May Gibbs – The Interiors Addict

The May Gibbs x Kip & Co collection is back for one final run!

Following on from the huge success of 2016’s May Gibbs X Kip & Co collection, the range’s best sellers are back for one final recut this month and we are rather excited! And with the first drop selling out in under a week, you’d best be keyboard-ready when this nostalgic line launches today.

“We were so thrilled at the response to our May Gibbs collection, which was huge! The range was so well received a year ago and we continually get people asking about it so we decided to do another release. We had a good feeling that the Kip girl would love it. We had mentioned it to a bunch of girlfriends and all of them were excited about it. There’s obviously immense childhood nostalgia associated with May’s illustrations and stories and people want to share that now with their children,” says Kip & Co’s Hayley Pannekoecke.

Initially created to celebrate the centenary of Australia’s beloved Gumnut Babies and Snugglepot & Cuddlepie, fans who missed out last time will be able to get their hands on kids’ and baby bedding, blankets, swaddles, cushions and play mats one final time. “The biggest sellouts last time were all the styles in the Wattle Babies print. It’s fresh and whimsical and we hope we have made enough this time so that nobody misses out. It sold out in under a week last time and this will be a second and final recut,” says Hayley.

Other top sellers included the quilted bedspreads, and they will also make a comeback. “The beautiful quilted bedspreads are a keepsake and were the second biggest seller last time. There is so much to explore in the big montages of May’s works,” says Hayley who notes the pea cushions (especially the Koala print) flew off the shelves too.

Aside from the homewares offering, the limited-edition reprise also includes a couple of gorgeous new pieces including kids’ sweaters and track pants. “It’s a brand new offering for us at Kip & Co and we think it’s something that the Kip gal will be super excited about. They are so cute! We have created a new design called Blossom Babies for the sweater collection which is super feminine and a favourite of mine,” says Hayley of the blue and pink sweater that is at the top of my want-list too.

Run, don’t walk!

Nostalgia alert! The May Gibbs x Kip & Co collection is beyond

A child of the 1980’s, I just about choked on my turmeric latte when I heard about the new Kip&Co collaboration with May Gibbs. As iconically Australian as Vegemite, May Gibbs’ characters are etched in my memory making this collection a wonderful, nostalgic treat that was created to mark the 100-year birthday of Snugglepot and Cuddle Pie. Kip & Co have called it their “hand on heart, proudest collaboration yet” and I can see why – the stylish collection could so easily have ventured into cheesy territory but it’s anything but.

“Our May Gibbs x Kip & Co collaboration has been bubbling away since the beginning of the year when we were approached with the opportunity to license some of May Gibbs’ images in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the gum nut babies. May Gibbs was really big in the 1980s when Kate, Hayley and I were kids, so there was an enormous amount of nostalgia about the whole thing. We were swapping memories of Banksia Man and Rugged Blossom,” says Kip & Co’s Alex van der Sluys.

The collection includes kids and baby bedding, blankets, swaddles, cushions, playmats, sleepwear and Santa sacks. “There are limited numbers of each item as we wanted this to be something very special that you could pass down to your kids’ kids. I think the Santa sack is my favourite – it’s really beautiful and something you’d keep for decades,” says Alex.

“I read once that these were Australia’s first non-indigenous fairy tales which is a super nice idea. Like all good fairy tales, they are passed down from one generation to the next and have just become part of Australia’s DNA!” says Alex.

May Gibbs is something of a hero for the Kip & Co ladies too. “She is a seriously inspiring and impressive lady boss. Against all odds, May found a way to tell a story of conservation and environmentalism, defied expectations and became an unconventional, savvy businesswomen, and created our first, local non-indigenous fairy tales. We think she is one of the great untold female artists who shaped the Australian artistic and children’s literature landscape,” says Alex.

Wonderfully, before her passing, May bequeathed the copyright for her designs to two charities – the Northcott Disability Services and the Cerebal Palsy Alliance. “She ensured those in need will continue to benefit from her entrepreneurialism long after her passing. Hats off to May, right!?” says Alex.

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