Dopesicles. Prefab play dwellings from architect Ryan Grey Smith are designed not offend the modern sensibilities you're working hard to pass on. The Modern Play Shed comes with a complete assembly kit and you can paint or stain the exterior as a family project or add on colorful wall panels. Outfit interiors with cork walls, rainbow floor tiles, whiteboards and chalkboards. Make it complete with a deck! Spring is coming quickly... so jump on it.

The Landscape

Black or White Hidden World Shield of Wings

Hidden worlds, Norwegian folklore, the allure of nature, myths and magic are the source of inspiration for the latest collection of blankets from Vík Prjónsdóttir. There is a story woven into each piece, made of 100% Icelandic wool, which makes getting cozy and wrapped up in a bed time tale that much more appealing. My favorite is the 'Shield of Wings' -

The Sea Eagle is the king of birds. With its grace and beauty and a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters it is respected and feared at the same time. The eagle does everything for its young and protects the nest with great care and strength. It is a predator and has been known to even take infants to its nest. Still today there exists one survivor from the eagle’s claws in Iceland. This blanket is a dedication to this magnificent animal. Now you are under the eagle’s protection.

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Mia Doi Todd "Open Your Heart" dir. Michel Gondry from Viewers Like You on Vimeo.

The AMAZING video for Mia Doi Todd's track "Open Your Heart" is directed by Michel Gondry. So inspiring. You have to smile, stop, rewind, smile some more when you watch it. Someone should give the stylist a gold star.

Source:BOOOOOOOOM!

Gigantic teeter-totters (called 'wippen' in Germany) by DS Landscape Architects

Kindergarten Taku-Tuka Land by Susan Hoffman Architects

A not-so-grown-up conversation with my lovely friend Ashley, reciting recess rhymes and indulging the nostalgia of playtime, led to an amazing discovery - the blog PLAYSCAPES about the unique architecture of non-commercial playgrounds. The image samples above hint at the wonderful, informational curation of playgrounds worldwide new and old. Totally an under rated form of sculptural art, the kinetic experience a playground offers is beautiful and important. Insightful commentary about where each playground exists and why accompanies each image and the author often notes the impact playground design has on a child's learning process. Such as, the fact that seesaws are one of the few playground devices that require cooperation for play to occur (re the giant teeter-totters in Germany). 

Bandai's Luminodot from Long Tran on Vimeo.

Perhaps Christmas was not as successful as endeavor as anticipated. In which case, I highly recommend cashing in the sum of your returns for something wayyyy better - Bandai's Luminodot Lite-Brite HD Board. What is it? It's like, the best thing ever. You and your fam can generate your own artwork as pdf templates, and even use one of the pre-programmed Led animated sequences to light up your creation. Found at audiocubes.com, a site that carries many high tech Japanese gadgets, this high-tech 3500 peg display (whhaat?) is reason enough to look on the bright side.