iPad makes kids shoe shopping fun

Heya all.

Me and the girls took a trip last Wednesday to one of Clarks flagship shoe store in Westfield, White City to see how they've made shoe shopping fun for children with the development of the all new and interactive iPad Foot Gauge.


The Clarks iPad Food Gauge is an amazing new development in fitting shoes combining over 170 years of shoe fitting heritage with state of the art design innovation. The new device uses a footplate to measure foot length and a special digi-tape to measure foot width. This size information is then relayed to the iPad app, presenting an instant shoe size guide that Clarks trained fitters use to find perfectly fitting shoes for each child. The device also features animated Clarks characters, Jack Nano and Daisy, who entertain children whilst guiding them through each simple step. The iPad Foot Guage and bespoke app has been designed specifically for Clarks who worked with award winning design agency Design Works Windsor Ltd.

Simon Jones, Head of Sales in the UK and ROI at Clarks comments; “We’re always striving to innovate and improve our in-store experience at Clarks. Great fitting shoes are at the heart of our business and we have developed the iPad Foot Gauge because we want to continue to enhance our consumer experience, ensuring that children have stylish shoes that fit their feet perfectly.”

The girls found the experience fun and hassle free compared to some of the more traditional measuring techniques. On top of this with children who are shy like my youngest the iPad makes a great ice breaker where they get to choose certain aspects of how the application works. This shows when I asked the girls to be fitted again while I filmed it to upload straight away. And with help from the lovely Sarah we had their shoe size and food width within no time.


I don't like bringing a lot of money with me when I travel to London. So when I discovered we were given a gift voucher to try out the shoes I waited until the following weekend, buying them in the Dunstable store (give those ladies a pay rise, they are so friendly and happy in there) thanks to the fitting advice Sarah provided previously in the video and within minutes we found the perfect shoes for both girls without our help.

I think Clarks have the shoe styles perfect with a blend of traditional and modern styles that compliment both the "tomboy" and the "geek girl" in my life and they're extremely happy they found shoes to fit their personalities and the best thing about the shoes they chose is how they've already lasted the school destruction test. The girls have a knack of destroying their school shoes within days of buying them and the Clarks shoes they chose are some of the first pairs of shoes that have stood up to the abuse a 5 and 6 year old give them.

We'll be giving the shoes we purchased a full review with video over the half term too, even if it means bringing the editing computer out of storage!

On top of this we discovered Clarks Shoes have recently launched their 2014 Spring and Summer Collection. Through hiring a team of international designers they mixed materials and colours that contrast and combine with trims and finishing touches, creating beautifully crafted styles that are designed to stand out as the season unfolds, they are perfect shoes for life’s great adventures throughout the seasons.

If you're a shoe diva, or not as the case may be. Tell me what would be your perfect shoes for the summer?

Paul! 

Disclosure: For attending the event we received a goodie bag that included a gift voucher to try Clarks Shoes out with. Thank you for that the girls appreciate it. 

Review: Sound Asleep speaker pillow

Morning all.

A few weeks back I was fortunate enough to have the chance to review the Sound asleep Speaker pillow.
Knowing what the girls are like we jumped at the chance.

I've been using it for about a week now and I must say I'm impressed. It works flawlessly with any device that has a 3.5mm headphone socket, I also tried a a Nokia E71 tied in with a 2.5mm to 3.5mm headphone adapter, again worked flawlessly.

I love listening to online radio stations like interFACE Pirate radio, Radio Jackie or OCremix. and doing so would involve headphones, and that's a silly idea in bed. whereas with the speaker pillow I get the chance to play tunes to lul me to sleep without strangling myself, or Jessie getting mad I'm waking her up with my random music.

The reason Jess does not wake is not because she likes my style of music, hell no. The speaker in the pillow is designed to be audible only to the person who's using it. As you'll see in the video below it's whisper quiet unless your on the pillow.

I decided it's not fair to test it by myself and let my youngest use it.
I loaded an mp3 player up with songs she likes, and used a dead battery, which would give her about an hour of music. She loved it and fell asleep within the hour. However, we thought we'd broken it at this point as the music cut out a lot. Panic set in thinking we'd killed it (this is mentioned on the video) . But it was the mp3 player. Where it's been sat for ages the jack has a dry solder joint which will be fixed soon.

I asked Lissy what she thought. Sorry it's random and small, but she was in a strange mood. Also she hates being filmed so I took the opportunity while she was happy.

Eventually Vee will test it too. But she was out today so we left it to lissy.





In the time i've had it I like it lots. It's comfortable, helped my youngest settle while ill and chilled me out to some great music (haLO-IS  in haloland FTW)

my only concern is the extension cable feels a little flimsy It's going to take a fair bit of stick in normal use. but it may not be the best in long use. Thankfully spares are avaliable.

If you want one I suggest visiting the Sound Asleep website. They will help you sleep with a good tune.
However If you follow Sound asleep on facebook you may get the chance to win a pillow too.

Huge thanks to the Sound Asleep team for sending one out to me for us to test. (we have been given the pillow in exchange for a review.)
Paul

Cybermummy Was Awesome

What a weekend it's been.

From tube closures, footlong Subway, getting lost and meeting people who I consider to be amazing friends. This was my Cybermummy11 experience. And I loved it!

I will admit. It was overwhelming at times, especially being one of a few dads at the events, but once the initial dust of being in the middle of a mostly female world settled down I began to enjoy myself.

To be one of a handful of men around 400 women to some could be seen as a perverts paradise, but. It made the event an immensely good one. Being recognised by people was an amazing feeling, especially when your feeling under dressed in a room full of glamorous ladies. Quickly proven wrong when presenting the world with my fathers day present "DAD'LL FIX IT" top.

In many of the keynotes I learnt things, especially the keeping it legal discussion, providing information which could keep me out of problems when things could turn ugly.

The whole day was perfect. Absolutely loved it. And to Mummiafelice from White Lilly Blog, It was an honor to finally meet you, my dear friend. 

Meeting all the PR's bought a refreshing experience to me, where many didn't expect to see daddy bloggers there where surprised. A few have asked to work with me in the future. That in itself is awesome. As was a journalist speaking to me. Sweet :)

highlights of the day included Every single person there, from the meet and greet people to my fellow bloggers. Meeting Onlydads was an awesome experience to meet him, In my eyes he is a pure gent who works tirelessly for an amazing cause. Also Dadzclub was another one i was eager to meet, as my post on miscarriage will be hosted by them. :) Oh and keep an eye out for the Cybermummy Calendar. Me, OnlyDads and Dadzclub are in the calendar i hope

There was such a warm friendly at the venue from everyone I met and everyone made you feel welcome. including the PR teams and The Brewery's staff. Each and every person involved including those behind the scenes are all amazing and helped made the event amazing,

Unexpected surprise of the evening was Winning an Ipad from the lovely team at Glam Media, (I nearly fainted apparently, it's still a blur). Resolving issues with three was a plus too. (Remember my rant? Consider it sorted) All the goodies I bought home, many are going to friends who could use them better than me.

Next year. I will be back, Even if I have to wear a skirt to get sponsorship! (said as a joke, but I will do so If asked)

Thank you for a great day Sian, I owe you so much. You rock! .

My final word on the event in this post - We are all unique in our own special way. That makes every one of us in the blogosphere awesome!

Paul (see what  i wore --> http://instagr.am/p/GYM9e/)