Review: Georgian Wood Toys

WHY IS MY NEW HEADER BLURRY?!?!?!? ANYONE?

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After deciding to start Lo a collection of wood figures, I was torn between those that I found made by Buntspechte and those made by Georgian Wood Toys. I like these manufacturers better then Ostheimer and Holztiger mainly for the reasons stated in my Buntspechte post -they are less "boxy" or "squared" and have more endearing expressions. The wood figures that I make myself are made in the same vain as Ostheimer-mainly for lack of better woodworking tools- so I no longer see a need to purchase any from them.

Georgian Wood Toys are made by a group of people connected with the Waldorf School movement in the Republic of Georgia on the Black Sea and are distributed in North America by a small bookstore in Seattle. The Georgian figures that were designed before 2008 are quite colorful, expressive and are much more rounded then the Ostheimer ilk. While I prefer those aspects in wood figures, once I saw the animals that were designed after 2008, I lost interest in most of the older Georgian figures(despite their greatness)! These unique, simple, new figures are even more rounded than their predecessors and are devoid of detail. They are so gorgeously sculpted and buttery smooth, leaving everything up to the child's imagination. I only purchased 2 of the newer figures as I couldn't resist the monkeys and that whimsical snail! You have got to visit the site to see more of these wonderful post 2008 pieces. I think you'll also enjoy reading the very interesting history of Georgian Wood Toys.

I have to admit that Lo was at first perplexed by the lack of detail in the giraffe and unicorn- I found her poised with a marker in hand to add her own! AAAAAAACK!!!!!! I told her there would be no decorating the wood toys! I hasn't taken her long at all to get used to them. I often find the unicorn in her bed in the morning! I still stand behind the theory that simple toys without manufactured expression are catalysts to unbound imagination...


*Photo courtesy Georgian wood toys