Grapat: Dear Universe

Grapat is known for its high-quality, imaginative and open-ended wooden toys, and they’ve just announced the release of their latest collection, "Dear Universe". This new collection is guaranteed to bring joy and creativity to children everywhere and is perfect for little ones who love to play and explore using their imaginations.

This new range as always with Grapat is an ode to childhood and the world our children are in.Grapat says; ‘Dear Universe, Let’s treat our children the way we treat the stars: admired just the way they are.’ This beautiful collection, is a heartfelt celebration of our children and their individualities, their quirks and their perfect uniqueness.

Grapat go on to say ‘Let’s overcome benchmarks and norms, let’s stop thinking in boxes, let’s be done with expectations and comparisons. Children are perfect the way they are. Tiny or big, introvert or extrovert, in their own orbit or part of a supercluster. If we stop expecting, we will be surprised. If we stop comparing, we will see with our hearts. If we accept them being themselves, every child will be free. There is no right or wrong’. This conceptual collection is a plea to let our children be children however they are, without limitations, expectations, or societal constraints. To allow our children to grow and explore without comparison, rigidly timed milestones and imposed ‘ideals’.

Grapat said ‘We wish kids were stellar objects who spin and sway, seeking balance to find an orbit of their own that integrates them into the system. But they are not. At the very moment a kid is born, this kid becomes a daughter or a son, a sibling, a grandchild, a neighbour, a playmate…

From that moment this kid has not only inherited their parents’ traits but also their culture, their knowledge… their hopes, their expectations… their rules, their norms. 
We have a right amount of energy the perfect child should have, an exact length for a boy’s hair, a desirable posture for a gentle girl. Kids cannot spin and sway seeking for their own orbit… kids are educated and taught and pushed into the orbit we draw, and we expect them to rotate at the imposed tempo. But it would be useless for Saturn to try to rotate the same way as Mars, because they’re not the same.’

Dear Universe…

At the heart of the Dear Universe collection are a delightful range of new pieces: Dear Universe, Moonlight Tale, Mandala Rainbow Snowflakes and Lucky Lucky Third Edition. As always these magical figures, sets and mandala pieces are beautifully hand-crafted from high-quality, sustainable wood and are painted with non-toxic water-based dyes, making them safe for your little ones. They are each unique, with their own personalities and stories, and they will encourage children to play and create their own adventures.

One of the beautiful features of the Dear Universe collection is the attention to detail in each piece's design. The Dear Universe Playset, for example, comprises of just over 40 individual pieces that can be used to create galaxies, and solar systems of children's own design and imaginations. This beautiful wooden play set features, planets, moons and stars that can also be steroids, comets or even spaceships! This set is designed to allow children to freely build, create and tell their own stories, about galaxies that exist in their own universe, hopes and dreams.

We love how this set encourages pretend, imaginative and small-world play. The small touches help to bring the figures to life and make them even more appealing to children. As well as extending the possibilities for play. Explore the beauty of this set with magical use of colours and shimmery pearlescent paints.

In addition to the Playset, the Dear Universe collection also includes a ‘Moon Light Tale’ set.  A beautiful, whimsical and creative small world play set designed to spark creativity and imaginative play. This set is a fun collaboration with @gretasschwester a Berlin-based designer. Featuring 22 pieces of magic and fairytales, in a more muted but still colourful palate than we’re used to from Grapat. With Nins, baby nins, mushrooms acorns and more it's the perfect base for small-world play and storytelling. 

Back for a THIRD time are the super popular Lucky Lucky boxes! A modern and novel take on the lucky dip, these surprise boxes contain a mini set of loose parts pieces with a theme designed to inspire and encourage open-ended play. We love the names of the themes too: Queen Summer, Landscapes, Beyond the reach, Pocket creatures, Party day, Summer garden, Lantern walk, Amazing me, Mimosa tickles, Mischief bugs, Lemon whispers, Care carefully, Once a dot, Up, down and around and Enchanted mushroom.

The lucky boxes comprise of 15 individual sets full of joy, imagination and creativity designed to be collected, traded, swapped, gifted or shared! Each single purchase gets you a single box with a surprise contents (even we won't know) How exciting? Collect the range, box by box, sold as a single set. Lucky me, lucky you....which box will you get?

What makes the Dear Universe collection truly special, however, is how it promotes true imaginative play, allowing children to invent and create their own worlds and stories. Children can use the figures, sets and loose parts pieces to create their own stories and adventures, and they can play with them in a variety of different ways. 
 
Whether they're exploring the wonders of outer space, creating magical stories, or sprinkling rainbow snowflakes, the Dear Universe collection offers endless opportunities for imaginative play and creativity.
 
The Dear Universe collection from Grapat is a wonderful addition to the world of wooden toys. With its attention to detail, high-quality materials, and imaginative designs, it is sure to bring joy and creativity to children everywhere. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, guardian, carer or teacher, this collection is the perfect way to encourage imaginative play and inspire a love of nature and the natural world. So why not treat your little ones to the magic of Grapat? Or treat yourself to it!