IndyPlush - Endangered Species Plushies and Cool Stuffed Toys With A Conscience.

IndyPlush, who creates imaginative, adorable and hip plush toys made in Los Angeles, has just launched their Endangered Species collection (some shown above) from which a portion of all profits goes toward educational or wildlife protection organizations. But before showing you that collection, first a little background on the company and their original line of plush products.

IndyPlush Original Collection:



It all started with Plinio Garcia and Andrew Ruesch's son Luke, who was in Franceil Masi’s kindergarten class. Masi, who is not only an elementary school teacher, but also an artist as well as an author and illustrator of children's books, annually asks her students to draw a picture of an animal at the end of each school year. She then turns them into plush toys as a remembrance.


above: Luke's dog is now one of their best sellers.

When Luke brought his plush dog home, Plinio Garcia and Andrew Ruesch loved it. At the next teacher conference, they asked Franceil if she wanted to start a business and that’s essentially how IndyPlush started. Now, Luke’s Dog is one of their best sellers.


above: the Large Owly is their priciest plush at $99

Cute, cuddly and cozy with an edge (moustaches, skeletons and pirate patches), the toys are made with sustainable and eco-friendly materials in Los Angeles. They presently offer 26 different plush toys with prices ranging from $30 to $99 depending upon style and size.

Bunny Skelly in various colors:

Long and Short-haired Wooly Cats:

Spiny Monsters in various colors:

Pigwy:

Skelly Cats and Señor Cat:

Señor Pigwy:

Owly Pirates in various colors:

The pink, bald Love Monster shown in the first image is also available.

The Endangered Species Collection
Now, their newest collection, The Endangered Species consisting of 13 lovable characters from which a portion of the proceeds benefits educational and wildlife protection programs:














Just look how good my own Indy Plush Endangerd Species Tiger looks in my home:


Franceil, Plinio and Andrew now design, create and construct their adorable and hip plush toys in Los Angeles, California and they can be purchased here at their online store.


For other purchase inquiries or questions, please contact rick@indyplush.com

Traditional Children's Toys With A Modern Twist From Sweden.

above image by Jakob Fridholm for Family Living Magazine

Acne JR is a Swedish toy company based in Stockholm that designs traditional and iconic children toys with a modern twist. Part of the Acne family that makes fashions and advertising, the children's toys are thoughtfully created, from the materials to the packaging, each toy is influenced by design and fashion and is beautiful in its simplicity.








The lovely and smple black and white packaging:



Shop their online store here

Acne JR is part of the Acne Family company group, founded in 1996, which works within design, media and fashion. More info at acne.se

Acne JR
Box 4220
102 65 Stockholm
Sweden
+46 736 99 99 07
info@acnejr.com
facebook.com/acnejr

100 Wooden Toy Cars By 100 Different Designers: TobeUs

Matteo Ragni has gathered together 100 masters of design from all over the world including Karim Rashid, Marcel Wanders, Barber Ogersby, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Jaime Hayon, Fabio Novembre and Setsu & Shinobu Ito to name but a few. With these globally renowned designers and the support of Alessi, Ragni created “100% TobeUs: 100 designers for 100 new toy cars.”

Disney Hips Up Their Plushies & Classic Characters Become Cool.

UPDATE 2013: Apparently these were too hip for Disney customers. I'm sad to say the line has been discontinued.

Original post: Disney has been really good about expanding their brand to include things that would appeal to hipsters of all ages. For the last decade or more everything from their films to their toys, their couture jewelry and collectibles have included modern artsy versions in addition to the classic ones.

The latest are their new soft plush toys that were inspired by the urban vinyl toy culture. The modern looking 12" tall toys called Pook-A-Looz (okay, so the name sucks) were designed to capture the personalities of iconic Disney characters in an edgy, offbeat way.



Sassy and fun, the new line of plush features more than 30 wide-ranging characters from Buzz Lightyear and Cheshire Cat to Muppets and Jack Skellington. Shown below are a few of them for you (keep in mind, there are more than just those shown below.. such as Eeyore, Dumbo and other beloved childhood favorites).

Mickey and Minnie:

Woody and Buzz Lightyear:

Snow White, Dopey and Grump:

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell:

Winnie The Pooh, Tigger and Piglet:
:
Alice, Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter & the Queen Of Hearts:

Goofy, Donald and Pluto:


“We focused on capturing one key element, gesture or trait of each character during the design process. We wanted the look to be very unique, quirky and cool,” said Jose Zamora, lead designer for the DCP products. “When you think of the Queen of Hearts, you think of her mouth, so we brought that out in the design. With the Cheshire Cat, you think of the teeth. So we focused on that famous grin.”

To help promote the new plushies, there will be a series of “Pook-a-Sodes”, videos on the Disney Living YouTube channel. The first one, with Pook-A-Looz Mickey as a ‘Gentleman Caller’ is shown below:

The Disney Living Facebook fan page and @disneyliving Twitter feed will also offer additional content and forums for fans to win prizes, share content and connect. The 12" Pook-A-Looz cost between $7.99 and $12.99 and can be purchased at Disney Parks, The Disney Store and Toys R Us.

You're Never Too Old To Play With Blocks: The Coolest Wooden Designer Blocks Available.

Seems that many artists and companies are convinced that grown-ups, especially design-loving folk, still want to play with blocks. And from the looks of these, they are right.

Here's a round up of beautifully designed wooden blocks available on the market:

PhotoLettering Blocks from House Industries:



• 12 Wood Alphabet Blocks
• Blocks 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) square, Kit 11.625" x 4.625" (29.5 cm x 11.5 cm)
• Made in the USA!
• Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free child-safe inks.
buy them here.

Alexander Girard Blocks from House Industries:




• 12 Wood Alphabet Blocks
• Blocks 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) square, Kit 11.625" x 4.625" (29.5 cm x 11.5 cm)
• Made in the USA!
• Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free child-safe inks.
buy them here.

Neutraface Slab Blocks from House Industries:


• 12 Wood Alphabet Blocks
• Blocks 1 3/4" (4.5 cm) square, Kit 11.625" x 4.625" (29.5 cm x 11.5 cm)
• Made in the USA!
• Replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood.
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free child-safe inks.
buy them here.

NotNeutral Wood Block Set:



• 12 Wood Blocks
• Each six sided block is 1.75" x 1.75"
• Includes wood tray
• Made in the USA from replenishable Michigan Basswood
• Non-toxic, child-safe inks
• CPSIA Compliant - ASTM-F963 / EN-71 Compliant
buy them here


Make Art Not War Blocks by Bob and Roberta Smith


A Tate Exclusive: Bob and Roberta Smith Blocks

These delightful wooden alphabet blocks have been created exclusively for Tate by London-based artist Bob and Roberta Smith. Each set contains 16 colorful blocks in a wooden box with clear lid. 96 facings are included with letters, numbers and punctuation '&?!'.
buy them here.

Naef Blocks

Naef Blocks are more like art puzzles than building blocks and they have tons of styles, here are a few of my favorites:

Naef Mosaik:

Naef Modulon:


Naef Wooden Collection:



Naef Animal Blocks:


There are tons more wooden puzzles and blocks from Naef, see them all here.


You can purchase many of the Naef products in the US here.


Bok handmade wooden blocks by Petit Flaneur:






learn more about them and where to buy at Petite Flaneur
The etsy store
Or buy the garden ones here

HABA architectural blocks:






If you're raising a little architect, HABA wooden blocks come in tons of different architectural styles, representing cities all over the world.
Buy them here.

Worth mentioning:

These wooden Hand Gesture Icons by Roebuck Studios are fun for both adults and children alike:



Crafted of baltic birch wood, all the edges are rounded for safety and a safe, shellac finish is applied. Available in seven colors. Sold as a set of seven or individually.
Buy them here.

Technically, Tree Blocks are not square, but they are fabulous.



TREE BLOCKS®, Exquisitely hand cut branch blocks.
Freeform pieces come in precision-cut 2-cm. increments (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm.) with large 2 cm. disks and bridges to support successful building and early math and metric system learning. Diameter of blocks varies. Typical set includes "Y" or forked pieces. They lovingly finish each unique set with flax oil. Tree Blocks come in a colorful, cotton twill, drawstring sack with attractive logo block. Ages 3 to adult. Safe, lab tested.

The standard measure of maple unit blocks (regular kids wooden blocks) is 3/4", virtually the same as 2 cm. The sets can be combined flawlessly.
buy them here.

Okay, not blocks, per se, but these wooden dominoes by Keith Haring demanded inclusion:

Keith Haring Wooden Domino Set:



Keith Haring orange wooden domino set printed with colorful pop art characters. Keith Haring made his name with graffiti style art around New York.
Each set has 28 pieces and is presented in a wooden box. Comes with games rules.
Suitable for ages 2+.
100% wood
buy them here