Little Ida

A doll bed she'll want to sleep in herself

Convincing my 12 year old daughter to play with her 3 year old brother, taking precious time away from texting her friends isn’t easy. Okay, I’m kidding (sort of). She does spend a lot of time on art projects, an activity I encourage. When they engage in free play together, their imaginations are boundless, and that magic thing called bonding is in full force as stories are made up on the fly.

They are both equally attracted to this adorable doll bed by Javis Davis. He is more hands on with it, arranging and rearranging the multiple pieces around his stuffed animals. She enjoys standing by as he plays, and has even tucked a doll or two in.

Javis Davis is a small woman run business, that has been producing gorgeous quality bedding for over 10 years. Mary Lou Cothran designs and oversees production in her Alabama location, and has been doing so from the beginning. A rare gem in the industry, Mary Lou pairs her bedding set designs with a team of sewers who live up to her decadent pieces with production quality and attention to detail that makes them worthy of becoming true heirlooms.

The doll bed is a miniature version of the baby and child sized bedding Javis Davis produces. Each set includes a washable foam mattress, fitted sheet, bed skirt, mattress pad, two blankets, and three pillows. It is available in many different fabric combinations, suitable for girls and boys, and two sizes for dolls up to 13,” or 18” in length. This would make an incredible holiday gift, and can even be matched up with kid size bedding in identical fabrics, if you want to be really extravagant.

Special offer: Post a comment including your favorite Javis Davis fabrics, and be eligible to win a $25 Javis Davis gift certificate!

Take a look at the Javis Davis custom doll beds and bedding here.

Corporate Monster wants to swallow Micro Brew beer brand

As a supporter of small business, and micro business owner myself, I feel it's crucial to post about this: 
 
Rock Art Brewery, a micro beer brewer in Vermont is facing a huge and very unfair problem. The maker of Monster Energy Drink (a 1 billion dollar company) doesn't like the fact that Rock Art brews a beer called 'Vermonster.' The company has asked Rock Art to immediately cease and desist using the name, marketing materials etc.
 
Rock Art began as a one man operation out of the owner's basement. The business now has seven employees and is growing rapidly. The owner created this Vermonster beer to celebrate their 10th anniversary. His trademark lawyer has advised him that there is absolutely no infringement, however the energy drink company can fight this in the courts anyway, and can appeal numerous times. Each court case will cost Rock Art $65,000, and they can not afford to battle this 1 billion dollar company.
 
The ironic thing is that the name 'Vermonster' is commonly used for Vermont products (ie dishes in restaurants, sandwiches, pizza etc.). How sad that some mega-corporation feels they have the right to take that name away from a Vermont company.
 
Please watch this short video and spread the word.