When it comes to parenting, some things are harder than others. Much harder. You may be great at instilling right-on values, stocking the fridge with organic goodies and tracking down clothes that are both 'totally cool' and made from sustainable farmed cotton. But when it comes to peeling your offsprings' eyes from the television or the computer-games console, you might feel like you're fighting a losing battle.
Enter Hocusadabra, a one-stop online bazaar for creative, ethically made toys that 'care for, entertain and educate children'.
Director Kirsten Zaki says, 'I noticed that so many of us were feeding our kids right but buying crap for toys. I wanted to fill the gap and create more synchronicity in the way we parent.'
A Hong Kong-based designer with an 18-month-old daughter, Zaki knows how hard it can be to source safe and instructional toys and products. So last autumn, she and co-director Tarlan Amigh, who spearheaded the Open Air markets, went looking for producers who shared their holistic views on parenting and consumer choices. After filtering out anything mass produced, heavily branded or made of BPA (Bisphenol A plastic, a suspected danger to human health), Hocusadabra found 'independent [producers] with a passion for design, innovation and the environment'.
'We have a toy called Bilibo - a shell-shaped piece made by a designer in Switzerland - that comes with no instructions but is highly effective in prompting play and creativity,' Zaki says. 'We've watched our kids just pick it up and do crazy fun things with it, for hours on end.'
The Bilibo (below) is among 280 products from 40 vendors carried by Hocusadabra, ranging from hand-brushed, plush toys from Italy to organic-cotton totes.