The Little Details...
" The details are not the details. They make the design."
(Charles Eames)
Being quite obsessed with detail (as anyone who knows me, will tell you….), attention to detail has played an important part in all things tullibee. I am passionate about getting everything right & therefore EVERYTHING has been considered & is intentional …. It has been quite a journey 
All these small individual bits add up to make the tullibee brand - so actually this stuff is really important!
Having worked in the baby industry for a majority of my career I know how utterly important safety standards & all things related are, when manufacturing products for babies & children, or anyone else for that matter!
All the products in the tullibee range have been designed & developed through years of experience, making sure that everything works for the customer.
As well as the criteria that are specified in test standards & safety regulations for products, I have also considered the things that are more common sense or just make life easier & more comfortable for you & your little ones.
Materials & Fabrics
I only use 100% natural fabrics for all the textile products, with all items being made in either lambswool or cotton. For more information about our lambswool please click here, for more information on our GOTS, Oeko-Tex certified organic cotton interlock click here & finally for more information on our standard woven cotton click here.
As well as making sure there are no nasties in the fabrics & no nasties going into the environment, I also like to ensure that our fabrics will live up to expectations, so I also check out things like the shrinkage, stability & colourfastness.
You are buying BOLD & beautiful products, so I want them to stay that way!
The FOREVER calendars are either made of Perspex® acrylic or in the case of the wooden FOREVER calendars Birch Ply.
Perspex® acrylic is premium branded acrylic & as such is manufactured to the highest industry standards. As the calendars were designed as a reusable product, made to last & not a throwaway plastic item, the choice was simple only the best Perspex would do!
Made just up the road in Lancashire, Perspex are passionate about continuous improvement of their processes, reducing their environmental footprint and leading the way in innovation and fresh thinking.
It is also a non-toxic, pure material that is easy to reuse or recycle whatever the colour or aesthetic effect. Add to that that they send zero acrylic waste to landfill and have recently made a significant investment to reduce their water consumption during production by more than 24 million litres per year, then it is easy to see why they are classed as the best!
The birch plywood used in the making of the wooden calendars is FSC approved, meaning it is from certified & sustainably managed forests. I absolutely love the natural colour of birch, so decided to keep the wooden calendars simple, and not use varnish or oil to change the look in any way. Each layer is meticulously hand sanded & then carefully glued together to form each double-sided calendar tile.
Trims & Extras
Right from the initial glimmer of an idea, developing & making tullibee products in the UK was a must, you can read a little more here.
However not only does this mean the big stuff, but also the little things, where as much as possible has been sourced locally, & if not directly made in the UK, sourced through UK suppliers who help keep an eye on my high standards until I can find a suitable UK manufacturer.
This includes using tried & trusted brands, people like YKK. YKK fastening products group are trusted worldwide for impeccable production standards & thorough quality control processes, so I have chosen to only use the best to supply the zips I use for cushions & pouches. I know that they have been produced to meet high safety & durability expectations.
I have designed ALL the labels without any loops & with super-soft edges. Not because I have to, but because I believe this makes safe sense. I don’t want to leave any opportunity for tiny fingers or toes getting hooked up or skin getting scratched by any nasty labels. So, the tullibee brand badges will always be sewn securely to our products on all 4 sides & the care labels are the ultra-soft type that you will often find in your underwear
Even the cushion pads that I include with all our cushion covers are made right here in England on the east coast.
But as well as knowing where the pads are made I have also worked with a manufacturer who can ensure that only natural cotton cambric outers are used & can provide full traceability on the fillings, especially the duck feathers, even down to the methods of plucking & cleaning!
From a safety point of view, we have also ensured that the cushion pads have been tested to & comply with the Furniture & Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 as you would expect. Not rocket science, but when it comes to the safety of you & your family I don’t want to leave any stone unturned!
I like to support all things UK, not only in the direct manufacturing & materials that make up the products, but also by using our local experts at the test house & small companies who have supplied things like sewing machine parts and also packaging materials. It also means we get to meet face to face & have a cuppa!
The making…
A majority of the products in the range are either made by or sewn & finished by me (Bek), at tullibee towers in Manchester. This way I get the joy of making something beautiful & can often customise things, so you get EXACTLY what you want! Just ask!
I also work with a couple of small manufacturers & indie businesses to bring a few items to life…
All the knitted blankets & cushions are knitted by a small manufacturer in Ayrshire, Scotland, with UK produced lambswool. Having been knitting traditional headwear & accessories for over 170 years – I know I am working with the absolute best!!
By comparison the manufacturer of the printed interlock blankets is a little younger, but none the less expert! A small family run sewing factory in North Wales.
Working with people in the UK, I am able to get out to visit everyone, & I love it. It’s always so exciting to see what lovely things are being made that day as well as usually getting totally over excited about new ideas & stuff that I could add to the range!!
That little bit of extra safety….
I work really hard to ensure that all the correct procedures are used during the manufacturing process for all products, but for that extra piece of mind I inspect & metal detect all textile items before they gets packed up & sent to you.
Delivery, Gift Wrapping & Messages
Since tullibee is only a teeny tiny company, I am also the person who carefully packs everything up for the postie, if you have any special requests of specific messages, or anything else (within reason ), please let me know.
I want you or your gift receiver to be absolutely over the moon with your tullibee purchase.
Whilst all items are carefully wrapped in tissue, beautiful reusable organic cotton gift bags are also available at a small cost (see here for more information). Simply add the correct size to your basket. Making the perfect gift even more exciting to receive!
You may not notice all the details straight away & rightly so, but believe me they have all been deliberated, pondered, considered & sometime sleep has been lost …. as only the best will do!!
I’d love to know what you think?
If you have any feedback or ideas to make the products even better, or maybe new products you’d like to see, I’d really love to hear from you!