Even if you are busier than you ever thought it was humanly possible to be with your twin or multiple babies or twin toddlers, that doesn’t mean twin clothing fashion has to take a back seat when dressing your adorable multiples or twins. The year’s hottest baby and toddler children’s wear trends can easily be adapted to twin clothing or multiple clothing. We’re calling it “twin chic.” Just tear a page out of these five key fall and winter children’s twin clothing fashion trends to take you and your twins or multiples from the holidays through the entire winter in fashion.Color. Anything grey continues to be the major color story in the baby and toddler fashion world, but in a big change, last year’s predominant soft rain cloud grey palette expands into more grey family tones. These new shades vary from a soft sandy grey to light smoke grey to heather tones or even to deepest anthracite or charcoal grey. Joining the grey story is a subplot: fuchsia continues strong for children’s wear, either on its own or a great accessory color for paring with more neutral shades. More breaking news: in the fuchsia/ purple family, a brand new shade pops on to center stage — a soft rosy blush lilac that perfectly complements almost any neutral.Twin that Trend. Turn fashion trends into twin clothing trends. For the latest, fashion-forward trend, coordinate the various new grey hues with flashes of color in the accessories — socks or hats in this season’s must-have lilac (this year’s purple), or the new baby soft mint green.For example, pair matching grey t-shirts (smoke, or sand-grey) with new trendy complementary colors, as lilac or light mint, For a cute brother-sister look, stick to the grey t-shirts, but alternate sock colors s with lilac or softest pink for one, and navy blue socks for the other. Or try for the show-stopping “mirror” twin look — one twin with a soft grey T-shirt, and, for example, fuchsia socks, and the other twin wearing a fuchsia T-shirt with light grey socks. For multiples, you might want to “paint,” from light to dark tones, stepping from the lightest, softest grey t-shirt all the way up to charcoal grey for the final multiple. All perfectly coordinated, of course, with matching socks or hats in a complementary colorSnowflakes and reindeer. Coming on strong this year in the adult fashion world, traditional Nordic design elements – reindeer, snowflakes, fox faces, and evergreen pines — are popping up all over designs for babies and toddlers. Go all out with the ‘full Nordic” look, layering chunky knits l over cotton patterned cotton fleece reindeer sweaters, or just add just one snowflake or reindeer design to evoke the soft snows and deep woods of a winter wonderland. Don’t be afraid to mix and match a profusion of patterns, colors, and fabrics — a hallmark of this style — sometimes even in just a single garment.Twin that trend. Just a single snowflake pattern on a cotton sweater takes you and your twins to the height of Nordic fashion, but for the maximum baby or toddler chic, add chunky pieces of different fabrics and textures over soft, patterned basics. Plump for symmetry chic, and dress multiples in matching snowflake patterns — or because no two snowflakes or children are alike, mix variations of Nordic design elements on each child. Tie the look altogether for both twins, selecting one matching piece — identical Nordic-patterned scarves, for example — or match different fabrics and patterns all in the same color family to pull it all together for your little fashionistas.Stars and stripes and polka dots.Last year’s stripe and polka dot explosion bursts over into this year’s fall and winter look, with new star patterns for added excitement. Everything from “business baby” pinstripes to wide broad nautical, sea-faring stripes and polka dots in all colors set the trends. For maximum excitement, pair stripped leggings with polka dot or start patterns. Pull together the look, by keeping it in the family — the same color family, selecting “clashing” patterns in the same or lighter or darker hues. And looking ahead to next year, dots are expanding to large circles of different colors in different sizes — taking off on the emerging trend of matching large blocks of color in a single garment.Twin that trend. Stripes line up on twin baby creepers, leggings, shirts in ‘business baby’ pinstripes, or wide blue and white stripes for the traditional nautical look, or multi-color stripes for color excitement. Mixing it up is a strong trend, so while you’re at it,pair that polka-dot baby t-shirt with striped leggings for true fashion flair, with one toddler in all stripes and the other in color-coordinated polka dots. Or mix and match patterns on both, with one identical accessory — the same polka-dot hat, for example — referencing one another.The folklore look. Taking off from last year’s hippie look, ethnic is in, incorporating velvet pieces, and drawing from Russian, African tribal and other patterns. This ornamental style is marked by passion for decoration, including frogged or toggled coat closings, and all matter of trims and braiding in swirling figure eights decorating sleeves and hems. Mix and match rich patterns with abandon, for a layered, Russian look for your little Ivans and Matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls)Twin that trend. Perhaps no other style lends itself so well to mixing and matching for your multiples as the folklore look. Give in to your inner lavish, decorative style, randomly matching African batik patterns, with a small flower patterns in the same color pattern. However, avoid costume-y “dolls of many nations look,” referencing rather than reproducing a entire folklore look from one country or ethnicity on each twin.Eco-clothing and sustainability. Not so much a fashion as a way of life, soft clothing made from sustainable, all-natural fabrics such as 100% cotton, merino wool, and or silk is going mainstream, with almost all leading children’s clothing designers and brands offering an all-natural options. The look is recognized by soft prints, colors and dyes or graphics made with non-toxic, sustainable dye transfer prints.Twin that trend. Dress your multiples in coordinating looks and colors. Once your twins are old enough to express preferences, expect that they will choose the softest eco-clothing.
Business Loans In Canada: Financing Solutions Via Alternative Finance & Traditional Funding
Business loans and finance for a business just may have gotten good again? The pursuit of credit and funding of cash flow solutions for your business often seems like an eternal challenge, even in the best of times, let alone any industry or economic crisis. Let’s dig in.
Since the 2008 financial crisis there’s been a lot of change in finance options from lenders for corporate loans. Canadian business owners and financial managers have excess from everything from peer-to-peer company loans, varied alternative finance solutions, as well of course as the traditional financing offered by Canadian chartered banks.
Those online business loans referenced above are popular and arose out of the merchant cash advance programs in the United States. Loans are based on a percentage of your annual sales, typically in the 15-20% range. The loans are certainly expensive but are viewed as easy to obtain by many small businesses, including retailers who sell on a cash or credit card basis.
Depending on your firm’s circumstances and your ability to truly understand the different choices available to firms searching for SME COMMERCIAL FINANCE options. Those small to medium sized companies ( the definition of ‘ small business ‘ certainly varies as to what is small – often defined as businesses with less than 500 employees! )
How then do we create our road map for external financing techniques and solutions? A simpler way to look at it is to categorize these different financing options under:
Debt / Loans
Asset Based Financing
Alternative Hybrid type solutions
Many top experts maintain that the alternative financing solutions currently available to your firm, in fact are on par with Canadian chartered bank financing when it comes to a full spectrum of funding. The alternative lender is typically a private commercial finance company with a niche in one of the various asset finance areas
If there is one significant trend that’s ‘ sticking ‘it’s Asset Based Finance. The ability of firms to obtain funding via assets such as accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets with no major emphasis on balance sheet structure and profits and cash flow ( those three elements drive bank financing approval in no small measure ) is the key to success in ABL ( Asset Based Lending ).
Factoring, aka ‘ Receivable Finance ‘ is the other huge driver in trade finance in Canada. In some cases, it’s the only way for firms to be able to sell and finance clients in other geographies/countries.
The rise of ‘ online finance ‘ also can’t be diminished. Whether it’s accessing ‘ crowdfunding’ or sourcing working capital term loans, the technological pace continues at what seems a feverish pace. One only has to read a business daily such as the Globe & Mail or Financial Post to understand the challenge of small business accessing business capital.
Business owners/financial mgrs often find their company at a ‘ turning point ‘ in their history – that time when financing is needed or opportunities and risks can’t be taken. While putting or getting new equity in the business is often impossible, the reality is that the majority of businesses with SME commercial finance needs aren’t, shall we say, ‘ suited’ to this type of funding and capital raising. Business loan interest rates vary with non-traditional financing but offer more flexibility and ease of access to capital.
We’re also the first to remind clients that they should not forget govt solutions in business capital. Two of the best programs are the GovernmentSmall Business Loan Canada (maximum availability = $ 1,000,000.00) as well as the SR&ED program which allows business owners to recapture R&D capital costs. Sred credits can also be financed once they are filed.
Those latter two finance alternatives are often very well suited to business start up loans. We should not forget that asset finance, often called ‘ ABL ‘ by those Bay Street guys, can even be used as a loan to buy a business.
If you’re looking to get the right balance of liquidity and risk coupled with the flexibility to grow your business seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of business finance success who can assist you with your funding needs.
The Definition of Autism – How Will Possible Changes Affect Special Education Services?
There has been much talk about the potential changes to the Autism Diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) when the updated, fifth version is published (the projected date of publication is May of 2013). One of the expected changes is to combine several disorders including, Autism,Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) into one category called Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although this change concerns some people, most people in the fields of medicine, community services and education already lump these diagnoses together.The major concern is over the potential changes to the specific criteria that people will have to meet to receive the official diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. In the current manual, a person can qualify for the diagnosis by exhibiting six or more of 12 specified behaviors. The proposed changes to the criteria narrow the field; a person would have to exhibit three or more deficits in social interaction and communication and exhibit at least two repetitive behaviors. The fear is that this will leave out a large group of people who are considered high functioning (including a huge portion of children with the current diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and PDD-NOS). Currently, scientific, trial testing of the new criteria is under way and this data will be used to make final recommendations.Although changes to the diagnosis will likely affect service delivery in the medical field and the community services field they are not projected to make significant changes in the education field because qualification for special education is not based on a particular diagnosis but on educational needs. Currently the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines the educational category of Autism as “a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.” Each state has their own interpretation of this law so it is worthwhile to search for your state’s educational definition of Autism.Some people fear that a change to the official DSM diagnosis will give school districts a way to stop or decrease services for certain students who currently qualify for services. If schools attempt to do this, many experts believe that children who are on the higher functioning end of the Autism spectrum may still qualify for special education under the category of Other Health Impaired. It is also important to note that a school district cannot discontinue providing a service such as Speech Therapy or Occupational Therapy unless the child exhibits significant improvement and there is no longer a need for remediation in that area.