Welcome to Pop Kids Picks!
Thank you for visiting my blog to learn more about me and Pop Kids Picks!
I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Vietnamese refugee parents. My parents came to the United States with me in tow July of 1979. My dad held odd end jobs while re-attending college for his engineering degree (his Vietnamese degree did not transfer to the United States). My parents were poor, but they were rich in love and determination to “make it” in America. Growing up, we had no money for trendy clothes. We had hand me downs from relatives or from the church. My mother, however, was an amazing seamstress. She could make anything…and anything is what she did for us. We had the most on-trend clothing because my mother would make it all for us. This is where my love of fashion began.
My obsession with fashion further grew when I was 11 years old on the set of the show Ghostwriter, where I played Tina Nguyen. In between scenes, I would spend all my time in Wardrobe watching the wardrobe women put outfits together, play with jewelry, all kinds of accessories…and…the shoes!! Forget about it, they were my favorite. Doc Martens were all the rage and I had to have them (still love them to this day). Thank goodness those were all my character wore, so I was able to get my fix!
Fast forward to 20+ years. Carson was born in 2010. At first, I had the hardest time finding clothes for him. You can walk into a department store and trip over all the girls’ clothing and accessories. Meanwhile, finding cute boys’ clothes was next to impossible. I was determined to find styles that were not the typical cartoon emblazoned onesies. I wanted him to dress like his Daddy!
Lila joined our family in 2013. Whoa was she so totally different from Carson! Carson is my sweet, chill fella (takes after his Daddy). Lila, according to my husband, Matt, is my twin…oops! She is feisty and sweet and has no fear. I was in my girly heaven with all that I could find for her.
I started going online and looking for all sorts of different stores, boutiques, online shops that sold different and fun clothes for the kids. With two kids in tow, it is not as fun to actually go shop. So, I learned to just get everything online. Sure, I still love going to brick and mortar stores, but it’s just easier to shop online.
When Carson was born, we got a new camera and my love for photography started to grow! Having no idea how to use the camera at first, I only shot in automatic. What I really wanted was “professional looking shots” of Carson. It took me awhile, but I finally took a class and learned to shoot in manual mode leaving those automatic days behind! Best decision ever.
With all of these pictures, I started documenting the kids’ clothes about a year ago. My best friend said, “Why don’t you post your pictures on Instagram everyone I know loves your kids’ style?” After some encouragement from friends and family, Pop Kids Picks was born! Since then I have had the longing to engage more with others who have a love of kids’ fashion as much as I do, but don’t have the time to do it themselves. I want to help you find clothes for your kids! Let me do the leg work for you.
I am so excited to start this journey. I hope you will enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy putting it together for you! Thank you so much for following us on this new venture!!!
Xo,
T
*Photo by Danielle Guenther Photography