When Soul Olie Came Visiting

"The fish flies

high into the sky

The sun smiles

the clouds rejoice,

For there is the lotus

glowing quietly

at the root of the

tree called life"

A month back, I was sent a toddler full buckle my way for a few days to use and review. As always, I was eagerly waiting for it to reach us and when it arrived, I opened the parcel only to be left wide-eyed in awe and amazement. It was one of Soul's limited edition carrier, Roots and Wings, in collaboration with Olie, a family-run studio based in Bangalore that makes handcrafted decor accessories.

I fell in love with the print instantly as I took it out of the box. The panel is white with yellow and greyish-black print, depicting the tree, flying fish and roots. I love the description about the print in both the Soul and Olie page - the flying fish that set out on its journey to find Nirvana or true happiness, only to find it at the root of the tree called Life. This description gave a slightly more 'awe' factor to the print and I can't really tell you how much head over heels I fell in love with the carrier, especially after reading what the print depicts. The print just stands out in the crowd and is definitely a head-turner. The waist and shoulder straps are a dark greyish black, and this enhanced the beauty of the carrier. The entire colour theme just blended well together and it was a joy to see how beautiful it looked.

As I carried my little boy in this for the first time, I realised how soft and cushy the material is. Although it is cotton, I felt, compared to the other cotton range that Soul has (I've tried the Ikat print and the woven cotton carrier), this felt a tad bit softer. The fabric was light and although not as breathable as linen, this definitely felt cool on the skin. I loved how cuddle-worthy it was and it definitely made the carrier feel light and comfortable while carrying the little boy. 

The fitting is the same as all the other Soul's full buckles. I had earlier reviewed a standard carrier here. Although there I reviewed a standard full buckle, the technicalities of the toddler full buckle remains the same except for a wider and taller panel. The little boy is 3.5 years, weighs around 12 kg and is 93 cm tall. Although he still fits into a standard full buckle, we don't get the knee to knee support there, as we do in a toddler full buckle. The height of the toddler panel is still a tad big for him, but still snug and comfortable. 

This time, I guess, I fell in love with the carrier more than the little boy and there were times when he was on a carrier strike. I didn't lose heart though, I carried his friends in the carrier and got some extra cuddles as well. It came with us for our outings and we even turned to it for all the clingy, cranky moments at home. We did spend a good time with it, although we weren't able to capture a lot of images.

This was one carrier that left me in tears when we parted. I really didn't want to let it go but, well, it had to make a difference and show it's worth to other parents too. I miss having it with us and you won't believe the number of times I've thought about it after it left us. This one definitely left a huge impression on me and I am sure, if and when I think of adding one more full buckle to my stash, this would be the one that will come to my mind first.