Is there anything better than a collab? Bringing together the best of two distinct universes, there’s something special about them. When two brands work together, they find an opportunity to explore new methods, discover new techniques, and grow their own brand as they see how other’s work.

Last winter at Playtime Paris, we spotted a special new collaboration as we explored the aisles, and simply had to stop for a chat! Designed for Autumn-Winter 2024-2025, the brands Bonmot and Sticky Lemon have created an exclusive collaboration. Having met at a previous edition of Playtime Paris, these two brands fell in love at first sight, and from this newly formed friendship, beautiful products were created. But don’t just take our word for it – let’s get the story from the Bonmot and Sticky Lemon’s teams themselves!

 

kid's brands

In case anyone isn’t familiar, can you please introduce your brands?

Sticky Lemon is a brand that is there for the little ones and the big ones! It’s a brand that is bold, colorful, quirky, and sunny. At Sticky Lemon, we love to experiment with renewed colors, while giving a wink to the retro times.

Bonmot is a Spanish brand that uses 100% organic cotton to design our collections for kids from 3 months to 11 years old. Our collections are really colorful, and they’re designed for happy kids!

 

How did you come together to create this collaboration?

Bonmot > We met the Sticky Lemon team at one of the Playtime Paris trade shows. We have always admired their work, their brand values, and their identity. We immediately connected, and talked about doing something together with the idea of creating new products that would be half Sticky Lemon, half Bonmot. Using each brand’s know-how, we wanted to do something new and surprising. After the Summer 2023 show, we decided to get started! We had our first online meetings where both teams shared ideas and proposals to start working on.

Sticky Lemon > We met Bonmot at one of the Playtime shows in Paris, oui! We always love being at Playtime, and since the first time we saw them we’ve been big fans of Bonmot’s collections. Their colorways, organic materials, and overall identity immediately put a smile on our faces. We saw a perfect match coming up and already fantasized about working together! After the summer edition in 2023, we met again and got to work. We shared ideas and started sketching!

 

Sticky Lemon is based in the Netherlands and Bonmot in Spain. Was this a challenge at all? How did your two teams work together?

SL > It felt like we had known each other for a very long time already! Because we operate in different countries, yes, our meetings were always online. This went very smoothly though! The distance and difference in language had no effect on the collaboration. If anything, it made us stronger – though our Spanish still isn’t that good!

B > Yes, from the first moment, we worked as one team. We each brought new ideas to enrich the project. Our meetings were all online because of the distance, but we worked together throughout the process via email, phone calls, and video meetings. It was great to have the opportunity to connect and work with another brand from another country thanks to Playtime!

Bonmot Sticky Lemon
kid's brands

How did your teams divide the work? Where and how did you decide to produce the products?

B > First, we collaborated on the creative process. From Sticky Lemon’s patterns, we at Bonmot applied our campaign prints and colorways to their backpack, fanny pack, and boots. The brilliant result was products that were half Sticky Lemon and half Bonmot, just as we had imagined. These items were produced by Sticky Lemon.

Sticky Lemon suggested we make a sweatshirt from one of our designs, which we produced with our manufacturers. Their team then finished some details like adding their great patch to the sweatshirt in their production workshop.

SL > By having Bonmot produce the clothing and Sticky Lemon make the bags, we both stuck to what we’re good at. We exchanged our know-how and technical drawings, which allowed Bonmot to design their own pattern on our well-known bags. For our turn, we gave a twist to the classic Bonmot sweatshirt. With its retro sports vibe, the sweater fit right in with the rest of Sticky Lemon’s sporty 2024 collection. With the « Better Together » logo and embroidery of one of our quirky illustrations, we gave it the Sticky Lemon finishing touch!

B > It was a very simple process. Like I said, we connected right away. Both brands have very different values and images, but they coexist really well because of their carefree image of bright colors and fun prints.

 

What does this collaboration bring to the kid’s market?

B > Combining the know-how of two brands – one focused on clothing and the other on accessories – brings new, fresh, and fun projects to the market. To show the industry that a good relationship between brands can produce surprising things. For us at Bonmot, we have been able to work with accessories, which was something new. This offered us something different to add to our collection.

SL > Both brands are introducing a new product in their collection. Bonmot is giving their customers the chance to buy a bag in their unique Bonmot style, while Sticky Lemon is offering their customers a sweater in the bold and quirky Sticky way. This collaboration also shows that you can see other brands as partners, not competitors. We really believe we are better together.

Bonmot Sticky Lemon
kid's brands

That’s really beautiful. What are some of the benefits of working with another brand that you discovered in this collaboration?

B > Collaborating with other brands is a fantastic way to enrich and learn from each other. Developing new products adds value to your collection and let’s you offer your customers something new and different.

SL > Sharing know-how and learning new things, as well as making new friends. We’re super happy with this collab, which has resulted in cool new additions to both of our collections.

 

Do you have any advice for other brands considering collabs?

B > We think it is a very enriching experience. It was very interesting to see how another brand works, and beautiful synergies were created. You enjoy the evolution, and you learn from each other. The advice we would give is that it’s important to find brands that match you, because then you’ll have new friends forever. We would love to repeat the experience with all that we have learned and enjoyed.

SL > It was so nice to be able to learn about another product. We’ve been making accessories for quite a while now, but we’re sure it’s closely connected to clothing. A fun accessory makes a good outfit, and the other way around. As we said, we are honored to be working with Bonmot.

B > On each item from the collaboration, there’s a label that talks about the collab and how we worked together. Everything that we made is thanks to Playtime which enabled us to meet!

SL > Yes, if Playtime Paris wasn’t here, we would never have met one another and this collaboration never would have happened!

 

Thank you so much to both the Bonmot and Sticky Lemon teams! We absolutely love the collaboration, and the story behind it. We couldn’t agree more – we really are better together! ❤️

Brands, there is still some space left to apply for your booth at Playtime Paris June 29 – July 1 and Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York July 28 – 30! Don’t miss the chance to not only meet buyers and other professionals in the kids’ fashion and lifestyle industry, but to build relationships with fellow brands as well. Registration is also open for professional visitors from around the world to get their pass to visit The Big Small Show, so click here to register now!

 

All images courtesy of Bonmot and Sticky Lemon 
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Madeline Blankenship
25/04/2024
Madeline Blankenship