Toy of the month – April 2016

Oh my I am so excited for this month’s toy review as it means so many things to me. As you may know from my Instagram account I am rather keen doll enthusiast. They make me go all swoony and weak at the knees (sorry hubby) !

I honestly love handmade dolls and I am not quite sure where my obsession started. As a child more than likely as my Mum, Nana, Grandma and Aunts were and are all makers, knitters, doll makers, quilters, weavers, sewers, artists and spinners, and being around such creativity from a young age, I think it is in my blood. I love to support such handmade beauty and the people who create them. 

And so it is that I was honoured to receive and review this months’ “Toy of the month” from one of my favourite Australian doll makers These Little Treasures. Dainy creates the most magical & divine dolls and this month I have the pleasure to review her doll making kit, Mini Friends – 2 Dolls Kit – Lola and Lenny. 

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Meet the Maker – Maja Säfström

Art as we all know is very subjective, what one person sees in a drawing, the next person may not. However, my experience in looking at art, whether it be drawings, paintings, sculptures or installations, is that the viewer will usually know straight away if they like the piece of art or not. It will stir in them a passion, a raw emotion, a reminder of the past or a feeling in the present, but a sensation nonetheless.

Swedish based Maja Säfström is one of those artists. Her approach to illustrating is full of wit and humour, it makes you smile even if you are having a long, frantic, horrible day.

Each drawing is quirky, usually of animals, mainly monochromatic but always so stunningly simple and funny. You can spend hours lost in her world of drawings and not to mention laugh deeply to the little quotes that sometimes go with it. I can imagine to have a coffee with Maja or even better a glass of wine, would entail a sore tummy from all the laughter she would provide you with.

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Australian Wooden Toys

I have to say in looking for handmade and wooden toys over the past 2 years for my blog, it has honestly been quite a struggle. There are a lot of wooden toys but all made by the big companies; Plan Toys, Hape, Melissa and Doug, Janod and Kidkraft to name a few.  We love our Hape & Plan Toys but not all the companies produce solid wood toys, many are made of MDF, which isn’t sturdy and if it is painted, then it chips easily.

However, just in the past year, there has been an absolute resurgence in handmade and wooden toys.  And I can proudly say there are so many handmade and heirloom made toys being made right here in Australia, many in lovely mamas and papas homes! Woohoo!

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Rose and Rex

OoohI am just so excited that Rose and Rex have finally launched their online shop!! Yippee and hip hip hooray!!

With teacher curated toys and an emphasis on eco- friendly, heirloom quality and design led toys, this stunning new store is a toy store filled with all my toy dreams!

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