Ostheimer have been hand crafting fine wooden toys for more than 60 years. They have a very high reputation for traditional wooden toys of the highest quality. Ostheimer toys are appreciated around the world.

play-space for childhood dreams

the ostheimer philosophy

It is the fantasy of our children alone that breathes life into the seemingly stiff wooden figures, the form and colour of which purposely have been reduced to an essential minimum. It is apparent how little coaching our children need to dive into their worlds. We go to great lengths in shaping and crafting each individual figures so as to preserve this fantasy world and thereby to give children the ability to draw on their creativity during play. Margareta Ostheimer

how ostheimer figures are made

In their interaction with the condensed forms and soft colours of the figures, children learn to enliven them with their own imaginative abilities and to provide them with everything they need for the game in question. Children at play decide whether a horse is a wild stallion galloping across the prairie or an old nag tiredly trotting along the road. Children [thus] participate in the creation of their own toys. Margareta Ostheimer

Ostheimer figures are produced exclusively from high quality native hardwood, maple and elm. Slight differences in colour and slight deviations in the structure of the grain are not defects, but instead contribute to the special charm and uniqueness of Ostheimer figures.

The figures are hand traced onto planed wood using templates. They are then sawn out and carefully sanded to achieve the typically soft edged form of Ostheimer figures. Colour is applied by hand with up to six consecutive coats. The transparent colours non-toxic, water-soluble stains which do not hide the natural surface of the wood. In this way, Ostheimer figures maintain the relationship with the world.

Ostheimer figures are finally treated with either a walnut oil or shellac finish in order to give the colours the greatest possible durability. Each figure then undergoes a final inspection and receives the Ostheimer insignia.

margarete ostheimer

In a visionary way, and based on her studies of both Steiner Waldorf pedagogy and anthroposophic ideas,

Margarete Ostheimer

began a collection of toys which today more than ever is justified and necessary.

The Ostheimer collection was established forty years ago as an alternative to a 'plastic world' and is today a necessary counterweight to the 'high-tech world' of the playroom.

ostheimer toys - awakening children's creative forces

Using your creative imagination means seeing something you don’t have directly in front of you, or if it is in front of you, adding something to it from within you. Children still have direct access to their creative ability because they have not yet allowed themselves to be constrained by the narrow boundaries of reality. If we give them the space to use their imaginations while still children, then they will be able to deal much more creatively with the reality that surrounds them - more creatively than if from the outset they live in a world of toys that provide them everything in perfect detail. A fundamental objective of Ostheimer toys is to preserve this space for children’s imaginations. Margareta Ostheimer

An increase in loneliness and a lack of social mores already bear witness to the consequences of one-sided intellectual upbringing. It is now generally accepted that, well into one's career and indeed into the highest echelons management, it is not just specialised knowledge, but also flexibility and creativity that are sorely needed. The days in which a good final grade was more important then a wealth of ideas have long since past.

Ostheimer toys

are designed to awaken and encourage the creative forces in children. For whatever fails to take root in childhood, remains barren for an entire life.

Myriad Natural Toys & Crafts

stock a very wide range of Ostheimer figures and sets. Click here to look at out Ostheimer section or, for a free catalogue of our complete range of natural toys, natural art & craft materials and pentatonic musical instruments click here, or to email Myriad Natural Toys & Crafts -