Try a baby sling in Glasgow

A few baby wearing parents will be meeting in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday, October 8th to try each other slings, get a more comfortable fit with their baby carrier.

The location still needs to be determined, probably somewhere close to Central Station to make it easier for people coming from out of town.

If you're in the area and you would like to join us, please don't hesitate to contact us or visit Sling Meet. The more the merrier!

Calin Bleu talks baby wearing on BBC Scotland radio

Today, Calin Bleu was invited to talk about home-based business on BBC Scotland radio.

It was a nerve-wracking and interesting opportunity to talk about baby wearing to a large audience. Wrapping a sling while wearing headphones with the cable attached to the desk was quite tricky! Click here to listen
MacAulay and Co Thursday 21st

How to wear a wrap sling?

We've been talking about them for weeks, the new instruction booklets have arrived. 20 pages of photos and explanations to help you wear your baby in a wraparound sling.

In line with our aim to minimise our impact on the environment, we have chosen recycled paper. The mill is accredited with the International Standard ISO9002 (quality management system) and ISO14001 (environmental management system). More information.

The new booklets are sent with every new wraparound sling.
Existing customers will be able to view the instructions on-line in the next few days.
As usual, if you have any questions, just get in touch with us.

New... the doll carrying pouches made exclusively for Calin Bleu

Children love copying what mummy and daddy do. Carrying their doll or their favourite teddy around can be so much fun. It can be a good way to help them accept the arrival of a little brother or sister.

We are pleased to introduce these new doll pouches, made exclusively for Calin Bleu by Brightsparkslings. They are easily to put on and one size fits all.

The pouches are made of soft fleece and come in two designs: ludo on a black or pink background.

Get your Calin Bleu cards!

They're back...

We normally send out a few Calin Bleu business cards with your sling so that you can keep them in your wallet. People always want to know where you get your wrap from.

The new stock of business cards will be arriving soon. So if you've ran out of cards or you didn't receive them with your wrap (they've been out of stock for a little while)

You can order them here, they are free!

Have you read the paper today?

Calin Bleu is featured today in the Scotsman to illustrate today's story:

Mums who turn their kitchens into boardrooms and set up businesses from home have become a powerful force within Britain PLC, with a combined turnover of £4.4 billion according to a new study of working mothers, released today by Yellow Pages. Read the whole study.

Calin Bleu is no longer running from our dining room table but it's definitely where it all started.

To read more about it, take a look at today's edition of the Scotsman!

Thank you Veronika, who sent us a photo of herself carrying her baby in a Calin Bleu sling in Denmark.

Want to try a sling in Aberdeen?

There are several mums in the Aberdeen (Scotland) area planning to meet up sometimes in October/November to share their baby wearing experience, try each other slings, learn new ways to carry their children, build the confidence to carry their children on their backs.

Whether you're an experience baby wearer or have never tried a sling, whether you are pregnant or have lots of children to carry, come and join them, try a sling in Aberdeen.

Get in touch with us if you're interested in joining them.

Envelopes and packaging questions

It's not the just the wraps that keep us busy! When you received your wrap, you probably tore the envelope open, thew the bag away to try on your new sling as quickly as possible. And indeed, the Calin Bleu packaging is ultra simple. Do you know what's behind it?

As soon as they are sewn and quality checked, we pack the Calin Bleu wrap in a plastic cover to protect them from dust, stains, anything that would stop them coming to you in pristine condition. We have chosen polypropylene bags, they are slightly more expensive than normal polythene bags but a bit less polluting. When it comes to protecting the environment, every little step counts.

That left us with the grey mailing sack we use to send the sling to you. Nothing beats it when it comes to protect your wrap in transit but they are made of polythene. We have spent the last few weeks trying to identify a source of recycled polythene mailing sacks. It is estimated that 1.8 tonnes of oil are saved for every tonne of recycled polythene produced.
So far, what we've found is too expensive but we keep searching. And we'll keep you posted!

New wraparound sling instructions

As you probably know by now, we've been working on some new instructions showing how to wear the wraparound slings.
We would love to hear what you think of them.

This is the draft version of the navigation page and this is the template for the first explanation page.
Don't hesitate to email us your feedback. Does it load fast enough? Are pictures clear enough? Is the text not too small? Let us know

New products we're working on

The micro fleece wraparound slings are starting to come in, they are lovely. Keep an eye on the website, we should be able to start selling them from the 18th... more to come!
You've seen the Black with Ludo Spot but now look at this one: a red with a pink Ludo Spot, it's yummy, just flashy enough to make you noticed.

We also have some solid colour panels, just as cool looking!

And to match the Ludo panels, we've partnered with Laura at Brightspark Slings, she is preparing for us some lovely doll sling. The fleece is on its way, we can't wait to see them in action!

We are also working on some new greeting cards. Calin Bleu commissioned Sue Cook of Picture Dreams and winner of the International Competition for Artists to paint tree paitings of baby wearing mums. Keep an eye out for them, you can use them as greeting or christmas cards.

Some Sling Meet news

It's not strictly speaking Calin Bleu but it's also one of our other projects: Sling Meet, the website where UK and Irish parents can find other baby wearing parents in their area.

We are pleased to welcome the first UK NINO group in Leicester. Leicester parents will be meeting once a month, starting Sept 28th. If you live in the area, don't miss this opportunity to meet up with them. More news to come soon

We have a new sponsor, Didymos.

And London had a HUGE meeting with about 30 parents meeting up to try on each other slings and carriers. It must have been so much fun! The photos are just coming in as we type.

New photos in the sling photo gallery

Over the summer, we have received some lovely photos from our customers and their babies with their slings in action. So... here they are:
http://www.calinbleu.com/gallery.php

There will be a few more added in the next few days.

Do you have a nice photo of your sling? Remember to email it to us and you will receive a 10% voucher if it's used.