Featured Site: Kids-Unplugged.com

Here's a tidbit about this week's featured online store, Kids Unplugged:

Our Mission:

At Kids Unplugged we offer a variety of quality wooden toys and games that inspire children to use creativity and develop their imaginations. Our toys have few adult prescribed uses and rely on your child’s imagination instead. They are not battery powered…they are kids powered. Better toys for bigger minds!

Hi my name is Samantha Suter and I am the founder and owner of Kids Unplugged. Established in 2004, we are a small home-based business in San Diego, California, with a passion for what we provide. In the hope of creating a more creative and nurturing environment for my own children I began to explore the concept of non-electronic and open-ended, wooden toys. As parents, we want to inspire our children to develop their imaginations through creative play. A sort of “back-to-basics” approach…no batteries required. I have always appreciated finding noise free, educational toys, and in our family we believe that quality far outweighs quantity when it comes to our children.

We support reforestation projects, and many of our toy makers are actively involved in replanting what they harvest. We have found that many parents in our local community share our desire for high integrity, well-made, open-ended toys for their children and grandchildren. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring these toys not only to our own children, but to our community as well.

Are these toys safe?

At Kids Unplugged we take safety very seriously. We take tremendous pride in only providing safe, high quality wooden toys and games for children of all ages. All of our toys are made from natural, and nontoxic materials with consideration to their effect on the environment. The paints used on our toys are non-toxic, eco-friendly lacquers (polypheyl acetate based). The colors do not contain heavy metals and many are given a beeswax finish to ensure durability. We would like to assure our customers, that none of the brands or toys offered in our store were involved in the recent recalls.

Thanks, Samantha!

A few words...

Okay, so I've run into a couple of things that I feel might ought to be clarified...

1. We are not militantly anti-electronic. You have to admit, there are some battery-operated toys and gadgets out there that come in quite handy when it comes to parenting. We are just completely fed up with the endless barrage of unnecessarily obnoxious toys that jump at us from department store shelves, sometimes when we least expect it. We like to think that imaginations should be more freely allowed to make their own unique sounds during playtime.
2. Some of the retailers on our "Where To Find" list may actually carry some 'noisy' toys -- 'noisy' meaning 'with electronic, artificially created, battery-operated innards.' (*Gasp!*) That's okay. Feel free to shop around them.

There you have it.

Your 2 cents

Have you shopped with any of the retailers on our "Where to Find Toys Without Noise" list? Do you know of another spectacular online store where one might find more Toys Without Noise? We want to hear from you! Please leave a comment on this post and let us know. We'd like to see reviews of specific products, testimonials of shopping experiences with specific companies, and any other useful information that might come in handy to our fellow shoppers. Come on, now...don't be shy!

'Toys Without Batteries' On Display

Check out this article from the Fairmont State University website! It's a year old (10/26/06), but it was a fantastic concept and I wanted to make note of it. Be sure to check out those links! (complete text pasted below):

'Toys Without Batteries' on Display

The Community Education program of Pierpont Community & Technical College of Fairmont State University will present “They Still Make Toys Without Batteries!” This November event will be an opportunity to shop for children’s gifts that don’t bleep, whir, flash or sing.

The one-of-a-kind showcase will be Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Pricketts Fort State Park Visitor Center and will feature the toys of Duck Soup, Vitoria & Banks (misprint: should be "Vittoria & Banks"), Usburne Books (misprint: should be "Usborne"), Cecil Craft Shop, Mountain Craft Shop and Discovery Toys. Admission is free.

If you are looking for gifts that will entertain and inspire children’s imaginations (without using batteries), this is the program for you. Whether you are looking for something that is unique, traditional, handmade or “hot off the shelves,” you’ll find it at this event, in which local vendors display and offer their products for sale in advance of the holiday rush.

“Everything is children-focused,” said Melissa May Dobbins, Executive Director of the Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation.

Ron Weist, Director of Community Education for Pierpoint C&TC, said holding the showcase at Pricketts Fort is a good fit because of the venue’s focus on history and handmade crafts. Those attending the toys program will also have the opportunity to tour the visitor center second floor orientation gallery.

Featured Site: Moolka.com European Toys

Here's a quick tidbit from Kristina at Moolka.com:

Founded in 2003, Moolka is committed in bringing environmentally friendly and beautifully crafted toys to the marketplace. We want you and your family to have the best in products that will inspire and nurture your child's imagination. We sell only well-designed, well-made brands and have a selection that ensures that you'll find something for every child at every stage of childhood. These are toys to gift, celebrate and cherish!

Thanks, Kristina!

What, is that too loud for you?

Bling bling bling!! Beep beep! Rrrraawrr, rraaawwwrrr! WooOOoo wooOOoo woOO! "IT'S TIME TO PLAAAY!" (Oh my gawd where is the volume button??!) That's right, it's annoying. So my fellow mommyfriend Lisa and I decided a while back that we were going to do something about it. You know, start a noiseless toy revolution. "Noiseless," meaning "without electronic, artificially created, battery-operated innards." Then it wasn't talked about for a while, and then late one night...voilà! Here you are: The Official Toys Without Noise Weblog. Here, you shall find articles and reviews about fantabulous toys that do all sorts of amazing things without making you want to pierce your eardrums with a ballpoint pen. Here, you shall find an ever-growing collection of links where you can buy said toys. Here, you shall ask your questions, post your comments, and stamp your foot about the forever frustrating phenomenon of obnoxious and noisy toys. Batteries never included.