Kids, Please
The Age
Friday April 29, 2005
Ann Pilmer discovers a shop where pre-schoolers are more than welcomed.
MELISSA Chen is rare among retailers. She welcomes children into her newly opened Prahran store, mill&mia. In fact, the interior designer and her husband, Simon Waters, have developed a total shopping concept especially for under sixes.Instead of corralling them into a toy corner, they are encouraged to spread out while mum shops for their clothes, accessories, bedding, lotions and nursery furniture.They can crawl through a cubby tunnel under the counter, or climb on a three metre long oak bench in front of a mirrored wall."We've designed the interior with cubes like blocks for hanging and storage," says Chen, who is mother to her own mini-shoppers, Mia, two, and Jake, one. "As a mum, I know how hard it is to shop with kids, and I want them to enjoy the experience."Chen and Waters use natural, hand-printed textiles designed by Alison Landy, the London-based daughter of Governor John Landy and his wife Lynne, and wholesale the childrens' clothes, bedding and accessories in Australia and New Zealand. Velvet coats, cashmere scarves and fine wool knitwear are simply styled, with close attention to detail, and are dressier than the streetwear look of most children wear. The skincare includes nappy balm, bath wash and a moisturiser with cehami, a healing plant extract used by ancient Aboriginal tribes.The shop also has exclusive ranges of toys including Edenstar and Deakin Toys.mill&mia, 582 Malvern Road, Prahran, Tel: 9815 2060.
© 2005 The Age