And we thank you so much. Watch our little video here 🙂
Author Archive | Anna Teisen
Auntie Ida’s Traditional Hyldebærsaft
It’s elderflower season and we have been enjoying our homemade cordial so much I thought I would share with you my Auntie’s traditional Danish recipe. She kindly took some photos for me from her summer house on a little island called Orø where she makes her Hyldebærsaft every year.
Ingredients:
40 Bunches of Elderflowers
2 Lemons, sliced
2kg White Sugar or 500g Brown Sugar + 1kg White Sugar
40g Citric Acid
2 lts Boiling Water
Ida’s Method…
” Elderflower Cordial:
- The biggest stalks are cut off and the bunches are put in a big pot.
- Two litres of boiling water poured over.
- Citric-acid, lemon slices and sugar are added. (You can melt the sugar in the water before adding).
- Cover with a lid or plate and let it cool.
- Place in the refrigerator for 3 days.
- Strain off and pour into clean bottles.
You can also pour the liquid into bags and put in the freezer. I sometimes add Atamon to prevent from moulding.
Hugs, Ida ”
Portobello Kids’ Pop Up Shop
We have joined six other independent British brands to launch a children’s pop up collective in Notting Hill from 25th May – 7th June. The store will be open daily from 10am-6pm.
Kids’ Pop Up – 2 Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, W11 (Just off Portobello Road)
Children’s lines Elfie, Nellie Quats, Bumble & Ava, Annaliv and Lallee Ponchos are joining forces with vintage-inspired maternity brand Clary & Peg and brand new social enterprise selling handwoven baskets Mmaa for this two-week showcase just off Portobello Road.
We would love to see you there, quote Portobello10 for an extra 10% off!
Elfie is a children’s brand that offers a perfect balance of British elegance and fun. The clothes feature smocking with playful embroidery, rich colours, hand knits and floral prints. They encourage children to mix and match to find their own style but can sustain any adventure that might come their way.
Nellie Quats is a girl’s clothing brand that uses combination of beautiful floral Liberty prints and soft, crumply linen to create classic clothing with plenty of playfulness and fun. All clothing is designed with adventurous, active children in mind, so whilst looking stylish, comfort remains the number one priority.
Bumble & Ava is an award-winning, Fair Trade, ethical children’s fashion brand designing everyday, eye-catching clothes and accessories for babies, girls and boys from 3 months to 6 years. The colourful designs that combine practicality and whimsy, use unique prints made from the softest 100% cotton and are trans-seasonal to maximise their wearability.
Annaliv designs nostalgic baby and childrenswear inspired by traditional Scandinavian heritage. Making a perfect newborn gift, each piece is packaged in wooden gift boxes that reflect the cosiness of Nordic pine forests. The boxes keep the designs treasured and ensure they can be easily handed down through the family for generations to come. Annaliv is proud to use natural fabrics and organic cotton, ensuring you are choosing the best fabric for your baby and for the environment.
Clary & Peg create vintage-inspired womenswear that is maternity-friendly. The collection of jumpsuits, dungarees and dresses with unique vintage detailing, ethically and sustainably manufactured in London, is both stylish and comfortable. Each piece is designed to be worn with and without a bump and is also breastfeeding friendly. Alongside the ready-to-wear collection, Clary & Peg also offer a range of baby bloomers, headbands and turbans, all made from vintage fabrics.
Mmaa is a collection of beautiful handmade baskets and bags with a social mission of empowering women and supporting African artisans. Coming in a wide range of colours, designs and sizes, each piece is unique and takes two to three days to weave by hand. While these gorgeous baskets are a perfect compliment to any wardrobe or home they make a direct difference to the lives of local communities–for each bag purchased, a girl will receive a sanitary kit that lasts up to three years.
Lallee craft traditional style ponchos with a uniquely developed one-size design that fits from newborn to approximately 8 years, using only ethically sourced baby Alpaca. Our products are handmade by a community of retired Bulgarian ladies. The ponchos are available in neutral, classic colours that can be personalised with a collection of decorative tassels and complemented by a range of wool-woven and Liberty print accessories. Elegant, timeless, comfort in style. A portion of all proceeds is proudly donated to the Lyla Nsouli Foundation.
Personalised Gifts
Finally, we are ready to launch our personalised baby gift range! You can now add a beautiful hand stitched initial to many of Annaliv’s products. Make it an extra thoughtful gift by adding a subtle initial onto a pair of bloomers, booties or the knapsack.
We will also be launching this service on Not on the high street so you can order wherever you prefer. Ordering is easy, simply choose your letter and thread colour from the drop-down options (you may want to zoom into the image for a more detailed picture).
Each letter is stitched by myself from our studio in the Cotswolds. At the moment I am managing to turn around all of your personalised orders in one day. So you only need to allow an extra day for delivery. If you need your order by a specific date please email me and I’ll do my best to prioritise it for you.
All the initials are stitched in the traditional Danish cross-stitch technique by hand. If you’d like to try Danish cross-stitch at home, this simple youtube video shows you how to start the basics. Perhaps now would be a good time to start a reusable advent calendar for next Christmas like these!
Let me know what you think, I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them for you!
Anna ♥
Best Baby Clothing – The Babyccino Awards
We are so thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted down to the last three for the Best Baby Clothing Babyccino Award !!
It would mean the world to us if you could spare 2 minutes to help us win! One lucky voter will win a £250 voucher to spend at Annaliv or a shop of their choice in the competition – vote for us today and you can win too! Voting is only open for two weeks, opening today and closing on Sunday, 13th May.
The Babyccino Awards recognise and celebrate the very best brands and boutiques for babies and children with 13 categories spread across Fashion, Toys, Décor, Essentials, Services and Mama
Thank you so much for your support,
Anna ♥
Smørrebrød Recipe – Gravlax
Looking for something different to make for brunch at the weekend? Try our favourite gravlax smørrebrød recipe. Not only does it look pretty, it tastes great too! Most of the time is in the prep work which can be done the night before if that’s easier for you. As always try to get the freshest organic ingredients and we like to use sustainably caught salmon.
For 6 servings:
Ingredients:
- 6 slices of Danish rye bread – try to get the best you can with as many yummy nuts and seeds as possible
- 200g Gravlax (can be substituted with smoked salmon)
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- A bunch of parsley
- A bunch of dill
- 2 tablespoons dill sauce
- 3 radishes
- Horseradish sauce
- 5 tablespoons sour cream
- Cut rye bread into 1cm thick slices.
- Mix the sour cream, horseradish sauce, finely chopped dill, a tablespoon of dill sauce and a teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season.
- Chop radishes finely ready for assembly.
- Assembly. Arrange your rye bread slices and begin to layer. Start with the sauce, followed by the gravlax and a dash of dill sauce.
- Add the radish slices and sprigs of parsley to finish.
I hope you like it as much as we do! Try serving your smørrebrød alongside a green salad with fresh sliced apple, salad onions, green beans, lambs lettuce and some warm wax potatoes covered in butter and black pepper. Share your photos with us on Instagram by tagging @anna_annaliv
Anna ♥
Why Organic Cotton?
Five reasons Annaliv uses organic cotton:
- Organic cotton is breathable to wear.
- It’s kind to children’s skin.
- It uses less water to grow.
- It’s environmentally friendly because the crops aren’t treated with all sorts of harmful chemicals which harm the environment.
- Organic cotton is biodegradble and recyclable.
Did you know that organic cotton is also easier to clean? It releases dirt easily so there is no need to use harsh soaps and chemicals to get rid of stains. Which means you can embrace the white without having to worry!
Organic cotton can also be washed in higher temperatures without affecting its durability. Annaliv strives to make garments which will be passed onto friends and through the family, our fabric choices help ensure this. We also like to use ‘french seams’ on our Spring/Summer garments which not only look beautiful inside, they are more durable, helping to make them last longer. Try our Bloomers in a Box to see for yourself
Anna ♥
Hi / Hej !
I’m Anna Lisbeth, I founded Annaliv in 2013 after training as a childrenswear designer at university and working in the industry for several years. It has always been my passion to design beautiful Scandinavian baby clothes inspired by my Nordic heritage, I’m not sure why. Most people enter this industry after having children, however, for me it was always what I wanted to do. I now have two children, Willow and Samson and the brand is over 10 years old.
Being brought up spending our summers exploring Denmark and Sweden and our winters in the mountains being close to nature I was very lucky. We live in England but I am half Danish and a pinch of Swedish. Having family over there it is a great place to escape to. Sewing became my love very early on and developed alongside creating textile patterns and illustrations. Both my Grandmothers taught me sewing tricks which I still use today and I am lucky enough to be very close with both of them. My parents have the most ‘hyggelig’ home you can imagine, filled with Scandinavian antiques, always with candles, music, and people popping in constantly.
If you could see my studio you would see pinned up in every possible space folk stitches, family cross stitch heirlooms, reels and reels of woven Swedish ribbon, collected old traditional Scandinavian baby clothes and paintings of native folk. Along with white, the soft primary colours which have always been used in Nordic traditional dress are timeless and I always subconsciously go back to them when designing a new collection, I can’t help it!
Annaliv is very proud to have been one of the first brands to focus on using organic fabrics in 2013. It’s very important to me to use natural fabrics, we use a lot of organic cotton, whether it be poplins, brushed, or woven with soft linens. It is the best fabric for the environment and for kids to wear. The designs are more often than not inspired by Scandinavian nature so I like to reflect that not only in the look of the garments and the story in the prints but the feel of the fabric, the way it’s breathable to wear and kind to nature to grow. Which is why we haven’t launched a ‘much asked for’ waterproof Little Grow, we simply can’t find a fabric which we are happy to endorse which is good for kids, the environment and waterproof! We haven’t given up looking yet though…
I’m sure most of you will know all of this if you follow Annaliv on Instagram, but in case you’re new to Annaliv – Hi, it’s lovely to meet you, hope you enjoyed reading a bit about me and the story behind the designs.
Anna ♥
