September is here!

😊Bonjour les amis!

September is here....

For families with school-age children, that means: back to school! It can feel exciting or scary or both!

For new parents it can be that new stage of leaving Baby in a nursery or kindergarten or other daycare facilities. From personal experience that is more scary and tough than exciting!!

Parents are usually told to bring "the essentials" to the "gan" such as diapers, wipes, ointment, pacifier, blankets and favorite toy... Recently I met a few parents who told me Sophie the giraffe" was the favorite toy.  That simply put a smile on my face!

And this past week, we all found out that Sophie la Girafe got more awards after being selected by parents in the US, in Singapore, in Malaysia... Earlier in the year it was in Australia, and I am sure I am forgetting others! 2017 has been so far a fantastic year for Sophie la girafe worldwide, being recognized for her quality both as a development Toy and as a teether.  Bravo Vulli! Bravo Sophie!
and a huge thank you to all the parents, friends and families who put their trust in Sophie la girafe!

Waterproof Sophie la girafe: ideal for summer and bath all year long

Can you believe summer is almost over....?

It always starts slow..June..July.... and suddenly we are at the end of August! Just like that!

 It is true that this July we were busy with a new shipment. that means new toys! ^_^ Always fun! yes! even for the grown-ups!

We particularly fell in love with the new Sophie the giraffe for the bath.. It has been on the market for the past couple of years and slowly but surely this bath toy is finding its place.

Here is what we like about it:

* Just like the original Sophie the Giraffe, this healthy toy is made from 100% natural rubber, derived from rubber tree sap, and decorated with food grade paints.

* She floats! She is completely waterproof ensuring optimal drying.

* Shaped like a buoy with the cute face of Sophie la girafe, it is easy for little hands to grab and to chew safely on it!

* As with the rest of the So' Pure range, Sophie the giraffe for the bath comes in an attractive gift box made from recyclable materials.


What more is there to ask! 😃

A picture you say?  yes..of course... here it is!

and in action?

of course!!  In the bath... by the pool...She likes to go to the beach too 😊 ( Merci les  bébés 💖)

As always you are welcome to visit us on our website  .. Get in touch via email  sofi.hagirafa at gmail.com   or on our Facebook page

Wishing you a lovely end of summer..



The team of Sophie la girafe in Israel

Sophie The Giraffe: step by step video...

No words necessary.... simply enjoy!

T-10 for the tiniest Giraffe of all

T-10 for the tiniest Giraffe of all...

Her heart could be beating very fast...and as you may remember Giraffes have a very big and strong heart  that beats up to 170 times/minute... amazing, isn't it?





To celebrate the event of Sofi HaGirafa turning the majestuous 50 this year, Vulli has asked designers, artists, VIP and students to give our beloved Sophie La Girafe a make-over ... and here is a glimpse of the results...

Music in the video by Japanese Artist Mariko Nanba....

To see all the amazing Sophies in the catalog,

 click here!

 click here!

 click here!

So now.... yes!  The countdown has begun... Hourray! ^__^

Worlwide Sophie La Girafe: a truly and uniquely French sensation!

Can you believe that the tiny, French, 49 year-old Sophie HaGirafa, is now available in 38 countries over 4 continents and that happened in the last couple of years only?

We are not talking about a big multinational or international company, where taking on the world is expected. We are talking about Vulli.

Vulli, the maker of Sophie The Giraffe, was created in 1946. It is a French company from the Alps with less than a 100 workers. Its name comes from Mr. Vullierme who launched it. They are very famous on the French market for all kinds of toys and baby products and their patented technique of "rotating molding"... Sophie The Giraffe, since the sixties, is by far their top-success!

Sophie The Giraffe started her international stardom mostly through a French mother who upon relocating to the US decided it would be cool to launch Sophie la Girafe. It worked! And from there the little  giraffe keeps on rolling...



I can see how international she is through this little blog: It has visitors from everywhere! I am amazed that it is read in countries I can only dream of visiting! I love this virtual travelling when I see the flags of the visitors.


True, some of my faithful readers are long-time friends scattered along our little planet that I have met in expat life. E-Mail, Facebook, Twitter: They're all good, but never under-estimate the power of a Sophie HaGirafa and a blog.  ^__^


I cannot help but be curious about the other readers. I wonder if you find what you are looking for when landing on the blog...or if you just ended up here at the suggestion of some random search engine?

One "old" post seems to bring many visitors too... but I suspect they were looking for a drink and not a giraffe... or could it be our art-work that has been bringing visitors in? ^__^

And please remember.... your comments and questions are welcome!

("bandiere" source )

                

 NB: Next time you think " La France", do not stop at:

 "baguette", wine", "cheese", "fashion", "love", "Eiffel Tower"

^__^  

First time to the Druze city of Isfiya, عسفيا ,עספיא

Discovering new cities, new villages, new places and its peoples is really the best part of this new job of mine. One regret though: I have no time to really dig and explore the new place because "Time waits for no Giraffe" and my job is far from being done. Sophie Hagirafa is still an unknown Giraffe eco teether and it happens that I am asked " to come back to the store when she starts selling". Well that did not happen in Isfiya also knows as Ussefiya and I am very grateful to Jinan!

On Sunday I called baby stores located in the "north-before-Haifa" part of Israel and "HaTinok HaKatan" was on my list. I knew it was in a Druze city but not much else. I remembered seeing the movie "The Syrian Bride" (excellent and very poignant),  I had images of the Druze Pita Bread that I sometimes buy on weekends from Druze families who come to our area. But that is about it. So I was really happy when Jinan told me to come visit her store and show her Sophie The Giraffe.
Isfiya is actually a city touching the other Druze city of Daliyat al-Karmel. The Druze community is known for their openness, hospitality, and warmth  but also for their food. Many people drive over on weekends just to eat.The drive is actually quite pleasant across the forest and Isfiya is located on the top of the Carmel Mountain. I was told that the panorama could be very striking.The area may be one of the fews around here where a mobile phone does not work. This is unusual enough I thought I'd mention it. No antenna among the trees!  ^__^

There are over 100,000 Druze that live in Israel. They have Israeli citizenship and even serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (the Israeli army). They speak both Arabic and Hebrew.They follow a very secretive and small religion. Not many documents and information on this practice are released to people outside the religion.The religion was established around 1017 in Egypt, when the sixth Fatimid caliph, al-hakim bi-Amrih Allah.The Druzes are strict monotheists. Druze are also unitarian, believing all mankind to be divine. They believe in reincarnation and the spiritual superiority of women. One must be born into Druze in order to be initiated. One cannot convert into the religion or leave it. Druze accept the Koran, the Judeo-Christian bible, and the writings of Hakim as meaningful.


In that site "every culture", I learned that " The Druze are of mixed race. They are largely of Arab descent but they also have Iranian, Kurdish, and European heritage. The Druze have a flag, which strengthens their sense of unity. The flag includes five colors, which represent five prophets.

Druze Flag

It combines a green triangle on the hoist side and four horizontal stripes of red, yellow, blue, and white. Red symbolizes the heart and love of humanity, green the farmer and life, white the air and purity, yellow the sun and wheat, and blue the sky and faith." I had never seen  nor heard of that flag before... but now I know! ( Please look at this every culture site , it is full of great information about the Druze, should you be curious ^__^ )


So Sophie The Giraffe has now found a new store to reach more Happy Babies. The store is called "HaNasikh HaKatan" which means the Little Prince and is at the junction between Daliyat el-Carmel and Isfiya just next to the Police Station.
I will conclude now by saying again that I am very grateful to Sophie The Giraffe and Vulli for the learning adventure I am going through!

Thank you Ron!

Organic is NOT just another catchword

For the past weeks , as you know, I have been doing my best to present Sophie Ha Girafa to Israel. One of the strongest attributes of Sophie is that she is an incredible teether that has been around for close to half a century and  that she is chemical, phthalates and BPA free with safe mineral coloring.

In most countries this is enough to take a second look at Sophie. Here it is not. Organic is just another catch-word that implies paying more for no valid reason. Daily life is too noisy, stressy, busy and religiousy to worry about organic and spending money that could be used on food or bills.

When my first child was born in Mexico where we were living wayyyyyyy before the internet  I was relying on family and friends, magazines and books to learn the yes and no for baby. I do not remember even knowing the word "organic" but I was well aware of the importance of water and air quality as well as lead used in baby toys. I was told by Mexican friends to better buy American standards toys and not the beautiful colored ones with no packaging at a quarter of the price that were so attractive. I was not too sure what was so bad about the paint or how it could affect my baby, but I did follow the recommendation. I remembered my feeling of shock when I had to have a blood test to check my lead level.
My mother-in-law flew with 5 kilos of special detergent to use for baby clothing to avoid any allergic reaction on baby when I told her I was really not sure I could find such product there. And from the French side of course I knew I would have to get a Sophie asap. As I wrote here, I did not know why but I knew Sophie was a must-have for Babies. Everyone simply knew that ^__^
So 15 years ago we were aware that some things were best kept away from baby, even if we ourselves  probably grew up with those things.

And now we know even better!

2010 : I live in a country where I was told "organic" food came forth  in 2005. In 2007 Organic and Health Food Markets opened and even a Blue Square label for Organic products was created. In 2007 too  Baby Organic and Tinok Yarok israeli organic clothing lines were born.

Three years later I can tell you that I have no idea what the Blue Square is. I have never noticed it. I do know where to get organic or bio food, though I am not real clear on what it means: food without any pesticide and chemicals? Food that is being grown with methods that are naturally well-suited for the local area and not negatively impacting the land?  It does sound better than industrially-made food where I visualize a noisy, machine-controlled factory and I do buy organic eggs picturing chicken able to run freely in country farm environnement.. Yet those eggs are also enriched with omega 3 and frankly I do not know how or when they are enriched? And they cost more. And for some reason I prefer buying those. But that is me.

Same goes with Sophie the giraffe.
She is perfectly safe for both the environnement and our babies but not everyone is convinced.
She is Phthalates and Bisphenol A free.
The Phtalates issue is fairly recent worlwide and some will see it as a gimmick. The Bisphenol A issue is new to us '"common people", not so new to scientists. In 1930’s the first evidence of BPA toxicity was observed. Not much was done after that. But with time some companies did take action, like Vulli in the French Alps  "home" of Sophie la girafe.
As you understand  it is very hard to avoid bisphenol A, it is the starting material used to make polycarbonate plastics. It is everywhere and we have all been exposed to it. But why start exposing babies from their first days when it can be avoided? We have always known that babies are more fragile than grown-ups, that children under the age of two are very susceptible to lead poisoning which has long term effects and as parents, we have to protect them to our best to insure them a healthy beginning on Earth.

Sophie hagirafa is very new in Israel, barely a month old and it will take some time to have people know her and recognize her and if  I succeed, it will be my own private "Tikkun Olam", my tiny-tiniest contribution to make the world a healthier place.

Film Premiere! "The Making of The Sophies" now online!!!

Dear Readers,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to watch a unique video:  "The making of  the Sophies".

It is the first and only place on the www where it can be seen, so you have the right to feel very privileged ^__^.


To see this short movie, you have to go to our website.  But if you do not master Hebrew,  please read how-to before clicking on the link as it will not open in another window.

Once on the site, click on the cube indicated by the red arrows below:

Once the colors of the cubes have changed to green, click on the cube indicated by the arrows :

Tadaa!!

On the upper part of the screen, you can now enjoy "the Making of the Sophies"!

The music in the background is from Benin Musician Wally Badarou.

Below the movie "The Making of the Sophies", you can have a brief look at  One Poor Sophie going thru the Stretch test I mentioned in an earlier post about Latex. Sensitive souls refrain! Ames sensibles s'abstenir!

Thank you Jnarin for the original pix

~~~~~

Today's adventure: visit to the Customs and the SII

I know I promised yesterday to write about how Sophie La Girafe stimulates the 5 senses of  Baby, but instead I will tell you about the process to import here. It can be very stimulating as well ^__^.

Right now, we know our package is at the  Customs Office in Tel Aviv and that we must get it as soon as possible not only because we want it, but also because after a certain number of days ( 20 I think), we would have to pay them for storage.

So today we went to the Customs Office. I was very hopeful to get my hands on our precious package. I was ready: I had all the papers we filled, signed, paid since the beginning of this enterprise and I was determined to face every unhappy and unhelpful clerk with a bright smile.

Well, in spite of my strategy, I am sorry to report that we did not retrieve the package. However the people we met there were quite helpful, especially an older gentleman whose job is to inform newcomers in the import-business like me.

We could not get the package because one document from the SII  ( The Standards Institution of Israel) and one paragraph in the invoice were missing.

The Customs need to know where the products come from and how many they are in order to calcaulate the Customs fees. And that has to be written in a certain way in the invoice.

 So Customs: checked somehow!

Next we went to  the SII  located next to the University of Tel Aviv. This is basically where everything starts and ends if you decide to import to this country. They will tell you where and what tests to do, they will authorize (or not) the Customs to let you have your goods etc etc. We presented them with the Customs form they needed, we paid and we recieved our authorization so now basically all that is missing is the invoice with the proper wordings . Once we have it, it is back to Customs to get our package.

After that we will have to go back to the SII to show them we did not lie, that we have both the right products and the stickers conformed with the Israeli Law.

And after that .... we can show the toys, and sell them !!!

Of course this will repeat with each import but I guess it will be easier and faster. At least I hope so!

You may wonder... or not!

But let's assume you do:

" so why did she embark on such adventure with a Giraffe?"

" What is that toy anyway?"

Very valid questions... ^__^ and this post will bring more questions, you will see ;)

When my friend K. (the mother of the Baby -- mentionned in my very first message) asked me what was so special about Sophie, I looked at her with big eyes, and told her I did not know!

But I did know that in France, where I grew up, my generation all had a Sophie and it is still so nowadays. In 2008 there was over 800 000 births in France and almost as many Sophies the Giraffe sold. Amazing, isn't it!?

So I can imagine you getting impatient for the answer: "why? why is Sophie la Girafe so special?"

Condensed answer: Sophie la Girafe is the only natural teether made of natural rubber. It is Phthalates and BPA free. And it stimulates the 5 senses of the Baby.

OK so now you may wonder-- if you were ignorant like me: what are those Phthalates and how do you even pronounce it? And what is BPA?

It is pronounced "THAL-ates." Forget the Ph. I am actually having a very hard time pronouncing it whenever I talk about Sophie!

Phthalates are a group of chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics. They have been used in plastics since the 1930's and it's only recently that concerns have been raised. There are dozens of types of phthalates .Young children can ingest these chemicals when they suck or chew on the soft plastic items.


A Pediatric Study reports that infants are exposed to those phthalates and those have been known to cause reproductive deformaties.


Now the BPA: it is short for Bisphenol A, an organic compound with two phenol functional groups suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s. According to Wikipedia it is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones.

I only have a general HighSchool level background in Biology and a bit more in Motherhood, and all those infos are enough for me to conclude that the less exposure to Phthalates and Chemicals in general the better for our babies and children!


So Sophie is Phthalates-free. She is tested very regularly in France and has been through more testing here. I am happy to report she has a squeaky clean bill of health.


And this is why I concluded it would be wonderful to bring such a unique toy in a new country!


Tomorrow I will talk more about how Sophie la girafe does stimulate the 5 senses of Babies.... Oh what a suspense! ^__^




To conclude today's long post : a Beautiful Picture taken by Loic

.........

The Beginning

This adventure all started very simply. I was visiting a friend whose Baby was teething and annoyed. I told my friend she needed Sophie The Giraffe. My friend looked at me puzzled as she had never heard of that Giraffe. I told her not to worry, I would bring her one. I was sure I could find it in Israel!

To my surprise I did not, so I asked a friend of mine in France to send me one. No sooner said than done, Sophie was in the hands of my friend's baby.

Then I thought how strange I cannot find it in Israel. Surely it is somewhere?

I contacted Vulli that confirmed that there was no Sophie The Giraffe in Israel and after a few exchanges, I was offered the opportunity to bring it here. I accepted happily aware that it was going to be a huge challenge for me and a lot of learning in the process.

And now 8 months later ( one more month and it would have been a delivery!) I am extremely happy to report that Sophie and other toys are now available in Israel...well at least as soon as the customs clear them.

You are welcome to meet them on our (Hebrew only at the moment)website : http://www.sofi-hagirafa.co.il/