HELEN PHAN

HÉLEN PHAN, born in 1989 is a Child Culture Designer and a  Product Designer based in Malmö, Sweden.

She is a young-at-heart designer totally infatuated with child culture and play. She designs experiences for and WITH children, working with products / interiors / spaces / graphics / concepts / service / workshops. She also does lectures on children's participation.

Find here following some of her projects:

AL'S HOUSE
A playhouse with tiny aluminium figures designed to be made in the technique aluminium-profiling. Inspired by children’s drawings of houses.
The concept is a neutral playhouse with belonging figures, free from class, gender and ethnicity. The colours and shapes of the figures represent the similarities and dissimilarities of people.

PAUSE 
It suits one single child in need of an own private space as well as for two or more children’s need for social play in privacy. The concept also considers kindergarten as a context by having felt as material, a material that is sound absorbing at the same time as it enhances the feeling of a private space.
By being foldable PAUSE can easily be knocked down to be stored and save space. It could also be hung up on a wall and turned into a playful sound absorber.

KIWI BIRD BOX
How can a toy unite children with autism and other children in play?
Play makes the tool of Kiwi Bird box to give children with autism the opportunity to develop in social interaction with other children. Because, children are in fact the best pedagogues a child with autism can have. It is a  mutual peep box for two children to play, interact and communicate with each other. With the help of magical magnetism that the kiwi birds possess, children can show, tell and guide each other in a playful way when watching and affecting the world inside Kiwi Bird Box.

BIG FINKI  
Play is about telling a story and finding bodily joy.
Big Fink and Little Fink are designed to be children's roommates, the kind of friendly play objects that have souls. Responding to children through physical interaction, the finks encourage children to express themselves bodily and narratively in cuddly play.Their bodies are made of textile and foam, and deep inside them lies the secret to their wobbliness: a small bag of rice that keep the them down-to-earth.

BLOB SLEDDING
Your friend through cold and snowy days!

GRÖNKULLA
A play furniture, designed to encourage children to express themselves physically in play with big bodily movements. Children are constantly discovering life with all their senses and their whole body. A physically active child is a play signal, that invites other children to join.

ORANGE
REST, SIT, PLAY, PRETEND, ROCK, GROW, ORANGE. ORANGE is designed to be an enclosed and protecting pupa for children with the possibility to open up for play and imagination. It's a product to grow up with, having the qualities of cradle, chair, resting place, swing, hut, toy, you name it.

HULKI

HULKI came to life on Kickstarter in May 2016.  HULKIs are vibrant, supersized, Dutch Design playhouses that are 100% recyclable. HULKIs are built to withstand wear and tear from children by using an extra strong custom-engineered cardboard. HULKIs help to bridge a gap between stimulating toys for kids and the wellbeing of the planet.
Buy them here. 

SARMIENTO: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.

SARMIENTO: stiamo parlando di Maria Teresa Sarmiento, architetto e Julia Alejandra Sarmiento, giornalista.Sin da bambine Maria Teresa e Julia Alejandra hanno avuto uno stretto legame con il legno. Il loro nonno era l'architetto del Cantiere Sarmiento, ampiamente noto nell'ambiente della marina per le barche a vela realizzate a mano. Sono cresciute giocando sulle barche.L'idea di SARMIENTO nasce da due concetti:1) dalla continua ricerca di due mamme lavoratrici di giochi interessanti progettati per i bambini.2) dalla necessità di riutilizzare gli scarti di produzione del Brand NET (produttore di mobili di design che amano e conoscono da molto tempo). Net è un'azienda di design che crea mobili, che realizza architettura locale e si rivolge anche all'estero, esportando in America, Uruguay, Giappone, Cile.
Net è alla costante ricerca di ottimizzazione delle risorse e delle materie prime utilizzate. Sarmiento, in linea con la loro filosofia ha quindi pensato ad una collaborazione con loro.
Net utilizza materie prime di alta qualità ed esporta latifoglie come Lapacho, petiribí, pino del Brasile, paraiso etc, che forniscono diverse textures, diversi colori, pesi, etc, tutti molto interessanti al tatto e alla vista.
I prodotti di Sarmiento non sono mai gli stessi, perché dipendono dalla produzione in corso di Net.Si tratta di un processo creativo continuo: vedere lo spreco e trasformarlo in un prodotto ludico, sostenibile e divertente. Il risultato è sorprendente.Il motto di Sarmiento sono le 3 R: RIDURRE, RIUTILIZZARE, RICICLARE.beh...NOI LI AMIAMO, E VOI???
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SARMIENTO: we are talking about Maria Teresa Sarmiento, architect and Julia Alejandra Sarmiento, journalist.
Since kids, they had much relation with wood as material. Their grandfather was the architect of Shipyard Sarmiento, widely well known in the marine environment for their sailboats handmade plywood. They grew up playing on  boats.
The idea of Sarmiento arises from two ideas:
1)    They are two  working moms who are always looking for interesting designed toys for children.
2)    The need to reuse the production waste Net furnitures (Brand that they love and know from long time). Net is a design house that creates furniture, local architecture and abroad, exporting to America, Uruguay, Japan, Chile. 
The Net production result from the realization of a thought. In the constant search to optimize resources and raw materials. So they made an aliance with them.
They have high quality raw materials and export hardwoods like Lapacho, Petiribí, Pine Brazil, Paraiso among others, that  provide us different extures, colors, weights, very interesting to the touch and sight.
The Sarmiento products are never the same, because they depend on production being carried out in Net.
It is a constant creative process: see the waste and transform it into a playful, sustainable and fun product. The result is unlimited.
Sarmientos base work are the 3 R: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.
WELL......WE LOOOOOOVE SARMIENTO!!!

MI BOSQUE

Viene da Messico "Mi Bosque", un brand di design per bambini nato nel 2013. Oggetti per il gioco, semplici, intuitivi, espressivi.
Oggetti prodotti in serie limitata, a mano, con attenzione ai dettagli, ai materiali usati e al processo di fabbricazione. Oggetti che stimolano l'immaginazione dei bambini moltiplicando le possibilità di gioco.
Più info, qui.
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"Mi Bosque" is Mexican Brand, born in 2013. They manufacture beautiful items and toys which are simple, intuitive, expressive.
All their products are produced in limited quantities, are handmade, and they put a lot of  attention to details, materials and manufacturing process. Their products stimulate children's imagination by multiplying the possibilities of game.
More info here.