I'm crazy about Anais & I's super-fun balloon animal theme this season and wanted to get to the bottom of what inspired it! I was lucky to catch designer Jane D'Haene this morning to get the scoop.

What's your favorite balloon animal & why?
Hmmmmm. This is difficult questions... My personal favorite will be
elephant. I just really like the color choice and I really like elephant.
If you ask my Anais, she likes poodle, Lucas likes Dinosaur and Nicholas
likes Elephant too.:)

Why did you decide to do balloon animals// & do you know (this is a
tribeca question) Raggidy Supreme (the balloon animal maker who entertains
at Cirque Rouge? (just wondering!)
No. I didn't know about it. Balloon Animal serious idea came from my dear
friend, our illustrator, Maia Larkin. She gave me one sketch and I thought
it was brilliant and that weekend we went to Tribeca Film festival. I saw
so many children lining up to get balloons and thought this is just perfect.
I ended up taking crazy amount of pictures of every children's balloons.

Why did you decide to go into home goods/pillows, etc.?
As you know, I have an interior/architecture background. Home goods are the
area I always wanted to get into. I also would love to design furniture for
children's room. I made one stuffed animal chair for my son and I would
love to continue developing this area.

What are you most looking forward to this season (in general - a trip,
event, etc.)
Right now, I am looking forward to our family trip next week. I've been
working so hard I feel I could use little break to get inspiration for my
next collection. But most of I miss being silly with my children. I just
want to stay in bed, cuddle, kiss my children as long as I can. I want them
more than anything. They are my inspirations.
What do you like best about springtime? What do you like best about
designing a spring collection.
I'm definitely a spring/summer person. It makes me happier. Being in New
York, I really enjoy four seasons but I like Spring and summer most. Love
seeing more people on the street, love seeing trees, flowers and just more
energies everywhere.
Spring/summer collection is in some ways more challenging because I prefer
to design much simpler body. And I pay much more attention to comfort. My
children's wears my design. I have to make sure they are comfortable and
looks great. Spring/Summer is about lighter fabric, lighter colors, simpler
design.
Check out the new Anais & I collection here and be sure to send us your feedback! We hope you love it as much as we do!!!