cotton, 10% ethically sourced lambswool from Yorkshire-based spinners
Original double weave structure
Malleable, floppy and super-sturdy
Suitable for babywearers of all levels of experience
Loomstate
6 XL, 6 XXL
Pricing: XL~ £295
XXL: £305
Electric violet SMP Quad will be live on our website this coming Friday at approx. 18.00 GMT

Lavender Cartostyle Quad:
Purple and optic white
 30% silk, 40% linen, 10% cotton, 20% ethically sourced lambswool
Fuzzy texture, floppy and amazingly grippy
Recommended for experienced babywearers only
Loomstate
4 XL wraps, 2 RS
XL: £295
RS: £245
Lavendar Cartostyle Quad will be live on our website on Sunday 27/11/16 at approx. 18.00 GMT

Bronze opal SMP Quad:
Black and moss green
35% silk, 50% hemp, 10% cotton, 5 % wool
Thick, heavy duty and super-supportive for your chunky babies and toddlers
Recommended for experienced babywearers only
Loomstate
2XXL
Pricing: £305
Bronze Opal Quad will be live on our website on Tuesday, 29/11/16 at approx. 18.00 GMT

Babywearing Modelling by Ayespywraps Alaina and Aiden
Photography by Si Moore, Wales

Being customer centric is a very important aspect of our ethos. We believe that the Joy and Joe experience is beyond simply ordering a sling from our website. We love communicating with our Joy and Joe families  whilst simultaneously nurturing new relationships. We relate with each customer with so much attention because our strength lies in our relationships.

As a family owned company, we recognize the fact that we can't exist as an island of our own. We have always pondered on innovating different ways by which we can inspire our existing and new fans. This was the reason why in 2014-2015, we created the carrymyjoy vlog series, we quickly recognized that that visuals go a long way towards passing across a message compared to the written word.

Late 2015, we decided to take the plunge and plan our first ambassador program, despite having never organised an ambassador program before, we were incredibly inspired by the quality of the babywearers that we now call friends here at Joy and Joe. We also love that the ambassadors have not only started new friendships, they've also made our social media platforms more human. For us, people talking to people is a core ingredient of our social existence. We love the banter, chit-chats and action photos.

Thanks to our 2016 ambassadors, we feel that we are a lot more closer to our customers than ever before. This has now given us the inspiration to further this ambassador program. After a rigorous selection which wasn't easy at all because we loved majority of the applicants, we are pleased to introduce to you the faces of Joy and Joe in 2017.

Our new ambassadors will be stimulating conversations synonymous with the friendly Joy and Joe community vibe both online and offline. We want new babywearers to see our ambassadors, feel a connection  and say I think I'd love to give babywearing a try!

Our 2017 ambassador team is composed of talented babywearers from different professional backgrounds. We have midwives, nurses, writers, models, doctors and babywearing consultants within our ambassador team. So new and existing babywearers won't be short of high quality advice and support when needed.

Yes, buying a sling from the Joy and Joe is lovely and it's a necessary ingredient if we must constantly grow and contribute positively to society . However, we want to be a brand who constantly seeks to do more for our families, we mean our customers.
Our chatter page is undoubtedly  one of the friendliest online babywearing communities around. Are you in doubt? Check our dear new babywearer book and see for yourself!  Well, we believe that this bond has been enhanced by the presence of our ambassadors. We want everyone to feel loved, listened to and valued.

Well, we can go on and on, but hopefully if you didn't understand the significance of our ambassadors, we hope you now get it. Please don't forget to send each of our 2017 ambassadors your best wishes. Consider that each of them have various responsibilities like you and I but have decided to step up to support us, support you and see that the Joy and Joe vision further advances.
​
Without further ado, please join us as we welcome our 2017 ambassadors (outlined in no particular sequence)

​Meet our Christmas exclusive woven just for you! The Cranberry dream
A sequel to our beloved Monochrome dream.

​The Monochrome dream silver and Gold was our first 2016 woven wrap release and now we are concluding 2016 with a beautiful colour twist, The cranberry dream!
Inspired by minimalistic sophistication, the French's breton stripes and Coco Channel's take on these iconic stripes. Woven using high quality, ethically sourced Egyptian cotton and woven in the heart of Lancashire like our other woven wraps.

​This selection of the sturdiest natural yarns and fibres produce a remarkably hard-wearing, but a soft tactile quality, perfect for creating durable slings. It is also a beautiful and practical solution for baby and toddler wearing in tough environments. This weave is similar to our 2014 SMP noir but even softer due to its soft tumble finish so it comes to you ready to wear. Woven with a mix of twill and plain sateen weave, this structural weave mix gives the monochrome dream unique wearing properties for your every day babywearing.

​We designed our cranberry dream to be an all year round design despite its festive theme. So even though you won't find tinsels, hollies or jingle bells within our design, our cranberry dream still exudes festivity. The stunning red weft is nostalgically memorable. From Santa's cozy suit to Rudolph's glowing nose to ribbon-framed wreaths, red is the most visible color of the season. The vibrant shade has strong cultural associations with love, health and power. Winter greenery that sprouts red berries, such as holly, is especially popular at Christmas. Cranberries come into their own around Christmas but are good for much more than accompanying the turkey.

Fitting perfectly into the much loved monochrome trend, this red and black stripy woven wrap is a sleek and stylish way to accentuate your babywearing wardrobe with minimalism and style within this festive season and beyond.

GSM: 352 g/m2
For reviews, please check our review link
Pricing: Shawl (2m): £35 ,
RS/2m/one size : £55  
Extra-Small/Size 2/ 2.6m: £69,
Small/Size 3/3.2m: £75,
Medium /Size 4/ 3.6m: £85
Large/Size 5/4.2m : £95
X-Large/ Size 6/ 4.6m: £105
XXL/Size 7/ 5.2m: £125
XXXL/Size 8/ 5.7m: £135

Please note that size 2, size 3 and Size 8 woven wraps are only available on request. Those are not regular sizes that we stock because our customers rarely request them. However, if you would love to order any of these 3 sizes, please pop over to our website on our release date to do so. These rare sizes won't be around forever because they will only be tailored to order.
Cranberry dream will be listed for sale on our website this coming sunday 20/11/16
Photography by the talented Si Moore Photography based in Wales.
Babywearing modelling coordinated by Joy and Joe ambassador Ayesha 
​
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo da Vinci 

Your ultimate guide to a joyandjoetastic Christmas!
Whether you're looking for gift ideas for yourself or for a friend,
​ we can assure you that there's something for everyone.

Woven wrap snood: Our tubular neck scarf are great for accessorizing your outfit on days that you are not babywearing. They also go with your baby carrier because there are no extra bits of fabric to contend with! Your little one's face wont be covered with your scarf If you make it a snoody winter! We stock different snoods in a selection of your favorite Joy and Joe woven wrap fabrics. Click here to shop for yours

Shawl: Our shawls are also designed using our organic and superb quality woven wrap fabrics.
You can throw your shawls over your outfit on a day out and even enjoy a cosy snuggle on a day in! Click the photo below to get yours!

Postcards: This is the perfect season or sending a good cheer. Why not send your finds and family members a postcard by choosing from our beautiful range of high quality inspirational babywearing postcards. Click here to shop yours. ​Click the photo below to get yours !

Key fob: Our double sided embroidered keyfob are guaranteed to brighten up any bunch of keys! Novelty and executive key fob designed using the popular aviation theme. Great for dads and mums too. Click the photo below to get yours!

Christmas exclusive woven wrap: Festive woven wrap, ring sling, shawls and snoods. A simple and sophisticated festive colorway that will stay relevant all year through. Click the photo below to get yours!

Babywearing themed mugs: If you want to want tea this festive season, why use a boring mug with a regular appearance? Our babywearing themed mug is sure to delight you, your friends and families (even if they do not babywear) Click the photo below to get yours!

Silver monochrome dream

This one of a kind Quad blend prototype scrap was woven to test the quality of our Quads before we started weaving our actual Quads. This large scrap has two colourways and designs on it. The most part is an undyed SMP natty, natty plain weave cloth, bright orange smp and a little kente at the edge. Will you love to win this? The giveaway will be hosted by Laurna of coorie in with love  (one of our current ambassadors). dont forget that to enter this giveaway, you have to be a member of our chatter page. This unhemmed scrap measures 43'' by 31''. We will also cover postage of this prize if you win! Check out more photos of this unique piece below

We've recently re-stocked and added some stock to our website. Clicking each photo below will take you directly to the order page on our website. Enjoy x

Blending textiles yarns together has always been hailed as a creative process where the unique properties of each yarn are combined to create something new, something beautifully different. This was something that I initially dreaded after our very first woolly wrap (the maxi-roses) about 3 years ago, resulted in a woolly wrap that had such a high concentration of wool.

I knew that weaving our woven wraps with cotton was a convenient option so to speak, even though wrap manufacturing isn't as glamorous as it may look from the outside. You spend hours and hours and often sleepless nights planning, strategising and communicating with suppliers etc. I also understood that cotton wraps are very easy care and this is exactly what we want for our customers. However, with my inborn inquisitive, playful nature, I just never stop dreaming and imagining how the mix of different blends will look and feel when wrapped. Like how about us mixing silk plus linen plus merino plus fine Egyptian cotton!

We did this last year with our heritage collection and then this year with the limited edition anniversary slings. Well, I often always stopped those thoughts with these worries, where in the world are we going to be able to source for  exotic yarns from our small Sutton village in St Helens?. These exotic yarns were expensive, actually very expensive and I was skeptical about ordering from suppliers of animal yarns who were unable to trace or explain in details, the processes involved in their yarn production.
Ethical manufacturing is very important to how we work, not just because we are a family centered business with our own children's names behind this brand but because we believe that we have a responsibility to our customers, our worldwide Joy and Joe families,  to uphold the values of ethical British manufacturing.  We hardly ever shout aloud about our ethical ethos because after-all, this should be expected of reputable baby product brands especially when your products is a cradle for comforting and carrying precious little children.
​Our weavers and suppliers are definitely used to my myriads of questions and Mayor with his genius mind and expertise in bio-research is always on hand to assist in breaking down technical bits of information needed to make the right choice when selecting suppliers to work with or yarns with the best eco-sustainability properties.
Well, you will notice that majority of our slings are 100% cotton or a mix of mako and combed cotton. All are sustainably sourced and organic from farm to fabric. 

​For a few months , we have been ruminating  about weaving exclusive wraps for our active admins and ambassadors  as our little way of saying 'thank you' to them for their loyal support and unwavering love for the Joy and Joe brand and community. Let's face it, considering that we are a family owned, small business, if we were to quantify and reward the value of the dedication and time that they commit to their roles in monetary terms, I'm sure that we will need to rob a bank to do so!
Hence, we decided to do something special in our little way. We are growing, who knows, in the future, we might be able to send each of our volunteers a Lamborghini and rolex wrist watches. Can you see, I'm such a dreamer lolz. Well, we are supposed to be talking wraps, so the cost of the yarns was scary but we knew we still had to do this, we didn't want to weave a regular wrap for our admins and ambassadors. We wanted to weave a really spectacular wrap and this marked the birth of our 2016 Quad blends aka artisan collection.
It is often reported by textile experts that blending textiles can significantly improve important properties like their durability and performance. Cotton on its own being a plant yarn can be further reinforced structurally by the addition of yarns like linen , silk etc. Each yarn has its own unique characteristic and blending them together can yield a fabric that combines all the unique properties of each yarn type. 

​Our quad blends are a combination of four different yarns in varying percentages and after weaving, we were immediately reminded of our  powerful Olivia luxe and original weave SMP. It's like a pot of soup, where you add so many ingredients, the result can be AMAZINGLY amazing! So we decided to send our Quads to our Yorkshire based textile experts who then further softened them with steam. You can imagine the reaction of ours two tailors when they handled these Quads. They were like, ''Wowwwww, this feels like an ancient tapestry, really special and so heavy''!! Yes, they are heavy but don't run off! They have so much elasticity from their high silk warp and tumbled finishing.  

​The GSM is approximately 370g/m2 and above but don't let the high GSM figures scare you, the finishing process where the quads were tumbled in steam has added lots of bounce and a stretchiness to the handle to the wearing properties. However, this particular weaving run is not recommended for new or inexperienced wrappers. We have many other wraps on our website that are more suitable for new wrappers.  This artisan collection is going to be a part of our occasional special collections/ releases.

With silk, you get the added advantage of its luxurious kitten belly softness and the hypollergic advantage of its protein structure.
With linen, you get the added advantage of its air permeability
With merino wool, you get the added advantage of its insulating, temperature-regulating, odour-resistant, breathable and elastic qualities
With the added Egyptian cotton, you get the added advantage of its durability  
With the bamboo, you get the advantage of its soft and themo-control ability

So considering that the silk and linen takes a huge percentage (70%) of each quad wrap structure, this Quad is loaded with textile goodness and you get all the added benefits of each yarns creating a completely new blended wrap fabric that wraps in a way you've never experienced before. For example, with one knot, your wrap is already secure, it won't budge one inch when wrapped! The passes  are so obedient that they will stay in place so our Quads are very supportive.
As with anything  special with pros , there are also cons, and the first is that this is a heavy duty wrap and so this is not recommended or suitable for inexperienced wrappers. So this is not for everyone. The silk and linen content is especially high and this comes from the warp so this isn't an easy care wrap, It is a hand wash only wrap. We won't even advise you to even machine wash with the machine's hand washing setting. Hand wash, as in proper traditional hand washing and that is if you must wash your quad anyway. To care for your Quad, simply spot clean if your wrap is a little stained so that you can simply concentrate on the area that needs to be cleaned and if it badly stained , to wash the entire wrap, please ensure that you use the appropriate detergent suitable for silk or silk blends. More details will be added to our wrap care section
This is the perfect wrap for a mum who needs a proper workhorse for a really chunky toddler or even for carrying your big kids (wink wink) You need to experience the floppy hand-woven texture of our Quads to understand what we're talking about here! Did you watch Ambassador Ayesha's video? Its is very enlightening and fun. Go check it out, her live video is on the Joy and Joe chatter page

We are so happy to see some of our slings featured in latest Juno magazine (their babywearing special edition)
We are so impressed with the print quality of the magazine. Have you ordered your own Juno magazine? You will love it, there are so many educational babywearing articles in the magazine