Loose Parts — Mandala Green Cones

Opting for open-ended and autonomous play, Grapat does not provide instructions. Their only premise is to let children play, slowly, without time limits. These loose parts are the ultimate invitation to children to play and create.

Grapat toys are crafted by hand and encourage, invite and stimulate the creation of invented little worlds, or to explore sorting by colour, size or shape, or create patterns and mandalas. Our favourite way to play with these loose parts is to mix them with elements from nature like the rocks, twigs and acorns that your child likely already loves to play with. These toys will grow with your child, as they will naturally use them to create ever more intricate and creative games. They can even be used as a teaching tool for basic addition, subtraction or multiplication for hands-on learning.

Grapat follows traditional processes to make their toys, in the old way, with raw materials, natural dyes which let the wood veins be seen and vibrant coloured waxes and oils that slightly shine. Painted by hand, homemade and surrounded by nature and many children nearby that inspire the makers daily. The colours are lively and inspiring without being so vibrant that they no longer reflect the colours from nature; children can seek inspiration by finding coordinating colours in flowers, leaves, rocks, and plants, depending on the season. 

The wood used comes from sustainable forests. Grapat uses beech and birch. Wood is the source that inspires. It is robust, soft and hard, it is warm, it sounds good and it smells good.

The dyes are based on water and non-toxic that comply with the European safety regulations of the Toy EN / 71-3: 2014 + A1: 2014 / 2013. Working with dyes and not with acrylic paints allows Grapat to continue having contact with the wood. The dye does not jump from the wood when it falls to the ground or when time passes because it penetrates deep inside the piece. Sometimes it can happen that by an excess of pigments some pieces lose some colour when coming in contact with saliva, no problem, they are absolutely safe and non-toxic.

Each piece that passes through Grapat’s hands is unique. Each one is painted by hand. And since from Grapat defends the value of nature, imperfections are accepted. It is beautiful and makes the material even more valuable. The cloth bags that are included in some of the products come from big companies that discard material when they have a small defect. As Grapat produces the bags by hand they can take advantage of them by removing those defects and giving them a second life. The fabrics vary and do not match with the photos of the products.

Care Instructions: If you clean Grapat wood products only use a damp cloth. Do not submerge in water and do not use disinfectant or hot water. Suitable for children ages 36 months and up.

*Due to guidelines set by Grapat, Sustain can only fulfill orders of Grapat for orders within Canada. Orders including Grapat items from areas outside of Canada will have the items refunded from the order. We thank you for your support!!