Back to school Blog Mania deems Mimi the Sardine a hit!

Recently, we’ve gotten a flood of love from the blogging community, which is gearing up for back to school!

Our backpacks were called “the cutest backpack we’ve seen” in the 2010 EcoFabulous back-to-school guide.    BlogHer’s RookieMom said, “Cute patterns with eco-styling and details, the coated organic cotton backpacks from Mimi the Sardine are excellent for keeping lunches cool” in her “10 Great Backpacks for Back to School” post.

Our lunchbugs felt the love too, with DailyCandy dishing on our “adorable” waste-free lunchkit in their 12 School Lunche Boxes for Little Eaters post.  GagaGear says we’re “just the right size for your little one’s lunch or mobile snack.”  Beth picked our lunchbugs at VeryBloggy.  She commented on a phenomena in our homebase (where all our products are manufactured), the San Francisco Bay Area:

“At first I resisted the Mimi the Sardine Lunchbug because every single other kid in our neighborhood had one. I was hoping for something that would stick out in the crowd, for school purposes down the line. But, the more hunting and shopping and researching that I did, I figured out that every other parent was buying these bags because it turns out, they really are a great product.”

And last but not least, Tami luvs our lunchbugs on her blog too!

Good luck in your back-to-school gear hunting!

Announcing our Long-lasting Promise Contest!

Hey Mimi fans,

We always take a coffee break at 11 am here at Mimi the Sardine, in the true Swedish tradition (CEO/founder/my mom is Swedish, and so is our fabric!).  We were talking about how long-lasting our products are – for instance, I work farmer’s markets, and see bags with 10-year-old prints still hauling flowers and fennel.  And so our latest contest was born!

We make a promise that our products are long-lasting, and wanted to prove that using our best source of testimonials and opinions – you!  The winner of this contest has the oldest Mimi product still in use.  We are trusting you to tell the truth.  Send in a photo of your Mimi product to lisa@mimithesardine.com, with the date you bought it (year and season is OK – ie Spring 1999).  Let us know the frequency of its use (daily? weekly? did you put it aside for 3 years?) and we will choose a winner based on the frequency of use and date it was purchased!

Winner will be chosen August 31st and will receive a free Mimi product of their choice (excluding tablecloths)!

Any questions?  Feel free to call us at 1 866 234 MIMI, or email lisa@mimithesardine.com.

Good luck!

We love this beautiful blog!

We were lucky enough to meet our photographer (and her adorable kid) through a recent photo contest.  Since then, we’ve been following her wonderful blog, Avery and Augustine.

Check out this recent lunchbug review that shows how much fits inside them as well as some adorable pictures!

Image by Michelle Sterling at Avery and Augustine blog

Go Waste Free with Mimi the Sardine, Fabkins, and LunchBots!

Let’s start with the facts: The average school aged child generates an estimated 67 pounds of lunchbox waste per year. With on average 25 million children carrying lunch to school daily, that means 3.5 billion pounds of lunchbox garbage is generated each year in America.

We can shake the waste cycle! Mimi the Sardine has teamed up with Bay Area neighbors Fabkins and LunchBots to make the ultimate waste-free lunchkit, helping you keep paper napkins, plastic bags, and single-serving foods out of our oceans and landfills. Our kits include a lunchbug, 2 Fabkins napkins (organic cotton), and 2 stainless steel LunchBots (snack and sandwich sizes). This little kit is lightweight and features the eco-friendly lunch alternatives leading brands, and you save 25% by buying them as a kit!  Find them here.

• Mimi the Sardine’s “Lunchbug” tote in cute, kid-friendly designs with organic fabric that is easy to clean: just wipe, or machine-wash and tumble dry on low. Equipped with a sturdy zipper and soft handles, children and adults alike fall in love with the fun and colorful patterns in eco-friendly and non-toxic fabric.
• 2 Lunchbots’ stainless steel containers that are food-safe, eco-friendly, and durable. The LunchBots Uno is perfect for packing a sandwich, sushi, burrito or any favorite lunch entrée and the Lunchbots Pico is the ideal size for snacks and sides, including a handy divider for crackers and cheese, fruit and nuts, and more.
• 2 cloth napkins from Fabkins in colorful, kid-friendly embroidered designs. Made of 100% certified organic cotton, Fabkins are perfectly sized for kids’ laps and lunchboxes, and include a sewn-in label with space to write your child’s name. Each napkin in this kit has a different design from the same theme.

LunchSacks are Back

Just in time for school shopping (well, in time for the early birds), we are offering our lunchsacks again!    With a velcro closure top that tucks tight and a handle strong enough to withstand a heavy lunch and a game of catch, our LunchSacks are sure to please. Their volume is identical to the ever-successful lunchbug.

Find them here.

CEO/founder wins employer of the year award!

Mimi the Sardine is lucky enough to employ Kim Chandler, who was placed here through Integrated Community Services, a Marin non-profit whose mission is to is to “provide a wide range of community-based services for individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, housing, recreation, information, and referral.” Pia Andersson, Mimi the Sardine’s CEO and founder, received the 2010 Employer of the Year award!  Check out our Facebook page to see photos.

Kim is such a light in the office and always is getting everyone to feel happy. She is always winning medals in sporting events and making beautiful artwork. She is also very self-confident, telling everyone that “she is the best”, which is great for everyone to hear – we all copy her!

Check out this wonderful letter from a customer about our lunchbugs

We recently received this email from a customer that was so wonderful we wanted to share it!  It is copied below.

Dear Mimi 🙂

I wanted to let you know how much we LOVE your Lunchbugs and why.  My 6 year old daughter is bright, funny and the light of my life, and this past fall, was diagnosed with autism.  Because of the latter she is an extremely picky eater so we send lunches to school with her.  At the beginning of Kindergarten, I bought her 2 Lunchbugs.  A bright & cheery lunch bag makes lunchtime special and it’s easy for her to spot hers amongst bags & coats in her classroom’s cubbies.  She has the sweetest classmates that love to help her in many ways, one of which is helping her carry her lunch to the cafeteria.  My daughter’s teacher is very accommodating & understands my concern for her diet.  Since the medication she takes suppresses her appetite, she thoughtfully packs whatever is uneaten back in her bag and sends it home, so I can see how much she’s eating or not eating.  That means, I am washing her lunchbugs 2 to 3 times a week.

Now & then, they come with us to therapy and trips to see out-of-town specialists.  Sometimes, we are in unfamiliar cities talking to new doctors and therapists.  These trips can be scary & intimidating for her (and mommy!).  But we can always break for a snack, and out comes our familiar Lunchbug and it always makes us feel better!  If you are a parent of a child with special needs, you can understand what a difference this makes in a tough and arduous day of therapy.

The school year will be over in a few weeks and both bags look fabulous.  Minimal fading (if any), no wear on stitching…perfect.  And keep in mind, they’re machine-washed weekly.  Next year, I will buy her another two bags, and retire the 2 we have now for outings and vacations.  A lunchbug will be accompanying us to the Bahamas at the end of the month!

Your website says that you strive to make meaningful products, and this is what your Lunchbugs mean to us: familiarity, comfort & calmness for an amazing girl that needs a little help processing everything going on in this busy, noisy world.  You have an incredible product, and it brightens our day!

Sweetness and spill protection

Life is messy, and kids are even messier! Keep them clean with our new sweet messy baby bibs, which feature the crumb-catching pocket our bibs have made famous and long sleeves. They tie at the neck to guarantee generous spill protection and double as an art smock for the expressive toddler artist. As always, machine washable and eco-friendly! Fits 6 – 24 months.

Photo contest winners!

Thanks to all our contestants for a great photo contest!  This was fun and we will be doing it again.

1st place! for Michelle Sterling, we award $200 worth of Mimi the Sardine merchandise.

2nd Place!  for Kathleen Walck, any product of her choice from our kids line (excluding tablecloths).

3rd Place!  Yumi receives any product of her choice from our kids line (excluding tablecloths).

The people spoke!  Our Facebook Choice award goes to Hazel Loskutoff, who receives any product of her choice from our kids line (excluding tablecloths).

Mimi the Sardine’s Customer Photo Contest!

Hey customers!  You know our products best.  Enter our customer photo contest! Take a picture of a cutie with products from our current line and be eligible to win $200 worth of Mimi the Sardine merchandise!

Download our contest flyer by clicking here: Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest Flyer

Download the release form necessary to win by clicking here: Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest release

The rules are listed below, or you can download them here: Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest Rules

Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest Rules

Enter photographs in the following format by emailing them to lisa [at] mimithesardine [dot] com and mailing us the release form at 999 Andersen Dr Suite 110/San Rafael, CA 94901

⌂      JPEG

⌂      300 or more DPI

⌂      Featuring a child model and a product from our current line

1. Disclosure; Submission PeriodNo donation, purchase, or obligation of any kind by the entrant is necessary to win. (However, free products will not be provided or loaned out for the purpose of this contest). Any donation or purchase made by you will not increase your chances of winning. The Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest begins at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on January 26, 2010 and ends at 5:00 p.m. EST on February 28, 2010 (the “Submission Period”).
2. Eligibility

Open to professional and nonprofessional photographers 18 years of age or older.

1. To EnterTo enter submit your photograph to lisa@mimithesardine.com during the Submission Period and sign this document. You may enter as many photos and stories as you would like in the contest.

   Any entry will be deemed ineligible if it is illegible, incomplete, if it fails to meet the required specifications, if it is received before the Submission Period begins or after it ends, or for any other reason at the sole discretion of Mimi the Sardine.
   By entering the contest, you warrant that your entry is original, that you are the sole owner and copyright holder of your entry, and that you have not granted exclusive rights to all or part of your entry to any other person or entity. You also warrant that your entry does not invade the right of privacy of any individual; does not infringe any trademark, trade name, trade secret, intellectual property right, or other common law or statutory right; nor does it contain any material that might be deemed offensive or obscene, or that otherwise violates any criminal prohibition or the personal or proprietary rights of any person or entity.

   All entries shall become the property of Mimi the Sardine when received and shall not be returned.

2. How the Winner Will Be DeterminedThe judges at Mimi the Sardine will select the photos they deem the winners and post them on their website, contact the winners, and give them their prizes.
3. Prizes$200 worth of Mimi the Sardine merchandise (of the winner’s choice), and the publication of their photo on our blog, Facebook page, website, and marketing materials.
4. Winner Notification/Prize ClaimsThe Winners, Runners-Up, and Finalists will be selected by March 15, 2010, and will be notified by telephone and/or email by March 22, 2010. In the event that a Winner is unable to accept a Prize, an alternate Winner will be selected. The Winner may be required to complete and sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability Release, and, where legal, a Publicity Release, all of which must be returned within 30 days of attempted prize notification or the prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. In the event of noncompliance with these Rules, or if a Prize or prize notification is unclaimed or returned as undeliverable, the prize will be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate winner.
5. Additional TermsBy accepting a prize, the Winner consents to Mimi the Sardine’s use of his or her photos and/or biographical information for promotional and other purposes related to the 2010 or any future Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. The Winner, by acceptance of any prize, acknowledges compliance with these Rules and agrees to release Mimi the Sardine (“Releasees”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest or the receipt, redemption, or use of any prize, including any injuries or damages of any kind sustained in connection with the use, acceptance, possession, or awarding of any prize.

   By entering the Contest, you agree to grant to Mimi the Sardine, its legal representatives, successors, and assigns the nonexclusive right and permission to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, publish, and distribute your entry, or any portion thereof, including your photo, throughout the world, in any printed form and by any kind of mechanical or electronic or any other method or device of reproduction, publication, and distribution known or later developed, during the full term of the copyright, and without notification or payment. Mimi the Sardine agrees that it will never sell your entry or rights in your entry to any individual or entity.

6. Limitation of LiabilityReleasees are not responsible for printing, typographical, human or other errors of any kind in any contest-related materials or for stolen, lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries. If, for any reason, the Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest is not capable of running as planned, or infection by computer viruses, bugs, or tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, actions of entrants, technical failures, or any other causes corrupt or infect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest, Mimi the Sardine reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any entry or entrant and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Mimi the Sardine Customer Photo Contest and at its sole discretion award a prize from among all eligible non-suspect entries validly received prior to the action requiring such modification.
7. SponsorMimi the Sardine is the sole sponsor of the Contest.