British online store Toyella offers a great range of gifts that promote traditional play and interaction. With a focus on hard to find, different items with a high level of style and design, their toys bring a depth of social, physical, educational and developmental benefit.
“With children so easily fixated by computers, mobile phones, mp3 players and game play consoles – and at an ever increasing early age – some parents are expressing concerns that their children are becoming socially withdrawn. There’s a worry that children will start to lose the social skills that are nurtured through traditional group play” says Carl Shaw of www.toyella.com.”
Carl and his team actively seek out beautiful products from around the globe that are not widely available in the UK. On the website, the products are organised under “Family Time”, “Challenging Minds”, “Active Play”, “Creative Souls”, “Social Play”, etc.
Here’s Pirouette short selection :
Toyella’s been waiting to stock a credible skateboard brand for some time and now we’ve found Ridge Skateboards. Made in Britain too! You’ll be ‘stoked’ at this ‘sick’ Pantone design skateboard based on the iconic 1970’s plastic skateboard design by Makaha.
The 22″ versions are ideal for children from 8 years through to teenage years. Children as young as 6 can own at parents discretion. Perfect for school runs as well as the essential skatepark visits and stunt work. They’ll take up to 16 stone in weight if adults wish to grab some ‘air’.
6 years to 99 years – £34.99
This 3-in-1 red balance bike is a sleek addition to the the Wishbone bike range. This clever design provides over 5 years riding for each child. The 3-in-1 model starts as a very stable trike for children as young as 12 months to learn to walk, ride and balance. At approximately 2 years the third wheel can be removed to convert the trike into a full balance bike.
The seat height adjusts upwards and when it reaches its maximum extension the balance bikes frame can be inverted. The new frame curve provides further height and allows children as old as five to enjoy the ride. Toyella supply optional Wishbone accessories including coloured rubber seats and grips.The bike comes in fantastic packaging and is a real delight inside the box. A proper gift this.
This year’s limited edition Christmas series from Sonny Angels.The Japanese have a real skill for creating collectable products and this is the first range we’ve really wanted to stock.Each sealed Sonny Angel box hides a single angel figurine complete with wings. They wear only their ‘birthday suit’ and a unique headpiece.
There are 4 Sonny Angel designs + secret designs in this particular series. Each individual angel is a secret purchase. This means you can’t choose which angel you want…not even we know! The angel pictured on the box you get is not necessarily the one that’s inside. Who you get is not revealed until the box seal is broken. The packaging shows pictures of all 4 in this series so children know when that series is fully collected.
Our great friends at Siebensachen have thought up a simple yet clever jigsaw.’Colouring’ is a 96 piece jigsaw puzzle to challenge and teach children aspects of the colour palette. The pieces provide a fluent transition between colours in the spectrum. Where to succesfully place pieces relies on understanding the relationship between the primary colours (red, yellow and blue), knowing that secondary colours (orange, violet and green) fall between these and spacial awareness of the jigsaw’s concentric rings.
While design professionals will recognise and appreciate the familar design as part of their design software packages, this is very much a jigsaw with layers of learning to benefit younger ones. Parents and children alike will love this stylish challenge.
Designed by Gonzalo Arbutti and part of the beautiful Mon Petit Art range this crayon tree will appeal to children and adults alike. For children it’s a stylish way to store pencils and stop them getting lost on the desk. While for adults… it’s a stylish way to store pencils and stop them getting lost on the desk! Made from PEFC certified beech wood in Germany, the ‘arbre a crayon’ comes with 12 colouring pencils and sleek packaging. A lovely gift or treat for yourself.
Magneti’stick Le Monde from Janod toys is a superb magnetised atlas wall decal that comes with 101 magnetic accessories. The base decal comes in 21 different sections with guide for assembly. Each world zone fits together like jigsaw pieces to aid assembly. The atlas is self adhesive and will apply directly to paper or painted wall surfaces. It is also magnetised.
101 individual illustrated characters and iconic buildings come with the set. They are die cut in magnetised plastic so can be placed and repositioned anywhere on the map. Children will love to use the map in three different ways:
- As an decorative bedroom wall covering,
- As an educational aid placing the characters to the appropriate countries,
- Or simply as an arena to create their own imaginative play…one large board game with no rules.
The atlas is 1.70m wide by 1.05m high.
Florence Rolando
Launched in London in early 2009 by Florence Rolando (journalist, co-founder of Bubble Trade Shows) Pirouette Blog has been a reference in the industry since 2009 with its combined business and consumer view of the children’s market. A fantastic resource for children’s fashion, design, trends and culture, it aims to support creativity and talent but it also does this by talking about life, family, culture and health.
Florence is an international leader in the industry (8 years as a Milk Collaborator, contributor to Naif Magazine in Spain, co-founder of Bubble Trade Shows in New York and London).
Now Florence runs Energy Therapy Porto @enrgy_therapy_porto
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