Moo Like a Monkey

Build,
balance,
wobble,
knock over,
start again,
stay hydrated.

When your new Bunny got your text and turned up in a matching outfit. 🐰💚🤩

That's us. That's us in our shop. hands in pockets because we are very relaxed and not awkward at all. My interests include buying nice things for the shop, my dislikes are paying electricity bills. Nav likes keeping things neat and tidy. I wish I'd checked my hair before this photo was taken.

I remember when my eldest was a toddler and there was a similar set to this at a Toddler group. I was so pleased I'd be able to have a rest and feed my youngest and stare into the middle distance whilst she was entertained for a few minutes .

I'm sure I did that for a while, but I then spent more than an hour watching her become completely motivated and absorbed in building a wall/tower/castle/who knows what it was. I sat back and observed her play independently in a way I hadn't seen before, I could see her confidence building as the structure grew, I watched her concentrate and create and feel proud. And it was good. And this set reminds me of that. If I was able to, I would have loved to have this set in my house to recreate that afternoon again and again

Beautiful smooth solid beechwood nesting shape MEGA set in a natural finish to show the grain of the wood. This open-ended set will provide endless possibilities for creativity, construction and imaginative play. Use innovation and creativity to build; use the imagination to design and create; apply mathematical logic to sort and discover shape properties; improve language skills with collaboration and hand-eye coordination along the way.

One of my favourite pieces from our nursery décor collection is this Floor Cushion, made from soft cotton fabric this unique and beautiful floor cushion will easily create a cosy reading nook or chill out area for your little one's room. It's the sumptuous size and vintage style that I love. Inviting and gorgeous. I want one .

With a larger size than the average round floor pillow provides a gentle and secure space for them to play, read books, or chill out, zone out or nap!

It is made from high-quality cotton fabric that meets the OEKO-TEX standard so no allergens or insensitive materials to worry about. So stylish and simple. Just stick a massive comfy floor cushion in a room and everyone's happy!

Look at these TeePees and floor cushions - where comfort and fabulousness meets sustainability!

These handcrafted eco-friendly teepees and floor cushions are made from natural materials, from the wood to the fabric to the pom poms, perfect for your little ones and kind to our planet

All crafted using OEKO-TEX and GOTS certified materials and natural wood. The play tents are designed to inspire imagination whilst providing a safe, sustainable, and stylish space for your kids to dream and play in. Perfect for any bedroom/living room/playroom/ kitchen!

Explore the full collection on our website.

Made from smooth birch plywood, this 3-tiered treehouse provides a beautiful alternative to a dolls house. Developing creativity and using their imagination, engaging fine motor skills, logic and reasoning, it can encourages descriptive language skills, support collaborative play and inspire discussion about nature and the environment.

Assembly guide and fixing screws are provided, although the treehouse can be assembled without screws - providing an interactive building and deconstructing element to play.

You can see the wood grain beneath the paint, and the little bird in the nest is, well it's ridiculous. I absolutely love everything about this Tree House.

Wooden Treasure sets!!

You can now choose from 4 different sets. from 84 to 420 piece sets. two of the sets come with a sorting tray included.

These generous sets of beautiful smooth wooden shapes inspired by nature and discovery. The treasures will stimulate the imagination, engage logic, discover creative ability, develop coordination and enhance fine motor skills. Use to create pictures and stories, practise counting and sorting, design patterns and sequences.

The sturdy beechwood trays are divided into sections which can be used for sorting and display. The tray can be used flat for desk or floor play, or upright for display against a wall or window. Ideal for sorting the Wooden Treasures by colour or shape.

The complete set is designed to stimulate imaginative play, engage logic and maths skills, discover creative ability, develop coordination, enhance fine motor skills. Use to create pictures and stories, practise counting and sorting, design patterns and sequences.

Open ended play, all day.

We have a new range of Wooden Activity Wall toys are designed to include a range of manipulative activities to encourage hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, including interlocking gears, spinning weather wheels, shape matching, xylophones and mirrors, and a wire bead mazes and tons more to absorb them for enough time to make a cup of tea.

Great for individual or collaborative play, a range of hands-on learning opportunities including problem solving, exploring shape, space and reasoning.

We have have hugely expanded our range of specialist Educational toys. It's quite honestly the collection of toys I've always dreamed of having in the shop but it hasn't been possible, until now.

The focus of the range is to inspire learning and make teaching more enjoyable, which is why this particular range have been so popular in schools and nurseries around the world for years.

We love that we can now bring this amazing range to parents, caregivers, home schoolers and childminders too. These products you will find on our website highlight the very best in fun, stimulating, high quality educational toys for children.

Have a browse on our site, there are tons of new items to explore...

Gig Time is on this Wednesday morning in our Folkestone shop! Link to book your spot is in our stories. It's a free event. it's nice, it books up quickly.

For more info about what Gig time is check out our Highlights, there is a reel in there that explains it.

Thanks for the photo @

Going abroad this Summer? Do not forget your PASSPORT Activity Book.

You'll need some entertainment while your grown ups are finding the check in desk and wondering if they even booked the flights for the right day. It's packed full of things to do while they are having their tweezers are confiscated

Learn to day 'hello' the language you'll need over the next days. Learn to draw a plane. Tick off the countries you've been to. Circle the ones you want to go to. Do coin rubbings of the new currency you'll be using.

Fill in your information and if the immigration officer seems friendly, show them your self portrait to buy extra cute points, There is even a page where the passport control can stamp your passport activity book, ask them to stamp it your feeling brave.

This will buy time for your grown ups who are might be arguing about who left what in the glove box/ kitchen/ garden/ petrol station/ their other trousers.

When you are boarding the plane, show your passport to the in-flight team, this could score you an extra juice carton purely for being cute.

During your flight, learn about which clouds you'll spot from the plane. Let the grown ups sleep, they'll need to recharge for the parenting athletics that the next few days will bring.

And finally, your soft toy companion is your responsibility, fill out their information for them. Your passport activity book contains their mini passport too.

So, do not forget your PASSPORT activity book.



🌎

♻️MOOCYCLE UPDATE ♻️

I bought these Crocs from Facebook Market Place. They had already been used by two siblings. My eldest wore them, then my second child. They've been in the washing machine many times. 

I love that Croc wellies can go in the washing machine. Also, they have little handles so the kids can independently pull them on themselves. 

This pair has so much life left in them, so many more kids to belong to.

We have added Crocs to the MooCycle approved brands list.

We will buy your pre loved Crocs for £4 store credit. All Crocs will be resold for £6 in our MooCycle room in Canterbury.

So cash in or pick up a bargain. Read more about MooCycle in our highligthts or on our website. 

Have a nice day.♻️💃

Why do we sometimes call a child a "pickle"? Is it because they looked like a pickle on an early scan? Or maybe because they often find themselves in a pickle?

Since the 16th century, "pickle" has been an endearing term for a child who is impish, mischievous, and endlessly cute.

Yes, I might have Googled it a bit before writing this post. Maybe I'm procrastinating. All I really needed to say is that our best-selling shop favourite is back in stock!

Little Pickle sweatshirts for ages 6 months to 4 years and Pickle jumpers for ages 4 years to 10 years are available again.

🎉 Happy First Birthday, Helen! 🎉

Helen is one today (in Moo Years) 

 
Helen is one of those people who brings joyful energy into any room. A smart, funny woman with a strength for life even Helen herself doesn't realise she holds.

Having an inspirational person like Helen in your life is highly recommended.

Helen had been a Moo customer for years, so when she joined the team last year, she already had a great understanding of all the products. She literally has one of everything we sell in her house already—tried, tested, and loved!

Laura, after working with Helen during a shift, said to me, "Spending time with Helen is like a masterclass in human connection." It's a perfect way to sum Helen up: an authentic, genuine, beautiful person who can connect with anyone, from babies to great great grandparents and everyone in between.

You are a gem, Helen. Thank you.

Helen is also a trained nurse, lives in India for months at a time, and runs her own shop business too! Check out her amazing work

🌟 Did You Know Both Our Shops Have Space to Play? 🌟

When my kids were young, I missed the joy of browsing shops. Shopping became stressful with kids in tow, so I stopped going altogether. When I opened this shop, making it stress-free and welcoming for young kids was a top priority.

Both of our shops feature a small but perfectly formed play area, designed with you and the little ones in mind.

🫠Need a 5-Minute Break? Take a moment to rest as you stroll through town. Let your kids enjoy some playtime while you reset and complete a whole thought. We never pressure anyone to buy things; we love having kids in and enjoying the shop.

🎁 Gift Inspiration: Watch your children play and see which toys they’re drawn to. It’s a perfect way to find gift ideas. Just ask, and we can always take display toys from the shelves and put them in the play area for a joyous little trial.

🛍️ Stress-Free Shopping: Kids are always welcome in our shops! We understand that children can be tempted by all the nice, colorful things. Here, they can play to their hearts' content while you browse peacefully. As parents ourselves, we know how stressful shopping with kids can be.

We always want to create a shopping experience where both you and your kids feel right at home! 🏠💕

☕ 🍵🍰🍥🥐

📢 RE STOCK 💃

A restock of this wooden Cafe toy set that has been a beloved shop staple for years, adored by kids and adults alike.

Perfect for playing house or shop, it's the ideal way to train up your little barista, business owner, or pastry chef! 🥪🍪

Endless Fun: With everything they need, including coffee, tea, sandwiches, and cookies, your child can push buttons, turn k***s, and place a coffee pod to serve a fresh cup of coffee. My two were 3 and 5 years old when they first started playing with this set for hours. They are now 7 and 9 and it's always the first toy they go to when they play together in the shop.

Inspires Creativity: Toddlers love to mimic adults. This set inspires their creativity and helps develop social skills and role play, providing hours of fun and learning.

Perfect for Everyone: Whether on the customer side or playing the barista, this wooden cafe set is perfect for fostering imagination and interaction.

☕ 🍵🍰🍥🥐

Running a business is odd. One minute I'm wondering why our Folkestone sales are massively down from last year and trying to work out what do about it, and why our Canterbury shop costs more than it makes. The next minute I have this lovely email pop into my inbox about being awarded the best toy shop in Canterbury from the Quality Business awards.

To qualify for a Quality Business Award business must have outstanding customer reviews and reputation from 3 different platforms, conduct their day to day efforts with the highest integrity and have show a continuous trend of giving back to their local community and reducing their carbon footprint.

Only 1% of registered businesses in the UK qualify for one of these awards so I am hugely proud and grateful for what the team have achieved in less than a year.

I'm grateful for the customers who appreciate what we do. One day it'll all come together, and I'll feel like it's working as it should. But right now, emails like this seem strange. I'm not being negative at all, I'm thrilled, but I am being honest.


Right…. back to trying to figure out why the business isn't working as it should and how we can pay our bills..💃

The sun is out, the recession is on its way out, no one cried about putting on their shoes or brushing their hair this morning. I've decided to replace dairy milk with oat milk in my Tea so I can become a superior person. Everything seems to be going quite well.

Canterbury and Folkestone shops are both open everyday, no changes there, we are always open.

Our website is looking brilliant. We keep adding things and forgetting to tell you about it. Must catch up with actual work and do some proper social media posting about all the new things. It's on the list.

Have a nice day. Remember to take the washing out of the machine.

Overheard someone saying this whilst looking at these new dolls last week, I couldn't have put it better myself:

"But oh - But look. Look at these! Cute. Too cute Just too cute. Actually too cute. Gosh. Love these. How cute are they? Omg. I want one for me. Shall we have a baby?"

I hope you've all had a great Easter 'Break' does anyone else feel they've had a break?

Swipe to see some things we've learned during our 'Break' this week.

Exciting things are happening at our Canterbury shop. A mural by is going to lead people up to our Moocycle room.

A room full of affordable pre loved clothes we have bought back from our customers. A fully circular cycle of Moo. Moocycle.

Some of you have been selling back your past purchases to us and we are almost ready to launch. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know when our Preloved room opens.

Keep the preloved coming we still need more, bring them in and exchange for store credit. We want to be drowning in heaps of clothes to keep up with what we think might be a mega demand for really nice low priced Preloved lovelies.

We’ve been a bit quiet on Instagram recently but please do not worry. Look, here I am enjoying Mother’s day.

Everything is fine. We are fine, things are fine. As you can see. We are definitely fine.

Running a retail business can be tricky but it’s all fine.

We are busy behaving in a consistent manner with regulated emotions as we approach all areas of our life and business rationally.

Donna Wilson designs are so beautiful they are quite frankly out of our price range. It's a brand I long to stock but we can't stretch to it just yet. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Renowned for her distinctive use of colour and pattern, infused with her playful sense of humour, everything is made using natural fibres and materials such as locally sourced lambs wool,

Why am I waxing lyrical about a brand I can't afford to stock?

Because luckily for us, to reduce waste, they have developed a genius product. I'm thrilled we are able to stock their new Make Your Own Kits. Designed to give a new life to all the little knitted offcuts from their beautiful makes. they even mulch up all the smaller scraps to make recycled lambswool stuffing.

Each kit contains a pre-stitched lambswool shape, wool stuffing, felt bits and bobs, and step-by-step instructions to make your very own soft toy. The kits are aimed at encouraging creativity so there are no rules – let your imagination run wild!

This is an absolutely beautiful gift for all the reasons you could think of.

Alice from is putting on a gorgeous block printing bunting workshop in our Canterbury shop on the 13th of Feb (half term Tuesday) .​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We are so excited about this, we've actually wanted to do this for years!

Your little ones will be printing bunting that can be kept forever for you to decorate your bedrooms, homes, parties and camps with.

Alice will be running hourly block printing workshops.
The 3 time slots are 11.30-12.30 , 12.30-1.30 and 1.30-2.30, in the upstairs community room in our Canterbury shop. 6 people will be able to print at a time (1 hours time slot per booking ).

To secure a timeslot please head to the event calendar on our website, there's a link to book through Om Baby directly.

(We gave our email subscribers a heads up when the tickets first went on sale. Sign up to our newsletter if you'd like to hear about things first. )

You may already know this but it’s February now, which is great.

Here is an image of an orangutang and a monster/chicken nugget (?) Sitting on a wicker bed. Which is also great.

Our Sale is Live !!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We need clear the space and make way for a 2024 full of new things, fresh collections, mega brands, awesome discoveries and a Pre-Loved launch extravaganza!

We have over 100 items in the sale with some quite juicy bargains. it's the biggest sale we've done so far..👀

Our email subscribers do get early access to the sale, but there's still tons left. Sign up to our newsletter to get first dibs for next time.

Curation isn't about pretty things that match and make a shop look nice. It's strategic, it takes practice, it's about being on top of emerging trends, and constantly analysing and changing market and what customers want. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​When you begin to trust a shop, your values align and you appreciate the care that goes into each product selection your shopping experience is more fulfilling and enjoyable.

It reduces decision fatigue, your time and energy, it is so much more efficient. We are overwhelmed with choice and information in our every day lives. let's not lose the joy in searching for the perfect gift.

It's our main buying season over the next few months. It's my absolute favourite time. Going into the season with more experience each year feels great. We'll let you know how it goes..!

In 2023 everything changed for us. Not because we decided to expand way beyond our capacity without fully thinking it through and navigating some huge challenges, the true game-changer has been assembling this remarkable team.

Laura, Helen, Trudy, Ginger, Jameela, Freya, Grace (not pictured- I'll get you on this feed Grace, you can't hide!)

Their care, enthusiasm, unwavering dedication, and belief in our vision ensure a solid future for our shop. Without being too sentimental, our love for our little Moo family is big.

Each of them brings a unique blend of innovation, skills, flair, and ideas. While Nav and I goof around on Instagram, these lovely people are shy ( I'm working on it though...) You don't see how they work tirelessly behind the scenes. The real magic happens when steam rises from our WhatsApp as we frantically work together to keep Moo going as well as we can.

This year brought some challenges, but being part of this team fuels our excitement for the possibilities of the coming year. We've worked hard, laughed hard, and Nav and I are sincerely grateful for each one of you.

Thank you Team Moo, we actually really like you and are so glad to have you all.🌟"

We love the lovely Simeon The Yoga Man and are so pleased he'll have a permanent class in Folkestone. Look out for his kids yoga classes at F51 next year!

Still looking for last minute Xmas presents ?

Check out my lovely friends at Moo Like a Monkey they've got a fantastic range of childrens clothes, games, toys and books available.

Find them on the old high street in Folkestone or on Palace Street in Canterbury. ☺️