I recently received this lovely email and photos from a new customer . . .

“I just wanted to say that I LOVE your store! It has just the sort of toys I love and such a good store philosophy to back it. The tea set is a hit already, he has had lots of fun making me cups of tea in one day already”. Virginia

Virginia from mumtoddlerbabe recently bought our tea set for her son and is giving away a felt tea bag and matching cupcake. All you have to do to enter is go to her blog and tell her what your favourite Eco Toy is.

Thank you to everyone who filled out our online survery and entered to win a $75 Eco Toys gift voucher.

I am pleased to annouce that the winner is Lisa Opray from Melbourne!!

We had so many great suggestions, your feedback is really valuable and I can’t thank you  all enough for taking the time to complete it.

We have lots of new products, more giveaways, specials and new features coming soon!

This month we have some of our most popular toys on special  . . .

Tea & cooking set combined for $76 $70

Handcrafted cherry wooden nature rattle $25 $23

King felt crown $16.50 $15!

and our nesting blocks $35 $32.50

All items on special until the 31st August 2009.

A huge congratulations to Melanie Cowling who is the winner of this beautiful cooking centre valued at $295. Melanie signed up to our newsletter at the organic expo and said she is very excited as she has never won anything before and she has a toddler who will absolutely love this complete play kitchen.

I want to thank everyone who signed up at the expo and those already a subscriber that signed up four friends to our newsletter to enter!

Remember we still have a $75 voucher to giveaway at the end of this month for the person leaving the most valuable feedback on our store survey. We have had so much great feedback already and are working really hard to add some new features before Christmas so keep those suggestions coming.

I have been searching for a long time now for a good quality, eco friendly play kitchen and I’m excited to announce that I’ve finally found it!

This cooking centre by Wonderworld is by far the best and most diverse pretend play kitchen I’ve seen on the market as it provides so many opportunities for creative play. It has three sides of endless activities; oven, stove, sink, fridge, cupboards & plenty of shelves. My 2 year old daughter fell in love with it straight away (ok and me too of course!) and it has been such a delight to watch her role play for literally hours as she busily cooks, washes, bakes, stacks and sorts her cookware and cut up food.

She loves baking me a birthday cake in the oven which has a temperature dial with a realistic clicking sound.

I love this kitchen because it has so many shelves and cupboards and if your child is like mine and loves sorting and stacking things then this is perfect because there are so many areas to store things.

Whats more it looks absolutely gorgeous and I’ve already had so many comments  from friends that visit who have said they would love this for their child.

This kitchen is very sturdy, it has been built to last and will definitely be played with for many years and even generations.

It is made from eco friendly, plantation rubberwood and non-toxic water based paints by Wonderworld, a Thai company that is committed to fighting global warming by coordinating the tree plus project and planting 2 trees for every tree cut down.

We will have on display this wonderful new product at the Melbourne Organic Expo on 24th - 26th July 2009 and will be offering a introductory special for expo customers only, so if you’re from Melbourne then come and see us at the Green show at stand 147.

We want to hear from you, our customers on what you think of our website, products & services and any toys you would like to see. So please complete our online survey and you will go in the draw to win a $75 gift voucher to spend at Eco Toys!!

Thank you, your feedback is valuable to us.

Eco Toys is offering its newsletter subscribers a 10% discount on their entire order for the last week of June. Don’t worry if your not on our email list then all you need to do is sign up  and you are immediately emailed a coupon code that you enter during the checkout process.

So if you want to grab some great bargains then hurry up as some stock is limited and may run out before the end of the week.

Minimum order of $30 applies and sale ends on 30th June (standard eastern time).

Please note that some stock is limited so this sale only applies to what we currently have in stock. The highchairs & Rainbow puzzle blocks have already sold out within the first 2 days of sale!

I had a delivery over the weekend of the winter issue of Barefoot magazine & I couldn’t wait to curl up on my cosy lounge and have a read.

I must say as soon as I opened it and read the editor’s welcome my heart was warmed. Finally a parenting magazine that honours and acknowledges the important role of fathers in our society. This issue of Barefoot a must read so be sure to get your copy available from Eco Toys.

Barefoot magazine is designed and produced in Australia and printed using the most environmentally responsible printing methods available. The paper is made from 100% pre-used waste paper and is not chlorine bleached. Vegetable inks and benign press chemicals are used - preserving forests and water.

My daughter loves playing in her pretend kitchen, cooking, baking, toasting, chopping you name it but nothing could bring her more pleasure than her wooden birthday cake which she got for her 2nd birthday. I knew that she would love it but I wasn’t prepared for those precious moments when she would bring me a piece of birthday cake she had just baked and we would sit down together and eat it. It seems that every child loves a birthday party and Safari hasn’t stopped talking about hers, the kids, balloons and of course the teddy bear cake I made her.

I honestly have to say this is one of the best toys we have at the moment as it provides hours of imaginative play for my daughter and her friends when they visit. Whether its baking  or decorating the cake, singing happy birthday with her teddies or slicing and serving it up for her mama and having a pretend party this wooden play cake brings  her so much delight!

But there is so much more to this toy than just being a pretend cake, its a puzzle as the candles, flames and strawberries all fit into certain parts and I’ve watched her little face trying to figure out where all the pieces go. It also assists in developing your child’s fine motor skills as they decorate and cut the pieces and then there is the benefit of learning to cut food in a safe play environment. As they get to primary school age it is a great toy to introduce fractions and mathematics. Actually a friend of mine who is a primary school teacher thought it was a fantastic teaching aid for maths.

Whats more this wooden birthday cake comes beautifully presented in a wooden box so it makes a wonderful birthday present for a child and it can be packed away so you don’t loose the pieces. The cake still sits nicely in its box in her kitchen even after months of play.

This toy is must have for any boy or girl and is recommended for ages 3+ due to small pieces so adult supervision is necessary  for younger children.

Its on special this month for only $32 (usual RRP is $36).

I have never liked the plastic dolls that are available on the market for children. In fact I despise them, mainly because they seem to all fit into a very gender stereotypical role. They all seem to look and dress the same, there is no diversity and uniqueness. Their facial expressions are so ingrained that it leaves no room for a child to use their imagination and honestly quite often they look stunned, almost like they themselves have had too much plastic surgery! lol

Quite  simply the dolls children play with are a reflection of themselves as they often play out roles and solve problems through role play. Look at all the princess dolls out there? They all seem to have light hair, light skin tone and wear pretty pink frocks. Yes, well that is the fairytale story you say but really think about the message this is sending to your child? All princesses are white and wear beautiful pink dresses. What about the rest of the population?  Does your child really relate to these dolls or are they sending them the clear message that to be a princess you must be A, B & C and anyone else just simply doesn’ t fit in that role?

There  has actually been quite a bit of research done in this area and studies show that during doll play children will not only aspire to be like their princess dolls but they will exclude children  from diverse cultural backgrounds because they do not fit into their ideal of a princess.  So why isn’t there more diverse dolls from various cultural backgrounds on the market (sorry but those Bratz dolls DON”T count!)? Only now in 2009 is  Disney releasing its first ever black doll princess! I actually think an Arabic princess is much more exotic and beautiful than Cinderella.

So if you are like me and don’t like the plastic baby dolls then I have an alternative . . .

I would like to introduce Suzie, Whoopie & Girly Red organic cotton rag dolls. These 3 gorgeous dolls are sure to put a smile on any child’s face! The organic cotton & pure wool stuffing makes them extremely soft and cuddly, perfect to take to bed, better for children with allergies and better for our environment. They have simple sewn in facial features which makes them completely safe for babies and allows your child to explore different feelings and use their imagination.

But the thing that I love the most is that these dolls represent us, our community and our world. They are diverse and they tell children its ok to be you no matter where you come from. These dolls can be used to teach children about cultural diversity and respecting our differences. I’m really excited about these dolls and browsing through their catalogue today I came across a gorgeous blonde/red haired doll they have just released which I will be adding to our collection!

As the company Keptin-Jr states on their website “big, small, blond or black, everyone is welcome in the Keptin-Jr tiny dolls family”.

If you are looking for an organic cotton boy doll we have our beloved Lenny. He is made Brazil by Natural Fashion, a socially and environmentally responsible company, that invests in local businesses, employs local people and supports small farmers that grow organic cotton. Lenny is made using the off cuts from the clothing range so is truly an environmentally friendly doll and he is on special this month for only $28! He also comes in a light & dark skin tone.