Let's play: In the Funky Forest

Funky Forest is a wild and crazy digital interactive ecosystem, created by visual and motion graphics designer Emily Gobeille and interactive designer and artist Theodore Watson. In the Funky Forest you can manage the resources to influence the environment around you. Streams of water flowing on the floor can be diverted to make the different parts of the forest grow. If a tree does not receive enough water it withers away but by pressing your body into the forest you can create a new tree based on your shape. 

Sonic life forms inhabit the forest who depend upon a thriving ecosystem to survive.

Funky forest was originally created for the Cinekid festival but has the forest has grown since then and now it has seasons. You can experience winter, summer, spring or fall in the fun, imaginative and magical world of the forest and it's been set up in Moomah, the wonderful family cafe hangout activity place in New York city.

Emily has also created the Carnival Cruise and Interactive aquarium for Arnold R&D and is installed in store front windows in 6 cities across the US. Also another project she's done for kids is called the Here to there and is a poster series for kids and is the first pair in a series of experimental posters for children that combine science, nature, algorith and design, to feed their imagination and curiosity. She's also done some motion graphics for Nickelodeon. You can see more of her work here.

Animation: Alma

Alma is an animated short by Rodrigo Blass, that is both very cute and creepy. It's been collecting awards at film festivals which comes as no surprise since it's brilliantly done. It's been screened at Childrens film festivals, but I warn you before you show it to you kids. This one might give them nightmares or they wont play with their dolls anymore. You can watch the film here online for a limited time. I don't know how long though, so don't wait to see it, it might be gone tomorrow. 

The film is titled Alma, which I assume is the name of the girl in the film, but it also means soul - which is very fitting. Voila! here comes Alma. I recommend watching in full screen.



Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Alma is Rodrigo Blass' first animated film as a director, but he's worked as an animator for ten years.  
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Kids room: A touch of Sweden

I'm pretty sure Swedish designers hold the world record in beautiful design for kids. Almost every designer in Sweden has at some point designed something for kids. Swedish design is similar to other Scandinavian design, it's characterized by clean lines, functionality and sophisticated form. But in Swedish design you can also see a reference to Swedish folklore, like in the design of Moa Jantze and Basander Lundin. And moose are also quite common in Swedish design.

While going through a lot of work and projects by Swedish designers I noticed that a lot of the objects are black, which I really like, it's can by a happy relief from the standard flashy colors. 

Image above: Meadow,  a rug by Asshoff & Brodgård, White leather bracelet by Elin Basander André, Bruno, teddy bear by Karin Mannerstål, Story cabinet from Heirloom, Polkadot star, light by Karin Mannerstål, Peek, wardrobe by JBA design, Mini kitchen from Micki,  A swedish tale, a rocking chair by Elin Bassander André, Rabbit storage box from Heirloom, Animail friends, cutlery by Karin Mannerstål, Älgfia, a board game by PS TOYS, Moose playing cards from Pluto Produkter,  Hoppetosa, Pippi's ship from Micki, Swing rocking chair by Moa Jantze.
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Toys: Meet Lady Clapham

Lady Clapham is a doll made for the Cockerell family in the 1690s. A lot of dolls where made in the 17th centry, although very few have survived due to wear and tear. But Lady Clapham is in excellent condition which I'm sorry indicates that she was admired by adults rather then played with by children. I'm afraid she will never be played with since now she is a part of the collection at the Victoria & Albert museum.

In her wardrobe are both formal and informal dresses, just like the ones a wealthy women would have owned around that time. She has coats, underdresses, a corset, gloves, a purse, shoes, socks, a scarf, dresses and even a mask. Everything is beautifully handmade and I can just imagine how much work have gone into her corset and gloves.

You can see her whole wardrobe here and I do recommend taking a tour around the site. I'm definitely going to meet Lady Clapham the next time I'm in London and admire her. She is so much more beautiful than the mass produces plastic dolls made today.

A pillow creature: Lavender bunny

There is no end to the cuteness of bunnies so they should be the perfect company at bedtime. This bunny does not only will make the kids feel warm and fussy but also calm them down, since she is filled with lavender.

Fairy tales: A Hobbit house

 This is a house I would have love to have grown up in. In fact I wouldn't mind living in one now. This Hobbit house comes straight out of Tolkiens world, and it's real. It's a house build by a family in Wales, and it took them 4 months to build with a little help.

One of the main purpose of the family that build the house was to feel close nature and it was built with maximum regard for the environment. "This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives," says Arthur Cristian, the man who build the house for his wife and two young children.

The house is like a fairy tale. It's pretty, magical and very cozy. You can see more photos and video of how the house is made right here. 

Fairy tales: The mysterious fog

Few if any animators can pride themselves as being as talented as the Russian animator and artist Yuriy Norshteyn which strives for perfection in all of his work. In fact his perfectionism has lead him to work for decades on his latest film (which is still in the making): The overcoat. I had the privilege of meeting Yuriy once in California and saw a short piece of the film, and I must say that had never seen in an animated film such attention to details. But his unfinished film is not the reason I've decided to blog about him. His other films are. Specially the Hedgehog and the fog, since it happens in the forest - and therefore fits perfectly with this weeks forest theme.

It's a beautiful film based on a Russian folktale and bares witness to Norshteyn's talent and unique craftmanship. It's poetic, scary, beautiful, magical and sweet. No wonder it has won so many prices.

It's a story about the Hedgehog who on is way to his friend the Bear cup sees a horse in the fog. He is curious as to whether the horse would drown if it went to sleep in the fog. The hedgehog decides to explore the fog.

Forest creature: A Bear

Million possibilities where boggling bears mind. He could take step left. And then step right, and then two steps back and turn around. But if he would do that in reverse order, he would have created a new parallel world of possibilities. Even if he would reverse the steps, the flow of time had been changed and so inevitably such action would create another world of different outcome.

"Today I could be a doctor" he thought to himself, "and tomorrow i could be a pilot. I could maybe plant flowers. Or i could go for a walk"
The last one appealed to him most, because walks are thought inducing. And so he decided to be a walking bear for the day.

This is how the fellted grey bear made by Ememem at Etsy is described. Ememem is Emily ruler of bearrrrs and you can follow her blog right here and see her magical world of bears.

Make believe: The magical forest

Creatures, colorful flora, birds, tall trees, mysterious light and all kinds of animals makes the forest magical.  It's full of stories, secrets, magic and myths and forever fascinating.

Image above:

Bird in tree - A sculpture by Jennifer Muskopf

Owl in tree - From Blueberry Park

Mushroom - From Patch NYC

Bunnies - From Selvedge Drygoods

Deer - Hansa stuffed animal at Sweet Williams

Deer with horns - A sculpture by Jennifer Muskopf

The little guy in the hat - by Abigail Brown

Toys: Bring-along Dollhouse

Toys can sometimes save the day, specially when kids have to go with grown ups to boring places where there is nothing to do. But toys can be bulky and take up a lot of space in your bag. So toys, like this foldable toyhouse can be a blessing. This one is from Ferm LIVING and is wallpapered with wallpaper from Ferm LIVING.

Kids room: There is an elephant in the room

Wallstickers are probably one of the greates inventions for the kids room. First of all because they are easy to apply and second because they come easily of if the kids get bored with them or they want new ones. A lot of the ones I've come across are very colorful and lively but I really fell for these wildlife stickers I found at Walls of the Wild. Giant elephants, giraffes, zebras and trees and really turn the room into an adventures place.

Let's play: Dreaming of summer

It's been snowing since before Christmas. Beautiful and magical. But it's also cold and dark so dreams of summer start emerging. Dreams about summer, bubbles, sunshine and tricycles.  I found this image of a tricycle on Flickr and the vintage trycycle below is from the french online vintage store Edmond.

Wash your hands before dinner

There shouldn't be a problem getting the kids to wash up before dinner with fun soaps that look like teddy bears, robots, strawberries or building blocks. And since there is no end to the imagination of soap-makers there is almost impossible not to find a soap your kid will love. I found these on Etsy.

2010: Have a magical new year

Have a magical new year. I hope it will be filled with adventures, happiness, and prosperity.