Me

Hi, I'm Katrine. I'm a woodworker and artist living in beautiful Nelson, Aotearoa New Zealand. I started this business in response to a friend asking me to make "something native bird related" as a gift for her grand-daughter. As soon as I started researching, I realized there was heaps of potential for beautiful and fun kids' stuff to be made with NZ nature as a guiding theme. My work with DOC over the years has given me the opportunity to see some of New Zealand's stunning scenery and characterful cast of critters, which serve as inspiration for these toys.

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The Philosophy

My aim with flap! is to give kids (and their parents) the option of non-plastic, non-generic, non-human-centric toys to grow up with. All of my toys are designed with a focus on the natural world rather than the human-made one, with the belief that the toys we love and cherish as kids greatly influence what we love and care about as adults. I want my toys to encourage kids to think about and consider the lives of creatures other than ourselves.

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It's equally important to me that the toys be beautiful. An aesthetic object is looked after better and less likely to be landfill as soon as the child grows tired of it. Toys can be art and art is not just a thing you put in a frame...

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Play!

One of the best parts of my job is watching people's faces light up with delight when interacting with the toys I've made. Especially adults! I think many grownups have forgotten how to be playful, or maybe just don't consider it to be a priority. How wrong they are! Play in any animal is a sign of intelligence; it's how we best learn. 

I try to design toys and puzzles that don't have "a right answer", but instead encourage creativity and exploration; toys that you play with differently each time, make you want to come back to again and again, and experience delight at the thing you've created.  

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The Toys

All of flap!'s toys and products are handmade in my home workshop, hand painted with acrylic paints, and sealed with a food safe protective finish.

The designs are my own, and constantly evolving. If you have suggestions for improvements or for new designs, I'd love to hear them. 

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