Thursday, February 28, 2008

An all around great company..

If you've never shopped at KangarooBoo.. you need to start :-)
I wanted to post a little bit about this company before I posted my review on one of their products...

I think its a great site and not only do they have a lot to choose from... but husband/wife couple who runs this site has an amazing story.

Ive been chatting back in forth with the owner and she has really touched my heart. Shes a cancer survivor... she was diagnosed with cancer at the young age of 24! She had only been married a few weeks when she found this out.

Thankfully she is a survivor and is continuing to do well. I'll post a quote off her site...

"As a cancer survivor and as a parent, I am very committed to making a difference in the lives of children. My husband Justin and I have always done fund raising events in the past, so it naturally extends into our business belief as well. We donate a portion of our sales to children-related charities. KangarooBoo will do this with every single order that it processes."

Not only do they have a fantastic line of toys (that ill mention below) but they donate a portion of all their sales to a charity. You can read more about the charities here.

Below are a list of products this site carries... and a bit of information about each one for you...

Estia: This is a small German company established about 12 years ago. Estia makes some of the toys themselves, and also gathers toys from other European Artisans (Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland) and from a Thailand company as well.
We think their threading animal games are very cool! And the very unique Push Along toys and Pull Toys. The airplanes are also very well made.

Flensted Mobiles: A Danish company established in 1954. Still owned and run by the same owner/designer Christian Flensted, his wife, his son and daughter-in-law. Flensted Mobiles are very well designed, light weight, and with ever so slight air movements, the mobiles turn and twist to create harmonic and balanced movements. No batteries. They distribute parts to their employees every two weeks who then put the mobiles together at their own homes. At the end of the 2 weeks, a company car goes around to the 75+ employees' homes to collect the finished mobiles and to distribute new parts, and so on. This practice has been done for the last 30+ years, long before it was popular to be "green" towards our Mother Earth. It is estimated if each employee lives 5 miles from the factory, and each gallon of gasoline can go for 20 miles, then each year about 7500 gallons of gas is saved by Flensted' company by using this production method!
We have one of the largest selections of Flensted mobiles on the web. We have a few hanging around in our own home! Although there are many nursery designs to choose from, Flensted Mobiles are not just for the nurseries! And the best part is, they are produced in a carbon-friendly and environmentally conscious manner.

Fred & Friends: A fun company making fun and functional products!
All of their products have a giggle-factor to them. Just check them out for yourself :-)

Haba (THIS IS ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVS): A German company several decades old with all of their wooden toys still made in Germany (plush toys are made in China under direct Haba supervision). In the toy world, Haba is often viewed as one of the best wooden toy companies.


We love Haba. Our selection is expanding rapidly - we received a big shipment this week and are working frantically to go through them! Haba (and Vilac) are companies that inspired us so passionately about sharing quality toys with other parents and grandparents. All the blocks are so well made and the clutching toy / teether selection is amazing and beautiful. We are in the process of inputting ALL the Haba play food to our system. They use staining method instead of painting, letting the colors seep into the wood rather than covering the wood. Haba is awesome all the way around!

Maple Landmark: USA company. All of their toys are made in Vermont. They use sustainable wood, and mostly maple for their toys. They use US resources and companies some 99+% of the time, to keep the US economy going strong, even if it means it costs more sometimes. They've been around for more than 30 years.
Their train tracks and bridges are very nice. Made of maple, sturdy and unique, also compatible with other track systems. Their rattles are great, and the Spinny Speller is one of our 4.5 yr old son's favorite toys.


Melissa & Doug (I OWN SEVEREAL M&D toys) :
Great play value for the price.
Melissa & Doug offers many educational toys and they are produced under strict supervision in their own factories in China and Southeast Asia. Their play food sets are wonderful and our kids love to pretend play with them!

Petitcollin: One of the oldest doll manufacturers who's still around. The company was founded in 1860. Their dolls are still made in France today, involves many handmade steps (hand painted is one of them). Many dolls can be bath dolls, their bodies made of vanilla-perfumed vinyl.
Petitcollin dolls are very well made, super sweet and realistic. Very nice as loveys, great for pretend play, dress up, etc. These dolls are heirloom quality.

Vilac: French company who's been making wooden toys since 1911.
We offer many of the Vilac cars, and have a large selection of unique money boxes (piggy banks). Vilac uses a lacquering method for all the wooden toys that are still manufactured in France. It makes the surface very smooth and holds up to rough playing very well.

Vulli: Another French company who's been making the legendary Sophie the Giraffe teether since 1961.
Many of their teethers are made from 100% natural rubber, phthalate-free, BPA-free, and uses food quality paint.

Zid Zid Kids: Moroccan & American husband/wife couple who established in 2003 in Morocco. Their designs capture the vibrant and rich colors of Morocco and are all handmade by the artistic locals.

All of their items are handmade and very well done. We love the handmade aspect of it, and the workmanship is superb. The fabrics are thick and colorful. The various Animal Cushions and Peekaboo Animals are our favorites. The masks made from recycled cardboard are also really cool!

Lots of info I know :-) but well worth the time to read and learn more about your childs toys... and other items. I feel much more comfortable buying from a company like this.. than a large store like walmart. Not to mention the toys are just build better and built to last.

Use the coupon code DWSR5 for 5% off your total purchase. Orders over $75.00 you get free shipping.

Next week ill be posting the review I did for one of their products... as well as a giveaway! So check back. :-) Until then have fun browsing their site!

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