along with ostheimer, another german manufacturer of beautiful waldorf wooden toys is woodpecker (or buntspechte, in german). they are a smaller and younger company than ostheimer (27 years old) and have a smaller offering of wooden figures and animals. but their work is...simply exquisite. each figure is beautifully handcarved with softly rounded edges and no facial features leaving the imagination to roam free. and there is a reverence for childhood about them, a spiritualness if you will, which makes one want to be still. and, as is the waldorf way, honor the child in us all.
these figures were bought at our waldorf school and were a gift from my sister years ago (thank you, shannon!). i also have their most beautiful nativity set, which i will be sharing in pictures at christmas time!
yours in more wooden toy loveliness,
shelley
23 comments:
Incredible that I live so near their source and have never heard of them. So beautiful...and so unavailable here in Switzerland, grrr, a "supposed" neighboring country. sigh. :-)
oh these are lovely. i love the soft colors and gentle edges.
We have several of these in the Waldorf aftercare where I work. I loved the roundedness of them too and the colours.
Those are just beautiful. I love the softness of them.
shelley,
so funny, i just found their website yesterday. i've been trying to decide which one i want to buy to start my collection. ahem, i mean the kids collection:o)
hugs
boo
Thank you so much Shelley, for sharing with us your collection! The lamb pieces are much simpler than the new ones and so lovely. I am looking forward to seeing your nativity set!
I do so LOVE them! They have this 'alive' quality to them that (I think) is so lacking in many other wooden figures. They're so warm and I love their form- so fluid! They are stunning in person AND in photos! You just have to touch them! Amazing! My children are in LOVE! Me too...
earthmama
They look so reverent, so calm. You find the best things.
that's interesting. i never came across the company before. might have to keep my eyes open in future. but i found out about another lovely company that designs wooden toys in ostheimer style, but even more natural because mostly unpainted. it's BAJO (www.bajo.de). But unfortunately their website is under construction at the moment. maybe later..
These are gorgeous. I just found them on the web...so many beautiful, gentle carvings there.
these are so gorgeous, shelley! i also covet these. ;)
PS: Living Crafts doesn't seem to have your pattern up. Do you know anything about this?
goodness those are lovely!
Oh- wanted to add that I would enjoy your input on my current blog post. I kind of think my thoughts in typed circles- and you always have such good ideas so I would value your feedback :-) If you have time.
I love buntspecht too,beautiful pictues!
website address?
I like these ones.
the animal figures are just beautiful! the simplicity just makes me speechless.
Hey there I was wondering if you have the website for these woodpecker toys? I can't seem to find it on the computer. Thanks Kate
Hey Shelly could you give me the email address for the woodpecker toys? I couldn't find it on the web. Thanks Kate
I cannot find them on the web. Please post a website?
thanks for sharing, as always
hey everyone - the website of the manufacturer of these woodpecker toys is buntspechte.com. and oftentimes you will find them available at waldorf stores and schools. :)
grace - i'm not sure what the issue was with my doll sweater pattern on the living crafts site, but it's now on there. :)
Thank you for posting information about these beautiful wooden toys! I am a Waldorf early childhood educator, and I had several of these beautiful pieces in my classroom. I've been trying to track down the name of the company, which I finally found here. I soon will be offering Waldorf playthings for sale and I would love to carry these. I just sent an email to the manufacturer.
hi shelley,
you have a nice blog here,just found your site. how can i contact you? im interested at your books here coz i wanted to learn more on waldorf education (just joined the anthroposophy session 1 last year).
thank you.
nina
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