Alexander Girard ABC Blocks

There are already some great Alexander Girard kid's toys, including some very expensive ABC blocks. Now there are some much more reasonable Alexander Girard ABC blocks available. It's 10 blocks, but of course all 26 letters are accounted for, and on the remaining sides, you also get some lovely Girard designs.

Mid-Century Color Palette in Comics

The Golden Age of comics was from 1838 to 1950 and I recently ran across these comic book color charts from that era. If you're looking for some mid-century paint colors, these could be an interesting place to start. Or, if you wanted to do a super hero nursery in a mid-century home these could give you a perfect mid century modern color palette.

I also ran across a comic book color chart from the modern age of comics, after they switched to Pantone coloring. 

If you are going to do a super hero nursery, this will give you the perfect paint colors, especially if you use Pantone paints.

Mid-Century Modern Toy Cars

Recently, we were browsing at a local toy store, letting the little one pick out a few things. The grandparents were in town and doing what grandparents do, spoiling the kid.

As we were wondering and making important decisions ("You don't need two yellow balls. Pick one yellow ball and we'll get something else too.") I caught a glimpse of these really cool modern car toys. The weird thing was they were in a glass case; none of the other cars were protected from little fingers. I figured they were a little more expensive, but they're really well-designed, modern-looking car toys so I thought a little extra expense might be worth it. Then I saw the price tag and quickly moved away from the modern toy cars before the kid saw them and feel in love with them too.

But these Playforever cars are fantastic eye candy so you should still give them a look.


Enzo Motorbike in Gun Metal

Mini Speedy Le Mans Red 

Bruno Roadster in Metallic Blue

 Mimmo Aeroplane in Atlantic Blue

Retro-Future Kid's Tees

I was looking for something completely different on Zulily when when I came across these retro-future kid's t-shirts. (FYI, searching "retro" on some sites gets you nothing that's actually retro or retro-looking, except for three kids shirts.)

Sure, they're all space oriented, but what super-cool retro kid's tee wouldn't be? If you're looking for a few Space Age threads, check out the Lords of Liverpool collection.

Mid-Century Modern Play Kitchen

The kid has been obsessed with the kitchen and helping in the kitchen and banging on pots and pans, so we decided it was time to get a play kitchen. But we didn't want just any play kitchen, we wanted something that would look good sitting in our mid-century home for the next few years. We looked at a few play kitchens but ended up getting a white KidKraft Vintage Kitchen.

It's the best mid-century play kitchen we could find; it's got a great retro dinner look to it. But, be warned, it is extremely well built – meaning that it will take you many hours to put together. But once it is together, your kid will have hours of fun with it. And they probably won't break it after just a few days.

If you want a little more color in your mid-century modern play kitchen, it also comes in blue

And red.

VW Bus Playscape for Kids

People in Austin love VW buses, including myself. The first hand-made, kid-themed VW bus item I ever saw was this VW bus wagon. Now this playscape has popped up on Austin's Craiglist. It's probably a stretch to actually call it a playscape, but that's what it's listed as. I guess if you slap a slide on anything, it can technically be a playscape. That said, it would make a pretty sweet neighborhood club house (as long as the windows/doors remained open).

I've been on the hunt for the perfect VW bus (in running condition), now I'm wondering if I just find a broken down one, pull the interior, park it in the backyard and call it a club house. I think the kid would love it.

Mid-Century Norsu Elephant Banks

We're planning on getting the kid a piggy bank soon, but most piggy banks are pretty ugly so I went on the hunt for a mid-century modern piggy bank. The best one I found are these Norsu elephant banks. (Norsu is Finish for elephant.)

They were designed by MK Tresmer for the Finnish Union Bank and were given out to kids to promote saving. They're originally from the 1970s and are still made by the same factory in Finland today.

But I can't find a place to buy them in the States, so the hunt continues.

Mid-Century Modern Toys: Areaware Balancing Blocks

I was on the hunt for a birthday present for the child of some design-conscious friends of ours, who also have a preference for mid-century modern kids' toys. I happened upon these multi-colored Areaware balancing blocks and I think they'll be the perfect gift.

Areaware also happen to be the makers of Cubebot, so they're quickly turning into my go-to company for mid-century modern toys.

The blocks were created for Areaware by Fort Standard, a design studio in Brooklyn, and are crafted from sustainably harvested wood and covered in non-toxic tints.

They also created this super cute video about the balancing blocks, which reminds me a lot of the Sesame Street claymations from my childhood.

Mid-Century Modern Kids' Book: Julian in the Autumn Woods

My parents have been giving me books that they saved from my childhood so I can read them to my little one. One of the prettiest ones they've given me Julian in the Autumn Woods. It was written in 1976 and released in Czechoslovakia; it was published in English for the first time in 1977.

It's full of great '70s colors and textures: browns, greens, yellows and oranges all on top of each other.

And it's a great little story that I'll be happy to read to my little one. Sadly, Julian in the Autumn Woods hasn't been republished, but you might be able to find a copy in your local library or used book store.

Mid-Century Modern Toys: Cubebot

The kid's growing up which means it's time for some new toys. I've been trying to find toys that are fun, not branded or based on TV shows, secretly educational and hopefully well designed with a mid-century modern twist. I think Cubebot fits the bill on most, if not all, points.

Designer David Weeks describes Cubebots thusly:

Robot toys are usually made of plastic and require batteries – but not this collection! Meet Cubebot, Julien and Guthrie. Inspired by the Japanese Shinto Kumi-ki puzzles, these wooden sculptures are a non-traditional take on the toy robot by joining ancient Japanese traditions with contemporary toy culture. Their sturdy hardwood frames can hold hundreds of poses and when playtime is over, they each neatly fold up into unassuming cubes.

David Week also designed Hanno the Gorilla, which is just a sweet looking monkey to put on a shelf or mantel in any mid-century modern home.

Mid-Century Modern Art Memory Game

We have the Alexander Girard memory game, which I thought was the best memory game out there. But, if I had known about the Modern Art memory game, I might have bought it instead. I love Girard, but modern art, on little tiles, that my kids can play with and memorize — there's something very appealing about that.

The Mid-Century Toys of Growing by Design

The MoMA is really firing on all cylinders lately. Not only did they recently pick up the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection, but they have the Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000 exhibit currently running. And their website is showcasing some outstanding mid-century modern design and mid-century toys, including (of course) LEGO and the Eero Aarnio Puppy.

And they have a they have a little video about some of the cutest toys I've ever seen: The toys of Libuše Niklová.

If you happen to be in New York, you can check out these and many other cute mid-century kid things in person. Lucky.

Mid-Century Modern Baby: Charley Harper App

I mentioned Charley Harper's baby items, but I had no idea that there was a Charley Harper app out as well. Luckily, Casey did know and mentioned it to me.

It looks just as cute and kid friendly as the rest of Charley Harper's stuff. I think I'll have to download it this weekend and see how the kid likes it.

Mid-Century Modern Baby: Charley Harper

I got a little inspired by my Alexander Girard baby items post and realized that Charley Harper has some great mid-century modern baby stuff as well.

We have Charley Harper 123s and love it.

It has some of Harper's iconic birds in it.

Speaking of birds, there's an entire Charley Harper Coloring Book of Birds.

And to help you learn those colors, there's Charley Harper Colors.

You can cover the rest of your learning bases with Charley Harper ABC's.

Like Girard, there's also a Charley Harper Memory Game.

For some giant fun, there's the Charley Harper Ladybug Giant Floor Puzzle.

Or the smaller, but equally fun Charley Harper: Tree of Life Block Puzzle.

Mid-Century Modern Baby: Alexander Girard

I've mentioned Alexander Girard's children's items previously, but there are a few new things out there so I thought it was worth revisiting the subject.

We have the Alexander Girard memory game and the kid really loves it.

The cards themselves have some outstanding designs, very memorable.

Like every other house with a kid, we burn through coloring books. So it's good there's Alexander Girard coloring book.

Speaking of coloring, we're still learning our colors so Alexander Girard's Color is the perfect bedtime board book.

And the kid is really into puzzles right now, so the Alexander Girard Eden giant floor puzzle might be the perfect holiday gift.

The one thing the kid won't be getting is what might be the most expensive ABC blocks ever made.

While they're gorgeous, they're just too expensive for wood blocks that will probably end up with teethmarks on them.

Amanda Visell Posters

I've been a fan of Amanda Visell for a while and I have some of her art in my house. She's started making some really cute posters that would be perfect for any mid-century modern nursery.

Posters for girls to show them they can do anything:

And posters to build better boys:

Mid-Century Modern Toys

We did a little shopping at Toy Joy over the weekend. While we didn't buy the whole store, like my little one would have liked, we did see some really neat mid-century modern toys.

Some of the mid-century modern toys that stood out were:

Kid O Go Car

Kid O Stack and Nest Cups

Kid O Floating Ducks

Green Toys Stacker

Green Toys Mini Fastback Set

And the Kid O Airplane, which would be a great for toy or decoration piece in a travel-themed nursery.