Master Puppet Theater

These make us laugh. Admittedly, most likely an unnecessary accoutrement, but fun filled non-the-less! Master Puppet Theater includes 60 puppets and 96 pages of famous scenes!
We will tell ourselves that this is a great way to expose young ones to Shakespeare when we pull them out on rainy days or long plane rides, but will secretly know that these are really just for our enjoyment! We are all ready trying to come up with funny and random twists on these classic tales. 
And if this doesn't have you laughing, these adorable finger puppets from Etsy Shop Abbey Christine will!
Haven't you always wanted an Ira Glass finger puppet!

And one of Frida Kahlo!

Wishbone Design

Balance Bikes are kinda a big deal around here. These fabulous creations save adults' backs while allowing wee ones to balance on their own.  But now there is a new bike in town... Enter the 3 in 1 by Wishbone Design. This little darling moves with a child from trike to bike, with a stop by balance bike. We adore any gear that can live with a family for awhile!

Piutre

Another of our favorite finds from Toy Fair was The Piutre Company, these handmade magnificient stuffed animals speak for themselves, but the enthusiasm of the companies fans are contagious. We spoke first with two friends of the company who had attended Toy Fair just to show their support! This company has been family owned for almost four decades. It was sold to a larger company in the 1990's, but the family bought it back when they felt their product was diminishing. All their designs are made in Italy and they can even make them to order if you prefer, want the polar bear looking in another direction, or the dog lying down in a different way- they can make those alterations for you. It was really exciting in an ocean of large companies making disposable creations in factories unseen, to meet companies striving to continue to preserve the art in toy making.

RJ Wright Company

This may have been our favorite find of the entire fair- RJ Wright and Company has been making exquisite dolls and stuffed animals for over the last thirty years. Designed and hand-made in Vermont, these dolls have been winning the hearts of collectors for decades. While not dolls that will be anyone's daily lovey, these would look amazing in a nursery as a work of art.  We were delighted to meet the artists' daughter and speak with her at great length about these amazing works of art. Here's a look behind the scene at their studio in Vermont.

 The facial detail on all their dolls and stuffed animals are air brushed by an artist.

 Master seamstresses sew each of the outfits.

Getting dressed and ready to go. Et Voila!

March Hare is fully jointed, stands about 17" tall, and is one of 250 created. 

Little Red Riding Hood is out of production, but we love her so much we wanted to share!

Greetings from Toy Fair!!!

We are in one our favorite places on this green earth this week- NYC! This week the largest toy fair in North America is underway. We stopped by yesterday to have a look see. There were acres of conventional, plastic monstrocities, but scattered throughout were some old favorites and we found so many new ones! All this week we will be posting on our new found best friends in the world of toys.
First up, Elope, while decidedly more mainstream than we generally lean (some of their product range can be found at Toys R Us) when we say these we started to jump up and down with glee. We really had just been talking amongst ourselves a few weeks ago wondering why Steam Punk hadn't made its way to the schoolyard. Well, it has! Take a look at these!

 Don't you just want to go out and find a fighter jet! 

  By the way- we love the jacket he's wearing! According to the lovely sales rep that we spoke to, Elope is working to reduce packaging on all their products. Most of what we say was not packaged and are sold simply with a tag.  These items were also pretty sturdy, they seemed like they could take the heat of being played with daily. This is part of their sustainability plan we were told- that they work hard to make products that will last so that they are not disposable- reducing the need to replace them! Yay!

What we love about Steampunk and kids is that to us it seems as if it would inspire little inventors striving to come up with the latest funky invention. Here's some of their jewelry as well.

 If you are interested in some real steam punk- probably not for the schoolyard, check out these sites on Etsy.

 From Watts Industries.

 


From Tom Banwell

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Looking for a new friend?

If you are on the hunt for a new lovey for a little person in your life- check out HazelVillage Designs hailing from Brooklyn, USA. These adorable critters will surely make your short-ee smile and you will smile too knowing that each design is handmade and their wee little outfits are made from salvaged fabric scraps. This pleases us to no end- we feel it is compulsory to have everything re-used and used up!

Pillow Talk

There are little boys in our lives that adore all things truck related. We think that these pillows were made with them in mind. Berlin designer Gabriela Pardo's creations are fun, simple, and timeless.

While trucks are fine and all- this one just may be our very favorite!

Topozoo

These adorable puzzle friends are made from recycled wood (which is formaldehyde free) right here in the USA. We love it when toys serve multiple functions! These can be taken apart and rebuilt. Build a zoo animal or let you imagination take flight and create your own new creature! Made by Topozoo.

Fun Toys for Bigger Kids

Sometimes it gets tricky finding toys that will still inspire children to play after they have grown accustomed to multiple electronic gizmos.  But these low-tech/ high science gadgets will have everyone interested.  Below is an assortment of toys from the UK shop Myriad Online.
This cable car is super fun.  We can see many, many trips with a variety of animals.

For the budding tinker-er this electronic motor kit is sure to please!

Know a star gazer in the making?  Well this should strike his fancy!  A build your own telescope!

And we don't know about you, but we would have died for this when we were preteens!  Just think of all the cool slides you could make outside of class!!  All we got to look at was a silly onion skin and some leaves.  From Imagine Childhood

Dream Ball

Let's hope this is the wave of the future. Designers for the South Korea design firm UnplugDesign envision a world where "waste not want not" is fully realized. By redesigning aid boxes that the Red Cross and the UN use to deliver goods to some of the world's most underprivileged, they were able to eliminate waste AND leave children a much desired football ( also known as a soccer ball to us Americans). Living in such extreme poverty children in most of these aid sites were unable to purchase footballs. In parts of the world where many live on less than a dollar a day- the price tag of even a cheap ball could be the equivilent of two weeks salary.  Not to be dissuaded children have been making balls out of palm leaves and plastic bags wrapped together. This inspired the designers to create what they call the Dream Ball. Their gift to all the children of the world. We think it's a gift to all of us!

Selfishly- we want these to become available for purchase too! Wouldn't that be the greatest way to send a gift to every seven year old you know?!

Italian Rider

There are many fantastic riding toys for children these days, but this handmade extraordinary Italian Scooter takes the cake-at least from  price point.  Made from fiberglass with aluminum and steel details this scooter is completely made from scratch to order- you pick the color and can change minor details. While you wait the 60 days that this one of a kind item, you can delight in knowing that once it appears on your door step the scooter will delight for years to come. Oh and did we mention it comes with working lights! p.s. prepare yourself you could get yourself a used Vespa for the same price