Apr
18
2012

posted by

Gisela Voss

Earth 911

If Mother Earth could dial a phone, surely she would. We all know the damage pollution causes, the dangers of global warming, the disapperance of animal and plant species. It's sometimes easy to get discouraged and wonder what you can do. We at B. firmly and whole-heartedly believe in the words of English philosopher Sydney Smith:

"It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little—do what you can."

To us it's Earth day every day! We try in all we do to B. good—to kids, their parents and our planet. This often means making choices about materials for our packaging that cost a little more money: whether that is PET #1, the most recyclable plastic, polypropylene PP for our reusable bags, 100% recycled Kraft paper for our boxes, soy inks for our printing, or simply sometimes foregoing packaging altogether. It always always means using recycled and recyclable materials and encouraging parents to do the same.

We have fun with this. Take a look here at a collection of B. Green messages from our packaging. The words of our übertalented (and überhilarious) copywriter Amy Flanagan infuse our brand with mirth and merriment. Not a day goes by we don't giggle around here!

And we get serious too. We promote Earth911.com on our packaging because this website is one-stop source for where you can recycle almost anything, at a location near you! It's the largest and most comprehensive recycling directory in the USA. Try it; you'll be amazed. I used it to find a place to recycle a dozen tangled, mangled strands of non-working Christmas lights that had been taking up space in my basement for years.

This Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day 2012 and the Earth Day network is mobilizing a billion acts of green. Millions of people around the globe of all nationalities and backgrounds will Mobilize the Earth by voicing their appreciation for the planet and demanding its protection, standing united for a sustainable future and calling upon individuals, organizations, and governments to do their part.

Join in? Even by just showing our kids how to shut the lights or the faucet off we help a little. And lots of littles add up to a lot.

—Gisela

Mar
08
2012

posted by

Lisa Carmack

Symphony in B. It's here! It's here!

Every time we create a new toy we try to challenge convention and defy expectations. (Even our own.) This time we took it to the extreme. We are so excited…after sooooo long…to finally introduce one of the most innovative toys we have ever made. Symphony in B. Just wait until you play with it. You won't want to stop.

When we created this toy we wanted children to feel like the conductor of a world-class symphony. We wanted them to choose instruments one at a time and hear the beautiful music build. We wanted them to recognize that one song can be played hundreds of different ways, depending on which instruments are playing it. But most of all, we wanted kids to have fun and nurture that love of music we all seem to be born with.

Symphony in B. has 13 instruments to choose from. Pick up to 6 at a time and put them in the "orchestra pit" and hear them play together. Then change up the instruments (all of them or one by one) and hear the beautiful, musical transformation. With 15 songs and symphonies to choose from and 13 instruments to play, there are literally millions of gorgeous combinations. You could even play the same song 100 times and not have it sound the same twice. It's truly magical. And addictive.

How does it sound? If you know anything about us, you know we've always eschewed the nasally, synthetic sounds that are typically assigned to children's toys. Yuck, yucky, yuck-yuck. The music of a toy should make kids' hearts sing. (And should make parents' hearts sing, too. The sound of a musical toy should fill the house with the same kind of joy the sound of a child's laughter does.)

So we asked ourselves, can gorgeous, rich music come from a toy made for children as young as 3 years old (and as old as 13…okay 93)? Turns out it can. But it's not easy. :)

We professionally (and meticulously) recorded the rich music of 13 carefully chosen instruments from around the world, including clarinet, flute, tuba, trumpet, xylophone, drums, cymbals, piano, accordion, koto, guitar, violin and sitar. (Do you even know what koto is? You will now!) It's truly gorgeous. We've even programmed lights to teach the sections of an orchestra and show which instruments are woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboards and strings.

Yes, I know. I've gone on and on. (Aren't we allowed to do that about our babies?) But this toy is more than a toy. It's more than we ever thought possible when we set out to create it. It's a revolution. And it's a whole lot of fun.

-Lisa Jobe-Carmack

P.S. This toy is so hard to explain in words we decided to make a video. We invited nieces, nephews, cousins and friends to join our own kids for an all-day Symphony in B. play date. Watch the video above and see (and hear) for yourself.

Feb
15
2012

posted by

Gisela Voss

It is a happy talent to know how to play. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Boy oh boy. Girl oh girl. We KNOW how to play!

Yup that's me hopping on one foot. :) We just got back from the 2012 International Toy Fair in New York. We loooove showing off our new creations. And we have a B.ig one to unveil in about 4 weeks. Quite likely the coolest musical toy you've ever seen. If you've not yet signed up for our B.mails or joined us on Facebook, you will want to be among the first to know when "Symphony in B." hits the shelves. Because the first small test shipment will sell out very quickly. We just know it!

We stood on our soap boxes for 3 days and told everyone who came by about our mission to make toys that are a sea change in the industry: beautiful enough to leave out when company comes over, respectful of our planet, generous to children less fortunate than ours.

How do we do it? We love it. We care. We play.

Beyond the visible signature patterns and colors…we labor over the ‘feel’ in a child’s hand, the thickness of the plastic, the smoothness of a strap, the curve of a corner, the recyclability of our packaging, the size of the box, the meaning of each word, the kerning of the font. We really sweat these details. Wake up with them in the middle of the night! Tweak and finesse them until we have everything juuuuust right.

Where possible the toys come with self-storage (the drum holds the instruments, the clinic roof houses the tools). We hate toys that leave a pile of trash as big as the toy itself when unpackaged. And yet, when clear trash plastic is inevitable, we’ve paid extra for the most recyclable #1 PET plastic. And we've designed even the recycling symbol to be B.eautiful.

But most of all, in our heart of hearts, in that spot where we are parents first, we make open-ended toys that encourage a child’s own stories to lead the fun. That engage that most powerful engine of creativity—a child's imagination. That support and celebrate our mission: JUST B. JUST YOU. B. YOU. That trust children to know how to play.

B. happy!

—Gisela

Feb
03
2012

posted by

Julie Gambino

6 Weeks of Wonder

B. is all in the family and we take any opportunity to share and make merry with kids. And to dress up our logo.

My little sister, Miss Kristine, celebrated Groundhog Day with her students yesterday—and B. was invited to the party. A box full of crayons and seventeen B. stencils got the students in her 2nd grade class skipping down B.eauty-color Avenue to dress up Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. How wonderfully unique all of our B. stencils became : )

This year Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means we should expect six more weeks of winter. Maybe it’s time to cross our fingers for a little snow this year, and prepare six weeks of winter activities? Here are a few to get you started: Watch your children bundle dive outside and make snow angels. Go out and make one with them—and don’t forget to get it on camera! Have an acorn hunt. Make maple syrup popsicles. Decorate a snowman/snowgal with Pop-Arty! beads.

Embrace it now because Spring is just around the corner and any white, sparkling snow we get will melt just like ice-cream does on a hot summer’s day.

—Julie

Jan
19
2012

posted by

Gisela Voss

B. there—with bells on!

We have a summer home near Nantasket Beach's historic Paragon Park Carousel and have 19 years of photos of our kids growing up riding around and around and up and down on those 1928 horses. They represent so much that is good to me…old-fashioned family fun, happy music, laughter, childhood.

We infused all that goodness into the design of Carousel Bells. The pitch perfect scale sounds lovely and crisp (perfect to sing along with to Twinkle Twinkle or O Sole Mio). The rainbow prism of B. colors swirling in motion is mesmerizing. Hold the wand on the bells as they spin and be transported to a day when you were 8 and ran a stick along a fence.

Then read our tips for musical fun.

Together, with B.ells on, we can keep the magic of childhood alive.

—Gisela

PS
Carousel bells will be available in two sizes. Right now for spring (can we say spring yet?) 6" diameter Piccolo hand-held size and sometime in the future you'll see a 9" Colossale tabletop version like the one we are composing with in the video above.