wear | $40 Mabo Children's Clothing GIVEAWAY

I fell in love with children's clothing line mabo via my stylish friend Amanda, who held a trunk show at her home. The clothes are so beautifully made but look amazingly comfortable and wearable in natural cotton and linen fabrics.

I think I need this swimsuit and these bloomers for Caroline and this adorable romper for Henry. And this floral set is now my go-to baby shower gifts.

After buying a gorgeously simple linen dress and super soft lounge pants, I had to find out more about the mom who started the line from home. Creator and designer Emily McMaster agreed to answer a few questions and give a $40 gift certificate to her online store!!

How did mabo start?

I worked in film until my first daughter, Ruby, was one, and never thought I'd do anything else - I have a masters in cinema studies and thought I'd always do film or academia. But when Ruby was born, it was just too much and I quit to be with her more. I've never been into fashion, but have always loved to sew and knit and found myself becoming obsessed with making clothing for her. When I started spending money on babysitters so I could get extra time to design kids' clothes, I decided it might be time to go for it and start a line.

What inspired your spring/summer collection?

In terms of inspiration for the spring line (and in general, I suppose), my mom saved a lot of my special childhood clothing (much of it handmade) in a cedar chest. We'd periodically go through it and talk about how old I was and what was happening when I wore certain items - many of which my kids are now wearing!

So I think I had a sentimentality in dressing my girls that has inspired my line. Clothing that is special and timeless enough to be worth saving for my kids' kids to wear, but not so fussy or precious that it can't be worn to everyday activities. My girls are very into the girly-girl thing right now, which I'm not a huge fan of, so the spring line is also inspired by my desire to create simple but feminine dresses and items that both of us could be happy with. 

I also liked the idea of incorporating some simple gender-neutral items since I often end up shopping in the boys section for my girls basics and I know a lot of moms to boys that complain about not having as much fun dressing their boys.

You can't wait for your kids to wear: Swimsuits and sandals!! Right now we're all just desperate to get outside and basically wear nothing. 

Last kid clothing item you purchased: A nightgown for my daughter, which ended up being the quest of my life! She wanted one desperately after years of pj's, but I found it so hard to find an affordable classic one that wasn't made of polyester. I'm more excited about the next item I'm going to buy - this cherry dress from bobo choses!

Describe your mom style: My mom style is basically nonexistent at the moment! Ponytail, jeans, a sweater and my ratty bensimons every day. I'm lucky to fit a shower in, so often I wonder why I'm spending so much time thinking about how to dress kids and so little on myself!

Thank you Emily! Now you have a chance to win a $40 gift certificate to the mabo online store!

MANDATORY ENTRY

Please visit mabo and tell me which item in the spring/summer collection is your favorite 

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

1. Sign up for the mabo email newsletter

2. Follow henry happened via RSS or Google Friend Connect

3. "Like" henry happened on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

4. Tweet, blog or Facebook about this giveaway

* Contest will be open until Midnight EST on Thursday, May 12. Contest winner must have a US or Canadian mailing address.

* The winner will be randomly selected from random.org and announced on Friday, May 13. Please check back to see if you won, or leave your email address with comment.