Traditional Toys With A Twist
Wooden Storage Box, designed by Elisabeth Årbrandt
Given the popularity of our previous posts on Playsam and Olav Øen, we’re clearly not the only grown-ups who love the stylish simplicity of traditional Scandinavian toys and like to keep them as design objects long after kids have outgrown them. Our latest discovery is Micki Leksaker, a Swedish family-owned company that has been creating educational toys for children since 1944. With a stated mission to design toys that offer pure joy and a high level of playfulness thereby making it fun and exciting for children to learn new things, Micki have maintained a tradition of craftsmanship that focuses on materials, shapes and design. Natural raw materials are still used to create toys that are not only nice to hold in small curious hands but also attractive design objects for adults.
As is befitting a toy company, the story of the foundation of the business has something of a fairy tale feel to it. Apparently, Georg Aronsson was sitting in a restaurant in Jönköping in 1944 and began a conversation with a person sitting close by who happened to work as an artist. Before the evening was over, the artist had drawn a number of drawings of a little wooden figure and thus the first Micki character began life on the back of a restaurant bill. Take a look below to read more about Micki and a selection of lifeiscarbon® favorites:
The Micki Leksaker company was set up by Georg Aronsson and his six siblings later the same year and following their first order of 20,000 toys, the entire Aronsson family became involved in the manufacturing of the little wooden figure in their spare time. Toys were initially made in carpentry sheds, in kitchens and cellars, although over time the production process has been continually developed and modernized. Today, the Micki Leksaker company’s modern toy manufacturing facilities are surrounded by the beautiful nature of Småland and still managed by the latest generation of the Aronsson family.
Wooden Rocking Zebra, illustrated by Thomas Fröhling.
Table On Wheels, designed by Box Design, Morsing & Nord
Baby Walker, in a new range of colors
Wooden Doll's Pram, in gorgeous shocking pink.
Bedding Set especially made to suit the doll's pram
Young carpenters also require real tools. It is not an unusual site in Scandinavia to see children as young as three years old learning risk by hammering nails into wood. Ugly plastic pretend tool sets just won’t do. Hence this solid carpentry toolbox from Micki with tools that look and feel just like those used by grown ups
Much that we love the Radio Flyer Classic Red Wagon, it somehow just doesn’t suit the Scandinavian landscape as well as Micki’s traditional wooden cart, which also happens to be very useful for carrying supplies to one's summer house.
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