I am Toni, mum of Dominic and Kaira, normally referred to as 'The Sprogs'. I am also the wife of Simon, my exasperated husband who is forever wading through my piles of fabric, and snipped threads while sidestepping the pins that have, deliberately, found their way in his path, muttering that I still have never made anything for him!

The conception of Funky Sprogs started in New Zealand and has journeyed with us to the other side of the world. There is a huge sewing culture in New Zealand and very limited choice of children's clothing stores, the two go together very well! The environment and culture of New Zealand is awe inspiring and I have used elements that were part of my everyday life there in some of my designs.

Everything is sewn personally by me and I take great pride in my sewing (which I will add has on occasion lead to some irritation on my and therefore my husbands part!). I adore poring through fabric designs and I'm always excited by new designers who bring a fresh and new perspective to fabrics.

I have to give thanks to my mother in law, who drew my first pattern for me on a piece of newspaper and said 'there's your hem allowance, off you go', my passion for sewing has known no bounds since.

MY STORY

I spent my early career working on cruise ships and I have been incredibly fortunate to travel the world. I loved the amazing variations of fashion and the fabric designs from all cultures, the inspiration from which is reflected in my choice of fabrics and designs.

Then I met Simon, and all the thoughts of furthering my career at sea, definitely no children and living my carefree life went out the porthole, so to speak, and we both left ships to live a life on land, get married and have sprogs!

Our travelling didn't stop there though and we emigrated to New Zealand taking our very fidgety but gorgeous 1 year old son and settling in Ngaio, Wellington. Wonderful lifestyle, fantastic people, beautiful scenery, and the best coffee! Our beautiful baby girl (who I hasten to add is now three but will always be my baby girl!) was born there and we embraced kiwi life. Then the opportunity came up to return to the UK and we suddenly realised how much we missed the family we had left behind.

Now we are back in Southampton, and thoroughly appreciating all the UK has to offer, the coffee isn't as good but then we brought back our beautiful machine. So now I am able to sit in my beautiful garden drinking fabulous coffee...obviously this isn't quite as idyllic during the British winter!

WHY SHOP WITH ME
 
…because you're looking for something different
....you want to know where your children's clothes come from?
Which equals individuality and knowledge....something you definitely don't get from a chain store!

HOW IT WORKS
 
Browse at your leisure, be inquisitive and read my blog. Fall in love with a dress, a t-shirt or some booties. Add them to your cart and click checkout, ensure you have a PayPal account or you'll be like a child staring through a sweetshop window and unable to buy the delicious items inside!