Ready for some live inspiration? We’re so excited to tell you about the amazing design expo for kids taking place at Ventura Lambrate in Milan next week. The people behind the curtains are the inspiring afilii – platform for design + architecture for kids. They will be in charge of introducing you to 14 young designers and up-and-coming brands from seven different countries. The theme bringing them all together at this exhibition is their focus on high quality, original design and sustainability — all the values on top of our own list. We think they are an amazing bunch of creative minds and we cannot wait to see the surprises they have in store for us!
afilii is known for their passion for finding the most stimulating and creative toys, accessories and furniture for children, always with a story behind them. They prioritise unique pieces and forward-thinking designers who understand the way in which these objects will impact child development in an engaging manner. What a better match for the afilii team than Ventura Projects? The host organisation behind Ventura Lambrate presents curated exhibition areas that present the latest developments at the forefront of contemporary design. This time around, it will become THE place to find the most inventive and modern ideas in everything related to building the most special environment for your children to grow up in. Keep on reading to find out about some of the highlights that will feature at the expo!
Dollhouse for kids by Jasmin Gröschl
Your grandma’s stuffy doll house doesn’t quite fit in your children’s trendy Scandinavian room? Time to upgrade to this fabulous minimalist dollhouse by Jasmin Gröschl. Besides its seducing looks and awesome concept, we love this little house because it allows for children to play out their creative side — an almost entirely blank slate ready for them to change up as many times as they wish thanks to the simplified furniture and abstract puppets.
Trígonos
Trígonos is one of those toy makers who truly care about children development through play. Their gorgeous wooden designs are themed around construction — a process all children are thrilled with (that and the following destruction!) While creating these helicopters, labyrinths or towers among others, your children will organically learn about basic notions of geometry, mathematics or physics. Wake up the architect in your little ones thanks to these thoughtful educational tools.
Noook – The Big Eco Construction Toy
Following the construction theme, we loved this alternative to wood by Noook. While sharing Trígonos’s philosophy on learning through play, Noook builds all their “construction” pieces in a rigid paper board. This material is pretty surprising: while affordable and eco-friendly, it is also very strong and durable. Another key difference is that Noook’s pieces are quite large so that your kids can build their own shelters and nooks such as the one above, or anything their wild imaginations come up with!
Nanu by Chantal Bavaud
Designer Chantal Bavaud thought of Nanu as a modern, adaptable wooden arch toy that will encourage creativity. The goal is to boost your kids’ initiative by providing them with an object that could be interpreted as anything they wish. Remember when we were kids and we would turn any object laying around the house into a toy, creating a whole world and a plot to our story? Nanu will give an object that belongs to the world of play that same function.
Fix & Foxy by Martin Kränzel
Fix & Foxy is the ultimate drawing table for children. Designed specifically with their needs in mind, it features small yet very meaningful additions such as a box in the middle of the table for pens and small tools, many sitting or standing options for our restless little ones or geometrical forms that are easy to grip while playing. It’s also fantastic for play dates with their friends since there is plenty of space for them to enjoy together.
My children’s tableware from design.stiehler
How adorable is this mini tableware by design.stiehler? Besides having us melt over its cuteness, this set serves the purpose of teaching children ages 3 to 6 to develop their motor skills by providing them with cutlery that’s adapted to their proportions. They will be so attached to their own set of tableware it might even be easier to sit them down at the dinner table!
Kids furniture from blueroom
Another remarkable design studio is blueroom, a children’s furniture maker that focuses on both the quality and sustainability of their pieces. We love their minimalist, functional designs and the fact that we know we are doing something good for the environment by supporting this inspiring team’s work.
How cool is it to see all these forward-thinking people coming together to provide the ones we care the most about with exciting, beautiful and intelligent designs? If you are left wanting more and able to travel to Milan from the 4th to the 9th of April, don’t miss out on this fantastic event. We’ll see you there!
First picture: Kid-powered car assembly set flink by phim.
