All posts filed under: See

MAKIminimag_just playing

just playing … FiRST SiGNS of SPRiNG

just playing … FiRST SiGNS of SPRiNG  : with a vintage magnetic board from Czeck Republic. Found it on our attic last year – played with it when I was a kid! Still in love with it.   Like this:Like Loading…

Birthday Paper Turn Mill

a little man here in house turns 5 today • this is the birthday announcement card we started putting into envelopes 5 years ago!  Happy Birthday!!! * ein kleiner mann hier im haus wird heute 5 • das ist die geburtskarte die wir vor 5 jahren in die Umschläge geschteckt haben! Alles gute zum Purzeltag!!! * een kleine man hier in huis wordt vandaag 5 • dit is het geboortekaartje dat we 5 jaar geleden in enveloppen gestopt hebben :))) • gefeliciteerd, manneke!             Like this:Like Loading…

MAKIminimag_just playing

just playing …

I am “just playing ….” – with this vintage magnetic board from Czeck Republic. Found it on our attic lately – played with it when I was a kid! Still in love with it!     Like this:Like Loading…

MAKI:minimag_Stop Motion Pop-up book: A drop of water

Stop Motion Pop-up book: A drop of water

We just found this great stop motion pop-up book about the lifecycle of a drop op water: Revolution. Nature’s rhythms in masterful paper engineering. It is a quite modern and extraordinary way of 3D storytelling.  It all begins with fire – and ends with rain. And it just takes 1 minute and 45 seconds. Have a look: The project is a one year collaboration of photographer Chris Turner, animator Jess Deacon and paper sculptor extraordinaire Helen Friel. The book contains nine scenes that were animated using 1,000 photographic stills shot over the course of a year. From original idea to execution the three artists pooled their individual talents to bring the project to life. “Revolution” was chosen as a winner for a PDN Photo Annual Award and was also selected for the Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, the Melbourne International Animation Festival, the New Zealand International Animation Festival and London International Animation Festival. Like this:Like Loading…

MAKIminimag_Fredun Shapur_playsacks

Vintage Toys: Playsacks by Fredun Shapur

In our collection of vintage toys we want to show you the Playsacks by Fredun Shapur today. Fredun Shapur is a South African born toy designer and illustrator and the creator of these fantastic “Playsacks”, designed for Creative Playthings in 1968!! Yes, thats right, 1968! Their look is so strikingly contemporary because of their modern use of colours and their graphic refinement. And yes, you can put the sacks on your head because they are made of paper! In total there have been 12 different designs, children could disguise themselves as tigers, pandas and zebras, amongst others. The idea is so simple but great it seems strange there have not been new, contemporary designs lately. Like Bruno Munari or Charles Eames, Fredun Shapur (born 1929) made a particular daring and inventive contribution to the world of children. Between the 1960s and 1980s he designed toys for manufacturers such as Naef in Switzerland, Galt Toys in Great Britain, and above all Creative Playthings in the United States. From wooden puzzles and racing cars  to animal disguises, Shapur’s toys still have …

MAKI:minimag_Libuse Niklova_gonfle_3

Splash!!! Cool Summer with Libuše Niklová

It is finally summer! That is why I wanna show you this great bath toy – a seahorse –  by my toy designer hero Libuše Niklová. Fatra, the company she worked for, is still in business today, and they re-edited some of Niklová´s toys. Unfortunately not the sea horse… but other ones!!  And they approached contemporary Czech designers amongst which graphic designer Zuzana Lednická from Studio Najbrt, who re-interpreted the toys from the ’70s and created contemporary versions of them. Zuzana Lednická did some great beach balls.  Summer in Style! Have fun:)   Not for swimming but still very beautiful ad designed by Libuše Niklová: these baby toys! Like this:Like Loading…

The Play: Modernist toy exhibition in London

London calling!!! The exhibition THE PLAY: Toys, Sets, Rules, organised by systems shows Modernist toys from the 1960ies with objects drawn from the personal archives of Roger Limbrick, Patrick Rylands, Fredun Shapur and Ken Garland. The four designers formed a loosely associated group that emerged in London in the 1960s. The doll house with open sides by Roger Limbrick won an Observer Design Award in 1969 and is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collection.  Also on who’s is our beloved bath toy Duck by Patrick Rylands, produced in 1993 by AmbiToys, that works for any age – from 0 to 99. Furthermore there are toys by Fredun Shaper (like the Serpentino)  and Ken Garland (the Connect game and the Plytech Chair). Until July 4, 2015! Plytek Chair, Ken Garland + Associates c.1965, unrealised prototype Four-Way Blocks, Fredun Shapur 1972, Creative Playthings Connect, Ken Garland + Associates 1968, produced by James Galt Balancing Troupers, Fredun Shapur 1963, prototype (later realized by Kurt Naef) Serpentino, Fredun Shapur 1980, produced by Kurt Naef Joupii, Patrick Rylands 1970, produced by Il Leccio Open Side …

MAKI:minimag_vintage toy

HELLO! vintage toy #1

Hello! Hallo! Hej! Just some in-between inspirational  flash. Have a lovely Sunday! Einfach nur ein Inspirations-Blitz zwischendurch. Und noch einen feinen Sonntag! Gewoon een  inspiratie-flits tussendoor. En nog een fijne zondag! Like this:Like Loading…

MAKI:minimag_Libuše Niklová_GIraffe_1971

Plastic Fantastic

Ladies and Gentleman! Let me introduce you to one of our toy heroes: „Giraffe“ is an inflatable, sound-producing toy, designed in 1971 by Czech designer Libuše Niklová. Up to the 1960ies design for children was pretty conventional, mostly offering miniature versions of adult styles for children. Inspired by the principles of pop art from the 1960ies on the approach to kids design became more inventive and playful with vibrant colours and characters. New materials that offered new forms were supporting this development. After World War II wood and metal as materials for toys became too expensive. Plastic seemed to be THE solution. It was soft, light, flexible, hygienic and colourful. And it was relatively cheap. One designer that mastered the design of plastic toys to perfection is Czech designer Libuše Niklová. She designed toys that embraced the qualities of this new material rather then trying to imitate other materials and forms. Libuše Niklová started with squeaking animal toys in molded rubber, later on she created a famous series of blown PVC figures. At that time designers …

MAKI:minimag_Vaclav Spala_devil

Sweet devil!

↓ Scroll down for German/Dutch version! Sweet devil! Czech Republic has a large tradition in artisticially designed (wooden) toys. This little „devil“, designed by artist Václav Špála, is a beautiful and fun example for a Czech avant garde toy, designed in the 1920ies. Václav Špála was a Czech painter, graphic designer and illustrator, influenced by Fauvism and Cubism. He was a member of Artel, an innovative group of applied artists promoting the beauty of artistic work and taste in daily life. Their main inspiration came from folk art, and their toys were full of individualism and handcrafted quality. Not mass production, commercialism and realism, but uniqueness and a way to fantasy is what they wanted. “Devil” is completely from wood, painted in black, white ,red and yellow and has a small opening, some sort of safe-deposit – may be for hiding candy? This is a reproduction by the way, made in Prague, it is handmade and handpainted and you can get it here.     Süsser Teufel! Tschechien hat eine lange Tradition auf dem Gebiet …