I went hunting this past week for a set of Tinker Toys and after hitting up my third local mom and pop toy shop I resigned myself to delayed gratification and continued my search online…where of course I found them immediately at Back to Basics Toys. It really is a solid little shop with all manner of toys, games and craft kits. While in their ‘classic toys’ section I was delighted and horrified to find several of my childhood toys - delighted that they were still in production and horrified that I was old enough to have played with toys now considered classic. Regardless, I’m sentimental enough to risk dating myself so as to share some cool old school toys.

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The Fisher Price Chatterbox Telephone complete with those shifty eyes, $11.99

Lincoln Logs, $41.99 (As a side note, upon visiting the the north rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time I was thrilled to find that the cabins look exactly like Lincoln Log buildings!)

Tinker Toys, $25.99

Purchased by my parents as a way to harmlessly release my excess energy, my Bozo Bop Bag lasted about a week before I managed to permanently deflate him. $15.99

“It walks downstairs alone or in pairs, it’s Slinky!” Always loved the sound it made, was a little less than pleased with the success rate at which we were able to make it actually descend the steps. $7.99

My favorite pull-toy, Snoopy Sniffer. $34.99

Above:

While a regular viewer of Family Affair and a fan of Jodi, Buffy, Cissy and Mr. French I did not have a Mrs. Beasley doll. I’m sure there are many little girls who owned and adored their own version of this 60’s television toy icon, personally I always found this little lady kind of creepy. Clearly I’m in the minority though as she’s back and sporting a collectibles price tag of $92.99.

I had the great pleasure of meeting balloon twister Addi Somekh a few years back at a preschool event where he was creating balloon hats for all of the students. We had such fun watching him work that I picked up one of his cards and decided to check out his web site. What I discovered was more than just info on a party performer, this was a guy passionate about his craft, someone who sees colors and shapes coming out of your head, and brings his visions to life in the form of elaborate sculptural balloon hats.

It was Addi’s friend Charlie Eckert, a photographer, who offhandedly suggested bringing balloon hats to random people around the world. Captivated by the idea, Addi and Charlie set out on a journey to create a photo art book drawn from their adventures and to prove their thesis: people everywhere need joy to survive, whether it be the Balkan States in the aftermath of war, the strife-ridden Middle East, or the forgotten jungles of the developing world. A sampling of images from their travels can be found below and many more can be found on Addi’s site which also includes stories and interviews with people they met along the way. I don’t use the word ‘inspirational’ often, but the manner in which Addi and Charlie executed their simple concept fits the bill in a beautiful way.

Photographic prints of several of the above images can be be purchased here.

In the midst of their world travels, Addi and Charlie met A.G. Vermouth, a documentary film maker and well, you can imagine where that might lead. Flash forward several years to June of 2005 and Balloon Hat, the documentary premieres. Learn more here.

Working with balloons on a daily basis, it only makes sense that Addi would become familiar with most every aspect of the inflatables, including the sounds they can produce. In the spring of 2004, he made 50 different balloon drums and then invited two of his favorite drummers to record a set of improvised duets. The results were more captivating than anyone could have imagined and culminated in the creation of the Balloon Drum Album. A visit to balloondrums.com also includes a tutorial on how to create your own set of drums, a great family activity.

Inspired to try your hand at a little balloon twisting? A good place to start is with The Inflatable Crown: Balloon Hat Kit. The kit comes with a 152-page book, a piston-action pump and 30 Qualatex balloons and teaches you how to make balloon hats with simple, full-color, step-by-step instructions, from simple but cool looking hats, to more complex ones.

“The main purpose of any balloon hat is to uplift a person’s spirits.
Here are some common situations where balloon twisting can make a big (and fast) impact.”

1) Showing Gratitude
2) Celebrating Birthdays
3) Making Friends on the Road
4) Cheering up a Sick Friend
5) Procrastinating
6) Break into the Fashion Model Business
7) Earning Money
8) Rockin’ the Party
9) Becoming a Few Feet Taller
10) Spicing Up the Family Portrait

Join Addi’s mailing list to receive the Balloon Hat photo of the week. Or subscribe to Addi’s Inflatable Minute - weekly YouTube videos featuring his balloon hat adventures.

Well, I have to confess I got a little out of control with this post. What started as a small survey of non-traditional color nursery bedding quickly expanded when I kept stumbling into great orange colored products over at Modern Nursery. Orange? I know. The new black? Mmmm…doubtful, but I am happy to see another member of the ROY G BIV family take center stage. This sunny color, properly applied, makes for kid quarters that are absolutely cheerful. A full dose of vitamin C.

Forgive for not linking to every single product below, but considering they’re all from the same shop I’ve linked you to the corresponding category so they shouldn’t be hard to find.

Modern Baby Bedding:

Wall Art:

Furniture and Rugs:

Highchairs and Strollers:

Toddler Gifts:

Ants in space? It’s true! In preparation for the May 2000 space shuttle mission scientists at NASA tackled the question of how to conduct studies on the development of animal life (specifically ants) in zero gravity. The technology that resulted was a gel that replaced soil in standard ant habitats with special properties ensuring it did not compress and crush the ants by the immense g forces during take off. The amazing nontoxic gel is both a home and food for ants and its transparency makes it easy to watch the ants digging their network of tunnels. These advanced versions of the classic ‘ant farm’ were dubbed antiquariums and traveled with the astronauts as they circumnavigated the earth. (Thanks to Jana Bouc for the ant farm illustration.)

You can find four configurations of the Antiquarium at the Science Toy Store, priced from $14.99 to $24.99. (Thanks to deur_h for the image below.)

The educational site AntColonies.net is stocked more ant info than you can imagine, exploring everything from how ants communicate to how they war with one another. They also have an ‘Antcam‘ allowing you to watch an Antiquarium colony of ants in real time!

The clear gel has allowed people to take great photos of their Antiquarium ants in action, like the one by Stephanie Lamphere below. Search ‘ant farm’ on Flickr and check out all of the ant activity!

There’s something about thick industrial felt that is both primitive and modern at the same time. And few designers do industrial felt better than the team at ParkHaus. They’ve created their entire line around this durable material with several very kid friendly applications.

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I’m all for the reusable ‘happy birthday’ banner below. Also offered are holiday greetings and sets to spell out Junior’s name.

The cut-out play sets are light weight and easily portable in their own drawstring bags: sea life, farm animals, jungle beasties, transportation and numbers.

While their felt boxes could be used for numerous applications, personally I think they’d make swell toy bins (with no sharp corners to knock into!)

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A playful donut shaped seat/ottoman and coordinating rug’s flexible design allow them to work in a nursery, a teen’s room or the living room.

And check out their modern take on the door stop, preventing Junior from locking himself in the bathroom.

Above:
ParkHaus’ industrial felt color line.

Warmer weather and the great outdoors relentlessly summon children everywhere to don their helmets and put the pedal to the metal. Be it trike, two-wheeler with trainers or a big kid banana seat bike there are certain key accessories every junior cyclist should consider: a good helmet is a given (and the only real must-have), however a snappy bike basket could be nice, handlebar pom-poms ditto, but I was pop-a-wheelie excited when I can across the really fantastic collection of bicycle bells and snake bike locks at Pylones. This French company has a tremendous sense of humor that plays out in the every day objects they transform with bright color and amusing design sense. They have four shops in Paris and three in New York , but thankfully the entire Pylones line is available on their website. Bicycle bells are $17. each and snake bike locks are $27.

That’s an unfortunately poor photograph of my cute little sister and I on kindergarten ‘Big Brother/Big Sister Day’ standing in front of Fire Station 14. Covered in our father’s old dress shirts and armed with oversized brushes and cans of flaky tempera paint my class transformed a refrigerator box into a municipal building.

It’s become a cliché of childhood that kids would rather play with a box than the gift it contained. And given the space for a major appliance sized structure in your living room it can be a great exercise in imagination. However, if like many of us your living quarters are an exercise in space management you’ll be pleased to know that some ingenious folks and clever designers have now made it possible to purchase an upgraded, die cut, fold flat version of that same cardboard box that can be tucked away under the bed when not in use. While clearly more expensive than a found box, these structures have the added benefit of being available in a variety of shapes and sizes while still being fully customizable given some art supplies, 100% recyclable, sturdy enough to withstand a little rough-housing, and not so expensive you’ll have to take out a second mortgage when Junior kicks the door in.

Cardboard House at Sparkability, $45.

Isa Toys Magic Castle at modernkid,  $42.CDN

Isa Toys Play House at ecobabe, $66.AU

Jumbo Play House at Oriental Trading, $29.95. Order online by 11:59 p.m. CT, May 15, 2007, to get free standard shipping on your purchase of $60 or more by entering key code WC86114 during checkout.

Rocket at Paperpod, £30.

TeePee at Paperpod,  £28.

Isa Toys Moon Rocket at ecobabe, $88.AU

Play House at Paperpod, £30.

Ahh, that most classic of all children’s toys, the alphabet block. Popular since the 17th Century, they were one of the first toys designed to have an educational purpose. I grew up with (what was standard at the time) a basic wood set, embossed sides silk-screened with letters and animals. Uncle Goose is one of the few companies still producing alphabet blocks in this fashion and what I love is that they’re creating them not only in English but also in Hebrew, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, French, Norwegian, Spanish and Greek! I’ve compiled examples a few of contemporary takes on this toybox staple.

Good Fortune Wooden Blocks, $27. at Red Envelope

Peace Blocks, $28. at Olliebollen

Alexander Girard Alphabet Blocks, $100. at House Industries

ABC Nursery Blocks, $46. at Room Service

Minimalist Baby Blocks, $27. at Stitch

Sign Language Braille Blocks, Braille Alphabet Blocks, Hebrew Aleph-Bet Blocks, Danish Alphabet Blocks all by Uncle Goose, $29.95 each at Play Child

Whether your kids fancy themselves Harriet the Spy or Encyclopedia Brown we all know that good gadgets go a long way when it comes to junior sleuthing. One of my favorite haunts for all manner of curious paraphernalia is American Science & Surplus, a gold mine of goodies for science projects, school supplies, kits, models and goods for your little gumshoe.

The Spy Pen is an advanced version of those invisible markers we had as kids, one end writes with a clear black light ink that can only be read when seen under the UV LED light on the other end: $7.50 each.

Outfit the clubhouse with latest in spy kid technology starting with a security system…or least something that looks like a security system. These Faux Detector Cameras resemble like the real thing complete with an activation light and a motion sensor which causes the “camera” to pan back and forth: $5.95 each. Stay on top of your surroundings from the comfort of your cardboard submarine with a functioning, telescoping Periscope: $10.75. And the essential tool for any young Sherlock is a giant Magnifying Glass: $2.95.

During the Cold War the British War Office issued lightweight and easily concealed Silk Escape Maps which now sit in the inventory of AS&S. You’ll find France on one side and Spain on the other along with a glossary of pertinent terms in the local language: $29.50 each. And what better way to remain vigilant of your surroundings while remaining incognito than with a pair of Rearview Glasses. The outer portion of each lens is half silvered allowing to see who’s behind you with a mere glance: $3.95 each.

I’m thinking a junior detective themed birthday party could be pretty great. How about a scavenger hunt with ‘invisible’ spy pen clues and magnifying glasses or rearview glasses as prizes? And perhaps assemble a few of the pricier items in an inexpensive attache case for the birthday sleuth!

Move over Pick Up Sticks, there’s a new game of skill and balance in town. From the MoMA Design Store comes the good looking
Chair Game.

This classic stacking and balance game dates back to the 1930s. Bill Ding disappeared in 1965, but was revived in 1988 and is now in regular production. These guys perform all sorts of acrobatic feats thanks to their specially notched shoulders, hand and feet. Search Ebay and you’ll find great vintage sets.