Building up the self worth of a child is at the very centre of what we do here at Dragons & Daisies, in fact, it's why we started! Making likkle peeps feel confident through what they wear and how that garment or accessory makes them feel is important to us. It is why every item is infused with some feel good factor and positive vibes. Some children have a soft toy as their go to for comfort so why not an item of clothing?
Having been brought up in a toxic environment I made it my mission that when I had children I didn’t want to promote the same negative behaviour that I was exposed to. I always had big dreams of becoming an astronaut as a child but was always knocked for having such ‘outlandish’ desires (especially for a girl!).
Anyhow, fast forward to when my two eldest kiddos were a few years old and started voicing their incredible stories in their imaginations at bedtime I thought it would be fun to ask them what they’d like to have on their clothes and what they thought other children their age would like to see......
Things started to get interesting, they came up with crazy ideas of an octopus reading a book, a cat on a skateboard, a turtle breakdancing, an eagle listening to music ….who’d ever have thought these could be translated into fun t-shirts for children? With an added touch of retro graffiti vibes of course, simply because my teenage years were spent in the 90’s and that’s where I naturally gravitate to.
Some of our initial sketches - recognise any?
So, it’s with these 'out there' visions from a 4 and 5 year old that the foundation of our tees was born. Yes, it was important to have cool prints but also slogans and words that raise confidence and bring a feel good factor to children when wearing them.
My eldest son who’s now 7 suffers with anxiety and can find it really hard in social situations where he may have to talk to someone new or try a new activity or visit a new place. He always asks who’ll be there, what exactly we’ll be doing once we arrive at said place and how long we’ll be there for. Once we get going he’s absolutely fine but it’s that fear of the unknown I guess that keeps his nerves on high.
My son sporting one of his fave slogans in a metallic gold print
Everyone has their coping mechanism and for my son it’s either one of his plush sea creature toys OR one of his fave t-shirts; Daring Spirit OR OctoBoy. He always wears them especially when he feels a little low or anxious and wearing his fave tee makes him feel somewhat better and less nervous. In his words, he says ‘I feel better when I wear my Daring Spirit t-shirt because it makes me feel like I can do anything and I’m not scared’.
Knowing that the simple act of wearing a t-shirt can offer comfort lets me know I’m doing the right thing. I have also had feedback from customers since launching of their children sleeping in their t-shirts as it makes them feel good. An absolute triumph in my eyes! Our t-shirt range continues to expand and we have added another 3 new prints; 2 of which are in the category of music for likkle peeps who find solace in music, I mean who doesn’t right?
Our newest prints for 2019
Peace out,