Kids' clothier Flora and Henri reopens, adding gifts for grown-ups

Since 1998, Flora and Henri owner Jane Hedreen has been designing exquisite clothing for kids ages newborn through 10 that elicit murmurs of "If only they made this in my size" from the grown-ups who shop there.

In March 2009, Hedreen moved her Seattle store (there is also an East Coast outpost in New York City) from Downtown to the charming Loveless Building on Capitol Hill. After losing her lease over the summer, Hedreen moved Flora and Henri into the newly renovated Oddfellows Building on East Pine Street and reopened in early October. 

While you may think of Flora and Henri as the place to send grandma to shop for fancy duds, my recent chat with product manager Amy Augustine revealed that there's much more to Flora and Henri than meets the price tag.

Augustine explained to me that while Flora and Henri began by having their clothing manufactured in Canada, since 2006 they have worked with smaller operations in Madagascar and Nepal, whose efforts support abandoned women, orphaned children and access to medicine and education in their communities.

"It would be impossible for us to say we're a store about children unless we work to benefit all children directly," says Augustine.

While these smaller knitting and sewing operations have suffered due to economic and political unrest, Hedreen and Augustine do their best to funnel as much of their work to them as possible. In addition, they sent out a fundraising letter to Flora and Henri customers explaining the dire circumstances of their Madagascar contractors and donated $5,000 themselves to keep these women employed.

This year, Hedreen brought on a new category of gift items for adults. Called "Fancier," these diverse products reflect Hedreen's favorite things, including hard-to-find cosmetics from Paul and Joe ($16-$65), chocolate from local chocolatier Claudio Corallo (from $15), handwoven table linens (from $48), soap and cologne from Santa Maria Novella (from $25) and adorably whimsical aluminum water bottles from Japanese artist Shinzi Katoh (from $20).

And while the clothes are still mini, it's now possible to have a little something from Flora and Henri made just for grown-ups.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. 919 East Pine St., Seattle, WA 98102; 206-325-5520; www.florahenri.com.

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