'Plastic' is 2018's kid's World of the Year. That's a good thing. Early this month you may have read that Oxford University Press has announced that 'Plastic' is the Children's World of the Year for 2018. An honour that plastic has won for appearing more than any other word, within 134,790 short stories that children have written and submitted to the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition. Along with plastic, a handful of other equally sustainably minded words like "recycle, recyc

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us.” Winston Churchill, A core belief behind noook, is that design genuinely matters. It doesn't just make things a bit more beautiful, it literally has the power to shape the world around us. And more importantly, it literally has the power to shapes us too. At studio noook, we believe that design, particularly toys, are the Third Teacher. An active influence, that helps shapes who we become. To explain this idea,

"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand." Confucius Behind noook is a very particular idea of 'good play'. A 'play' that isn't just fun, but is also developmental. Developmental, because it is a 'play' with some very special qualities. A 'play' that is active, engaged and immersive. A 'play' understands that we learn best when we are 'doing'. 'Doing’ can be an incredibly powerful way of learning. This may seem obvious, even cliche, something we have

If you want to know a little bit about where noook has come from, take a look at the work, and especially the toys, of Charles and Ray Eames. Often celebrated as some of the most influential designers of the twentieth century, Charles and Ray Eames spanned art, architecture, design, film, photography and yes, even toys. Many of their toys, like the Eames Elephant, are still admired, produced and played with today... and, surprisingly, what makes the Eames toys so interesting