Rose & Rex, The Creative Face of Childhood

Childhood is a time of wonder. For young children, the art of imagination and creation is key to learning and development. Play helps children gain fundamental skills that they will carry through school and into adulthood. Enter Rose & Rex, a new online toy boutique offering curated content and a selection of stylishly-designed toys that promote imaginative play.

Rose and Rex’s selection of handmade, sustainable and baby-safe toys are thoughtfully curated by teachers, education professionals and child development experts to foster well-rounded skill building. And with Rose & Rex, the toys for your kids will “play-it-forward.” Rose & Rex has partnered with like-minded organizations to ensure every purchase makes an impact.

Here are some of our favourite pieces that will make you fall in love with this toy boutique.

Blockitecture Garden City

Your little one’s imagination will be in full bloom with the award-winning Blockitecture® Garden City by designer James Paulius. The shapes in his whimsical world were inspired by the contours and angles in New York City, and now children can create their own cityscape. Crafted from New Zealand Pine and painted with open-ended graphic shapes, children are free to apply their own vision as they stack and nest the blocks into towers, cities and dwellings. In the process, they build their own sturdy foundation of complex skills, from planning to reasoning.

Candy Cab

Transportation toys spark a young child’s imagination: Where is it going? How is it moving? More than a taxi, this push toy is a vehicle for all sorts of physical and mental skill-building. Encourage storytelling (What would this taxi say if it could talk? Where is this passenger going?), language and vocabulary (design terms, automotive parts, directions of movement), gross motor development (watch them zoom across the living room) and dramatic play (invite them to pretend to be the cab driver). Designed by Candylab, this glossy vintage taxi is crafted from solid beechwood with water-based paint and natural rubber.

Little Unicorn Head

From broom to unicorn, this easy-to-assemble cardboard head invites endless imaginary play possibilities. Encouraging storytelling, dramatic play and movement, this animal prop helps nurture children’s physical, cognitive and emotional development—young children love animals, so pretend play helps them practice empathetic responses and experience a nurturing role. Perfect for travel and small spaces, the Unicorn Head folds flat and slips into its cardboard envelope when playtime is over. Designed by Flatout Frankie.

Swan Fray Doll

With wings wide open, Swan welcomes loads of creative fun. The perfect companion through all life’s early milestones, Swan is handcrafted from linen and meant to gently fray over eighteen years, capturing all the discoveries, ups and downs and special moments of growing up. Its glorious wings, long limbs and an expressionless face let children personalize their play, from dramatic to storytelling. Lean on this fray friend to help a child develop social skills, understand roles and process feelings. Designed by ieva fray.

What A Colorful World Really Big Colorful Poster

Turn your wall into a globe-trotting, coloring adventure! This giant poster celebrates the cultural diversity across every continent in joyfully illustrated detail, from traditional dress and historical landmarks, to iconic foods and natural wonders. A rich catalyst for developing literacy skills and social learning, as children color in their discoveries it stimulates conversation. It will turn your kids into cosmopolitan adventurers discovering new food and natural wonders. Designed by pirasta.

Mixed Animals

This constantly evolving stuffed animal lets a child mix and match super soft plush pieces to create their own species. Lovingly handmade by Huzi and designed with great attention to form and detail, each neutral part — including nose, paws, horns, ears and more — has hidden, stitched-in magnets. This creature can help grow a child’s literacy skills, taking conversation in all sorts of exciting directions. As it morphs from flying pig to slow and steady tortoise, this stuffed friend invites endless innovation, reinforces science know-how and may just inspire a science-fiction tale or two. Designed by bcxsy for huzi design.