Design for Children
Victor Papanek wrote about children’s toys and materiality in the 1960’s questioning the glut of mass-manufactured toys. He encouraged the design of toys that promoted open ended play, and lamented how the rise of cheap toys could indirectly teach questionable values. Most toys “are made of cheap plastic, and stain, break, or wear out quickly.. Playing with them the child cannot help but to assimilate certain values: things are badly made, quality is unimportant, garish colors and cutesy decorations are the norm, and when things wear out they are to be pitched and replacements arrive miraculously”.
Native hardwood is a natural beautiful play material. Robust and durable, these play objects below are designed for lifelong use, a collectible to be passed on through generations..
Totem Stacking Toy in native oak, ash, beech, elm, hazel, birch. Child-safe oil/wax finish.
Simple colorful ‘faces’ inspire curiosity. Stacking play develops symmetrical intelligence and hand - eye coordination. Each face and wood offer different visual and tactile surfaces, stimulating sensory perception. Sound varies according to wood density.
Totem Tree; bluetit, beetle, barn owl, fungus, worm, ‘tree’ bits are chestnut and ash.
Dalsland Skog Creatures
The ‘doll’ as a toy form is an ancient and universal ‘gestalt’ of the human being, allowing children to explore and play with being ‘alive’.
Plug is a robot that keeps things in it’s head, like raisins, lego and balls of fluff. It can move about, but can only be operated by children’s hands and imagination.
Materials; ash, elm, magnets, cork
insideoutdownsideup playscape
Inspired by open-ended play, the non-prescriptive playsgrounds of the 1960’s and the thinking of Aldo van Eyck, this playscape is designed to activate children’s bodies and imagination.
Materials; oak, Tricoya, steel, playground wood chip.
