Words & Pictures
PLAY TIME
Posted by Kate on 30/11/09
As a collector of all things great and small, significant and insignificant my finest hoardings are that of small coloured plastic objects that snap, click or magnetically join together. I like to keep spending my 'research' money on buying them as they make me feel productive.
Crystal Towers - Photo Kate Moross
It all started with pre-school, they just had some really good shit to mess around with. Since growing up, and discovering that I am not alone in my fanaticism, but there are others out there that shared this nostalgia fuelled enthusiasm for blocks and hexagons alike. Sadly the packaging normally lets down the treasures within, Jack and I are thinking about offering our rebranding services, after all it is the adults that buy the toys, so good design is integral.
We have trawled through the internet looking for some of our best buys, and on occasion things we wish we could own but they don't ship to the UK. My personal collection has actually cropped up in many a presentation, and sometimes even in serious client projects. This is the first post of many, highlighting our pick of well designed toys, that we as adults have collected and made work from.
Brio Blocks - Photo Kate Moross
We all remember Brio, not all though could afford the incredibly overpriced bits of wood. I personally never had a train set, perhaps a few scraps that I stole but nothing impressive. I recently went to Hamley's and they had a pretty decent catalogue. Brio has been around forever, since 1908 to be precise, originally specialising in wooden choo-choo's, but have since gone on to produce a lot more.
Brio have a colour palette to die for, primaries with a splash of green, that combined with the raw wooden finish is seriously swedish. When researching for this post I saw a lot of bad toy company websites, and theirs is by far the best. Its so restrained it could be a furniture company. Their product photography is awesome, no kids, no bad photoshop, just clean lines and coloured wooden objects.
It seems that Brio have extended their love of design into releasing newer products for the modern market. For those Yummy Mummies with Graphic Designer husbands, you can now get Brio building blocks for your baby in the best pantone pinks and greens. Seriously good looking on any living room floor. I own these, they are amazing, totally worth the mammoth price tag.