Pretty Little Piper

Coco & Co. is very pleased to announce the birth of Sweetie Pie Piper, May 1st, 2009. Despite the distance, we are very lucky to hear about all of her leaps and bounds in the first 6 months of life. This kid gets cuter with every picture and has a personality to match.

Tickled pink, proud Mom and Pops prepared the perfect hues for a little bundle of girl to arrive. Her nursery is a sweet mix of soft pink walls and fresh white furniture. Stretched 'Robins Egg' canvases were painted in a set of 4; one tall giraffe on a focus piece and three smaller canvas for entertaining little peepers. Monkey Dad, Birdie Mom and a little girlie turtle floating on a name bubble amidst garden vines, flowers, mini mushroom and wee pink strawberries.

It is truly a treat to watch one of your bestest friends of all time, blossom into a proud Mama.
Wishing Piper & family a very Merry First Christmas and many more to come.
Love always...xo

Back to Monkey Business

Monkey Business over here in Shanghai has shut our blogsite down for 6 months of repair work, but you will be glad to know that we are up and at 'em again and will keep you posted on a more regular basis from here on in.

Very happy to announce the 'Baby of the Year' born to one of my nearest and dearest old pals...stay tuned, as you can see her here! (Well....see above!)

Bi-Plane Birthday Present

In China there is no shortage of cute, little kiddies. Wee Yumi is one 2-year old in particular, who makes you smile, just by being around him. He has extra tiny features, loves music, dancing and taking his seat beside me at the front of the preschool classroom. The kid can even make drooling adorable!

In celebration of his second birthday, I created this 45x45" Classic Bi-Plane in rusty red, to match the sky blue painted in his bedroom. By bringing the wings off of the edge of the piece, it gives viewers the sense that it is truly soaring in the sky. The spinning propeller enhance the notion of movement, while the soft clouds rest listlessly in the background.

Wishing the little man many years of adventure and clear, bright days.

Coco & Co.

Coco & Co., formerly known as Sweet Pea Murals is going bananas here in Shanghai. With so many babies on the way and so much monkey art in the making, it has not been a difficult decision to change the company name in honour of our favourite animal and most-requested illustration, Coco the chocolate-coloured monkey.
"& Co.", implies Coco's unrelated cousins (friendly forest animals and other created characters), designed specifically for your wee ones sleepy-time spaces.

Without further adieu, I introduce you to Coco & Co. brought to you from Shanghai...and thank you as always, for your continued support.

A Little Birdie Told Me...

..that our old pals are back in town!

Two years ago, during our first year in Shanghai, we had the pleasure of making dear friends with my British colleague and his sweetheart (of a girlfriend, at the time.) Since then, we have all been married and they have had a beautiful baby girl, Mia who we have only known through photos and phone conversations. Tomorrow is the big day when we will get to meet the little toddler; a visit long overdue!

The Birdie Family is a 16"x 40" canvas scroll complete with fringed edges and ribboned top. It's dark turquoise background lends to the gentle blue, pink and lilac colour scheme, with two-toned greens for the foliage. Wispy branches bend and curl while chubby birds bounce on their tips. Sparkled sequins line their wings; Mama and Baby Bird touch beaks as Daddy Bird looks on from above. "Mia" is written in flowing font to blend in with the branches.

Wishing a healthy, happy 2009 to a very precious little girl!

Bubble Baby

Baby Bubbles is dedicated to my dear friend Dora; a wee little doll here in Shanghai.

Her mother and I work together at the kindergarten and have become good friends since last summer. In celebration of Chinese New Year, we will visit with Dora and her family and be able to bring a little token of our friendship. Bubbles frosty pink scales are adorned with shiny sequins. The fan tail and koi-like character are Asian-inspired, while the pink and turquoise are comfy colour combination for any little girls nursery.

Hoping this Baby Bubbles brings many years of luck and love to little Dora!

World Wide Web

Spidey had a little traveling to do this holiday season as he made his way from Shanghai to Canada, in search of his new owner and one of Sweet Pea's all-time favourite super kids.

In the past two years Super C has been collecting 18x18" Justice League replicas by Sweet Pea for his playroom in Guelph. The collection, now consisting of Batman, Superman, Flash and Spidey, are soaked with bold colours, strong black outlines and blunt cropping, linking the Superheroes by style.

Though Sweet Pea was relieved to know that Spidey made it safely across the ocean in time for Christmas morning, it was a shame he could not have been delivered by hand. One of the best parts of working with wee Super C is being entertained by his costume changes, as he himself becomes his favourite characters, making delivery day a favourite pasttime of mine!

Wishing C and his family a wonderful year to come & warm wishes throughout the holiday season.

Stay Tuned...
Sweet Pea Gone Bananas!