well, i'm not sure how it happened...but somehow i just now, as of yesterday, discovered soulemama's ostheimer flickr group. i have no idea how i've missed this up until now? but i guess it doesn't really matter. at least, i've found it. and let me just say...i plan on being a top contributor. if you didn't know this about me already, i am a huge ostheimer fan. and have been collecting these beautiful german-made wooden toys for over 20 years now. that's right. 20 years. and i'm still adding new treasures every christmas, every birthday, and many other special occasions. these ostheimer toys are, by and large, the most quintessential waldorf toys made. and i'll venture to say they can be found in every single waldorf school across the globe. each figure is carefully and lovingly crafted and painted by hand. each an individual work of art. and the lovely ostheimer family have owned and operated their family business in germany for more than 50 years now. speaking to just how great their commitment is, here is a wonderful quote from their catalog: 'our hand-crafted wooden toys are invented and created out of love for the children, because we realize that children have individual needs to develop themselves and that they need beauty and purity. our materials, colour, design and the manufacturing by hand take into account these realizations.' no doubt i'm a devoted supporter of their efforts, their cause and their beautiful toys. so you've been warned. many, many more ostheimer pictures to come!
red riding hood, the hunter and the wolf
handheld musicbox ~ 'weisst du wieviel sternlein'
elves and foxes
yours in devoted ostheimer love,
shelley
22 comments:
oh I too love ostheimer. We started collecting way before we had children. They bring me much joy!
And the older they get the more beautiful they become. I love them too. Greetings, Maria
I'm going to run right over there and look, thanks for sharing the group link! Melissa
maria - yes, they do get more beautiful with age...absolutely! heirlooms i certainly plan to pass on to my children's children. :)
Oh I love Ostheimer as well! The older pieces you have are amazing. I wish they still carried that little cottage that Red Riding is in front of. As always your blog is a great inspiration and so full of beauty ~*~*~
We love the ostheimer figures too, though we don't have nearly as many as I would like to have. We are so lucky to have a friend who is building a barn to house our animals. I can't wait until Christmas. :)
I've never heard of it, so i learned something new! It's so lovely! I'm off... googling for Ostheimer (i'm from the netherlands so i might get it here to)
earthmama - thanks!
martha - ooh, i can't wait to see your barn! how exciting!
karoeza - yes, i'm sure you will find some ostheimer there in the netherlands. :) oh and by the way, my daughter and i wear all oilily. :)
I love the photos!
Hey Shelley,
We love ostheimer too. And we are also collecting :)
Which one was your first figure?
Greetings
Maike
i'm so happy to hear that you will have more of these lovely photos as I can't seem to get enough of them! thank you for the link :)
We also love Ostheimer...My boys play with them and ask for them for Christmas, their birthdays, or any other time they can get a gift...Others make wooden toys, but no one has captured the beauty and softness of the Ostheimer figures...
What a beautiful collection you have! I love the older pieces. With time, they seem to grow with character and the love that children (and mama's :)) pass on to them in play.
Those gnome homes are so charming- are they from Heartwood Arts?
maria rose - thanks!
maike - you have given me an idea now...the next post i make will be the very FIRST osheimer figures i bought (more than 20 years ago)! :)
birdie - big hugs to you!
marina - yes, the gnome homes are bill bluhm's/heartwood arts. interestingly, i have also been collecting his beautiful things for over 20 years, as well. as a matter of fact, the play stands we have were custom made by him about 18 years ago!
I'm drooling over here!Thank you for the link to the group. I joined and will add pics soon.
I am obsessed with ostheimer toys. I love them just as decorations around our home too. They are so beautiful.
I think quintessential would be the wrong word here. I completely love Ostheimer toys and have my own small collection. Having my training in Waldorf Early Childhood Education and working at a Waldorf School for many years have found it difficult for most kindergarten classrooms to afford many pieces of Ostheimer and believe the only quintessential Waldorf toy would be a lovingly handmade doll by ones own mother or father.
anonymous - i guess quintessential might have been an overzealous description, given my love and appreciation for these beautiful toys. :) i agree that there is nothing more beautiful than a special doll lovingly made for a child...absolutely (see my previous posts on waldorf dolls). but my reference here was specifically about waldorf schools, not necessarily home environments. :) and in my experience, most of the waldorf schools i have visited (both in person and online) seem to have, even if only a few, ostheimer toys in the kindergarten. it is true, they are expensive...as i would expect them to be because of the time and care that goes into creating each one. fortunately, i was able to purchase many of our ostheimer toys when my children and i were part of a waldorf co-op kindergarten and we received a wonderful discount from the US distributor - which i believe most waldorf schools are able to receive, as well. :)
Thanks for the link, I've joined, can't wait to add more pics as our collection grows. If my daughter (and her soon to be born sibling) were to receive one Ostheimer figure from family/friends for birthdays, Christmas etc, I would be one happy mother! It sure beats a house cluttered with plastic toys.
I love our Ostheimer and I would love to get more. They are incredibly beautiful -- though out of my budget and the very moment. But reading this post has inspired me to think that maybe each of my children could get just one small figure this Christmas.
alicia - that is how i have always felt. i would rather my children get one ostheimer figure or handmade toy, than a whole slew of the other (from sometimes well meaning family). :)
grace - yes, this is a good point. again, they are expensive and i understand out of many people's budgets. and please, i don't want anyone to misunderstand here - it has taken me 20+ years to gather the collection i have! usually one or two pieces at a time. :) but just as you and alicia have both suggested here, many would rather their children get just one of these toys...than a larger group of the other. :)
we are ostheimer fans too, and I also run some specials on my email list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greentaramama
I offer ostheimer and kinderkram special buys a few times a year.
They have some cute new ponies this year. I have the complete catalog available for collectors too
http://www.greenmountainorganics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=400
love
greentaramama
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