Felt ball

Promoting creative independence, this is the central concern of Montessori education from the first moment: Support your child in free play, so it will develop its individual possibilities optimally. Especially in the "constructive epoch" of the first six years of life, when motor, cognitive and social skills of the child make decisive progress, educational incentives for free play are infinitely significant.

In this sense, we have developed these felt balls together with the Danish company Én Gry & Sif. When playing ball, the child can take completely different paths and learn so much: watch in amazement how a ball rolls, let it roll itself or even throw - for an adult simple actions, but for a toddler initially really tricky exercises in which numerous movement sequences and at the same time the eye-hand coordination are trained. Without hesitation, the offspring can give in to his natural urge to discover and explore the ball haptically: Felt from pure new wool, it nestles flatteringly in the hand (and possibly on other parts of the body of the child filled with a thirst for knowledge). The material and design are ideal for arousing the child's interest and motivating him or her again and again to grasp, feel and try out the ball. And while the child is happily playing and learning, please expect that you will have to crawl under the dresser or rush next to the stroller every now and then to be able to put - or roll - or throw the coveted object of the play instinct back into the child's hands. After all, so much motivation is now donated to your physical effort, the ball is so soft and light that he will leave neither scratches nor other unwelcome traces on furniture, floor or - let's think, oh yes: heads.

During her backpacking tour through Nepal, the Dane Gry Staunstrup got to know the astonishing openness and warmth of the country’s inhabitants, and their craftsmanship bedazzled her. She was able to observe in detail how adeptly and skilfully Nepalese women felted wool into a wide variety of objects. Staunstrup felt it was time to make something good out of the untapped potential, and an idea was born: to combine Nepalese handicrafts with Danish design. And the idea was immediately followed by action.

The company Gry & Sif started producing a variety of products made of wool felt in Nepal in 2000. The designs created by Gry Staunstrup are as remarkable as they are understated and, characteristic of Danish design, at the same time fresh and merry. Nepalese women turn them into products employing traditional handicrafts. Fair Trade certified by now, Gry & Sif stands for fair wages and working conditions, environmentally conscious production and transparency. The company exclusively sources pure new wool from New Zealand sheep for the felting; each of the resulting products is handmade and unique.