JUNYA ISHIGAMI

January 11, 2016

How dreamy is this Japanese day care designed by architect Junya Ishigami? The renowned minimalist architect transformed a former cafeteria in a mixed-use high rise into an imagination inspiring space using curving cloud-shaped concrete walls. Ishigami says of the project, “I like to look at the clouds. Clouds change their form at will, with a certain rationality. Moreover, they are all white and fluffy, having both a sense of unity and some consistency. And they are vast. There are crevices that only children can pass through, and absent spaces that are considered large even for adults – it is a space that softly ties in various objects and scales." The partitions create a functional playground and educational space that references both earth and sky and elegantly incorporates the space’s industrial elements. We dig it.

NAMELESS PAINT SET

January 6, 2016

January 6, 2015

We love products that encourage kids to not just think creatively, but challenges little ones to question the world as it has been presented to them. The Nameless Paint Set, by Japanese design pair Ima Motek (Yusuke Imai and Ayami Moteki), examines color and creativity in a whole new way. Each tube is labeled with a combination of primary colored dots to indicate what was mixed to create the vibrant hue inside. The technique helps children to understand color and color theory on a more intuitive level. In the words of the designers, "By not assigning names to the colors we expand the definition of what a color can be, and the various shades they can create by mixing them.” The Nameless Paint Set is currently available on Spoon & Tamago.

GUGGENHEIM: FAMILY TOURS

January 5, 2016

January 5, 2015

New year, new museum events and exhibitions! We're kicking off 2016 with a visit to the Guggenheim's Second Sunday Family Tour on January 10, 2016 from 10:30am-12pm. This month's tour, suitable for children ages 5 and up, focuses on international art from "All Around the World" and incorporates hands-on gallery activities. Registration is required and admission is $20 per family. Sunday will also see the Guggenheim's "Just Drop In!" event at 1pm (ages 3-10) and an Open Studiofor families (ages 5 and up) from 1-4pm. These art-making workshops are free with museum admission and led by museum educators. If you're lucky enough to check it out, tell us about it on Instagram and Twitter! @kinderMODERN

AIANY: FAMILY DAY AT THE SEAPORT

December 11, 2015

Take advantage of this December's unusually warm weather and head down to the Seaport Culture District (181 Front Street, NYC) with your little ones to see the boats and the holiday decor, as well as some of the city's oldest and most captivating architecture. TheAIA New York Center for Architecture will hold their monthly Family Day on Saturday, December 12, 2015 from 11:00am-4:00pm. (Tickets are $20 for a family of four. Click here to register.) December's workshop explores the design of lighthouses. Children will learn about the important history of the Seaport's lighthouses and then have the opportunity to create one of their own, complete with a working light. Afterwards, don't miss the nearby Imagination Playground, one of the city's best, designed by renowned architect David Rockwell, with room to run, play, and problem solve, engaging both little bodies and minds.

COSMOS

December 10, 2015

We're digging the simple, yet elegant, design of the space-ship building set, "Cosmos" by Huzi Design. These cleverly magnetized building blocks allow your little space explorer to build a variety of rockets, shuttles, satellites, landers, and planets for their own inspired galaxy. Check out their Kickstarter page to support this playful project and get a set of your very own. Huzi seeks to create sustainable objects for children and adults. They believe "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, [as they] create designs for analog play that can stand the test of time." Visit their website to learn more about Huzi's mission and see their other delightful products.

JAZZ FOR KIDS AT THE WHITNEY!

December 4, 2015

Looking for an fun activity for kids this weekend? Check out Jazz for Young People "Let Freedom Swing" at the Whitney Museum of American Art. On Saturday, December 15, 2015 at 11:30am, the Whitney and Jazz at Lincoln Center will offer a special performance in conjunction with the exhibition Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist. In additions to the performance, there will be a scavenger hunt and an art workshop! This is a ticketed event that includes the cost of admission to the museum. Visit the Whitney website to learn more.

BABY NURSE

December 3, 2015

We were super excited to recently add a Cyclone Child Table by Isamu Noguchi to the kinder MODERN collection. But did you know that Noguchi also made one of the most important additions to child design, for both safety and aesthetics? His gorgeous Radio Nurse Speaker (1937) was produced by the Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago and made of Bakelite resin. This first baby monitor is said to have been made in response to the horrific and tragic kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. in the early 1930s. Although the original Radio Nurse was from from perfect, it created a market for better ways to monitor our children and our homes, and eventually led to the high-tech (and beautifully designed) gadgets we use today. Check out this great article from The Henry Ford Museum to learn more.

LENKA CLAYTON

November 25, 2015

Lenka Clayton, a Britsh-born artist living in Pittsburgh with her young family, has embraced motherhood as both an inspiration for her art and a defining feature of it. In 2012 she founded An Artist Residency in Motherhood to explore the issues facing mothers who are also working artists. In her own words, "Artist residencies are usually designed as a way to allow artists to escape from the routines and responsibilities of their everyday lives. An Artist Residency in Motherhood is different. Set firmly inside the traditionally 'inhospitable' environment of a family home, it subverts the art-world’s romanticization of the unattached artist, and frames motherhood as a valuable site, rather than an invisible labour for exploration and artistic production." As part of this structured and fully funded residency, Clayton's 63 Objects From My Sons Mouth examine the passage of everyday life in the smallest of objects. Visit Clayton's captivating website to see more of her fascinating work.

POSITIVITY FOR PARIS WITH JEREMYVILLE

November 24, 2015

As the world still reels from the devastating attacks on Paris, renowned illustrator and designer Jeremyville and the ever-cool Paris gallery and design shop colette are working together to share a little love with the City of Light. Children ages 6-10 are invited to the gallery tomorrow, Wednesday, November 25th, 2015 from 4-5pm for a collaborative coloring art workshop. This event is part of the artist's ongoing traveling experience, "A Trip to Jeremyville."

colette is located at 213 Rue Saint-Honore in Paris. Email rdv@colette.fr to register.

TUBO

November 23, 2015

We can't get enough of Mathery Studio's playful and thought-provoking interactive spaces. Tubo, a commissioned kids space in the IN77 Shopping Mall as part of Hangzhou International Design Week in China, takes coloring from 2D to 3D. Children are encouraged to use foam tubes to "color" giant 16-foot all-white food-shaped structures, giving a new perspective on food and art. Mathery Studio's Erika Zorzi and Matteo Sangalli are innovative Italian multi-disciplinary product designers whose appreciation for process and function is evident even in their most eccentric work. Visit their website to learn more and see the full range of their whimsical and innovative design.

KINDERGARTEN DIE KATZIE

November 17, 2015

How fun is this kindergarten near Karlsruhe, Germany? Designed by artist Tomi Ungerer and architect d'Ayla-Suzan Yondel, this whimsical take on the school building engages the imagination and the body, as children enter through the cat's smiling mouth and exit down a slide "tail!" The school was built with the support of the "Europe Without Borders" campaign and symbolizes the friendship between Germany and France. Don't miss the blue bird sitting on a jungle gym in the yard as he decides if this kitty is friend or foe!

THE MONSTER PROJECT

November 13, 2015

No art in schools? No way! A Texas-based start up cleverly combats this sad decline by challenging children and established artists to work together in an imagination-fueled collaboration. The Monster Project invites children to draw the craziest monster they can think up and then asks artists from all over the world to interpret those drawings into very cool prints, showing children that art goes way beyond the the classroom or the play table. Check out their website to see all the interpretations and visit their Kickstarter to support the expansion of this project to more schools!

VISSER + MEIJWAARD: KASSIEWIJLE‬

November 12, 2015

A huge congrats to kM's own Visser + Meijwaard for their provocative exhibit in collaboration with design studio Knockout and artist Linda Nieuwstad during Dutch Design Week 2015. Transforming their signature PVC furniture into "coffins," Kassiewijle explores the cultural and material traditions surrounding death in the modern western world. In their own words, "Nothing is certain but death. But dowdy flowers in a dull vase next to a pine coffin? Over our dead body! We present a setting in which you do want to be found dead. For the departed, Kassiewijle is a colourful alternative for the farewell. Because a last impression can be left only once." Check out V + M's Facebook page to learn more.

LOOSE PLAY

November 10, 2015

Loose Play by French designer Capucine Diancourt challenges not only one's balance, but also one's conception of traditional playground equipment. Presented as a part of Dutch Design Week 2015, each non-fixed rocker moves freely in multiple directions without coming to rest. Diancourt says of her work, "The playfulness of Loose Play lies in the balancing systems, created by simple curves, and aims to bring an alternative perspective on play fields, that are nowadays limited by severe law regulations." Diancourt was inspired by the ingenious playgrounds created in Europe after World War II. Although much less safe than contemporary play spaces, these designs engaged children more fully both physically and mentally. Visit Diancourt's website to learn more about this and other projects.

STRAWBEES

November 5, 2015

Strawbees just made it to the top of our holiday shopping list! These super simple, but super smart, plastic connectors allow kids (and grown-ups!) to build almost anything out of ordinary drinking straws. Check out this awesome video to be truly wowed by a selection of easy-to-build creations. Dubbed the "smart toy" company, this Swedish team aims to encourage learning through play, ultimately spawning a generation of "creative thinkers and collaborative problem solvers." Their online store offers a selection of kits at different sizes, as well as an "Infinite Kit Make Machine," allowing kids to make their own Strawbees out of plastic waste - fun and sustainable! Special rates are also available for educators.