December 2007
Family Business: Unusual Holiday Gifts
from Local Companies
In this land of plenty, finding a holiday gift for a child that feels special or bears some sense of meaning can be challenging. This year, take pride in your gifts by choosing something designed right here in the Puget Sound area.
Scientific Explorer Science Kits
Science can be fun to learn when it includes messing around with bubble
gum or fizzing foam. Seattle-based toy company Scientific Explorer offers
more than 50 different kits for kids 4-12 years old.
Young scientists will enjoy My First Airplane Kit, voted one of Dr.Toy’s Ten Best Children’s Products for 2007 (www.drtoy.com). My First Science Kit, another top seller from Scientific Explorer, is among several kits suited for 4-year-olds.
With an entire series of disgusting kits such as Disgusting Anatomy – the Brain, adolescent boys are in for hours of unplugged fun.
Not even the family dog is left out. Kids concoct homemade doggy toothpaste and shampoo with Scientific Explorer’s Pamper Your Dog kit, one of Family Fun Magazine’s 2007 Toys of the Year for 8-12-year-olds.
Susan and Bill Rives started Scientific Explorer in the basement of their Broadmoor home. They used the kits for science clubs they started for their children and friends. “We were really into teaching our kids strong cognitive thinking skills,” says Susan Rives.
Scientific Explorer kits are available locally at Top Ten Toys (Greenwood), Kid’s Club (U-Village) and Whole Foods or online at www.amazon.com. $12.99-$29.99.
Skyflight Mobiles
A whisper of a breeze summons these visual wonders to life. Holly and Pete Zucker of Duvall have designed more than 100 different mobiles of exquisite quality. The colorful screen printed mobiles are pieces of fine three-dimensional art and visual candy for all children, including the child within.
The four large categories of designs include air, earth, water and space. Each mobile has a theme, such as Trout and Salmon, and presents five different designs hanging from four stainless rods of varying lengths.
The mobiles are handmade in the United States and come fully
assembled. Each mobile provides an educational fact sheet about the featured
animals or elements.
What started as Holly Zucker’s hand-painted gifts for friends became
a full-time business. Skyflight has been in Duvall for 24 years, and the
Zuckers now operate a gallery located at Main and Valley Streets.
Skyflight mobiles are also available at Top Ten Toys (Greenwood) and Merry-Go-Round (Bellevue). Visit www.skyflightmobiles.com for more retail locations. $29.95-$35.95.
Harmony Lanterns
Another visual masterpiece for children of all ages is a Harmony Lantern. Handmade in every sense of the word, Harmony Lanterns display the artistic talent of Philip Lewis. Lewis hand-cuts every insert, and the frames for the lamps are built at the workshop in Seattle’s Central District.
The lanterns are fashioned after ancient traditional Japanese lamps known as Mawari-Doro (turning lantern). These lamps were used by Buddhists in ceremonies to commemorate their ancestors. Rice paper affixed to wood creates four walls, which are lit from the inside using a small low-wattage light bulb.
Placed inside is a fragile insert that rests delicately on a pin. The insert spins slowly, propelled by the heat rising from the light bulb. The colorful hand-cut designs on the insert are illuminated on the four walls of the lantern and dance in a festive parade as the insert turns on its pin.
The themes for the inserts cover many moods, including playful animals, animated jazz musicians and tranquil lotus flowers.
Lewis and his partner Hisae Homma learned the trade from friends in British Columbia, who are the creators of Magic Lamps.
A treasured nightlight for babies can become a fanciful decoration for an older child’s room or a cheerful holiday decoration. Choose from more than 50 inserts available to purchase separately from the lamps. Add to the repertoire of inserts to keep this lovely gift fresh and age-appropriate for years to come.
Harmony Lanterns can be found in many gift stores in the area including Egbert’s (downtown Seattle), Fireworks Galleries (four area locations) and Izilla Toys (Capitol Hill). Their Web site is www.harmonylantern.com. Lantern with insert, $68-$72; insert only, $24.99-$26.99.
Xeko
Xeko (pronounced zeeko) is a collectible card game that parents can feel
good about. Fantastic artwork and bright soy-based colors bring the trading
card game concept back to earth, where math, science and nature become
part of the game.
Xeko missions ask young players (8 and older) to be eco-heroes and preserve the planet’s biodiversity by collecting cards to create the strongest Xeko-system in the world. There are three versions to choose from. The most recent, “Xeko: Mission Indonesia,” focuses on the bio-rich area of Sundaland which includes Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula.
Exotic species such as the clouded leopard or the giant pitcher plant fight for survival against natural and unnatural forces. The winner has the most eco-points at the end of the game, but the prize is the child’s exposure to dozens of amazing animals and plants and the knowledge of their susceptibility to the forces of man and nature.
After 12 years in high tech and custom publishing, Amy Tucker
joined forces with friend Sönny Spearman to form the Fremont-based
Matter Group, makers of Xeko. Four percent of every sale of a Xeko game
is donated to Conservation International, the U.S.-based nonprofit that
identifies hotspots – the most rich and threatened plant and animal
regions in the world – which are the focus of the Xeko games.
Visit www.xeko.com to
find a long list of local retail stores. Starter Sets, $27.99-$29.99;
Starter Decks, $17.99-$19.99; Booster packs, $1.99-$2.99.
The Giving Tree
The beautiful hand-crafted toys sold by the Giving Tree are not made by
Santa’s elves, but – even better – every toy is 100
percent volunteer-crafted.
The Giving Tree is located right next to the Westlake, a Seattle residence for men ages 55 and older who were formerly homeless. It was started in 1989 as a joint program of the Archdiocesan Housing Authority of Western Washington and Catholic Community Services to help enrich the lives of the people living at the Westlake.
In addition to the residents of Westlake, seniors, youth and others are invited to share in the satisfaction of creating and giving to the community through volunteer work at the Giving Tree. Clare Cronkleton, product manager for the Giving Tree, says, “[The Giving Tree] is a place where people can discover new talents and be seen as a contributor to the greater good.” The toys are either donated to charities that help children in need or sold to support the program.
The toys themselves are terrific. Designed for young children ages 2-6, the Giving Tree’s impressive collection of ferries, pick-up trucks, trains and animal pull-toys are carved from re-purposed, salvaged and donated wood and hand painted with water-based acrylics.
The Giving Tree toy shop – soon to be the first stop on the new streetcar line – is located at 2008 Westlake Ave. in Seattle. You can also find toys at Portage Bay Goods (Fremont), Rising Stars (Greenwood) and at the company’s booth at the Pike Place Market. Find other locations or order online at www.ccsww.org/givingtreetoys/index.php. Prices vary by design.
Gretchen Bear is a Seattle
writer, game enthusiast and mother of two.
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Seattle's Child, a publication of the Washington Post Company
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