Sadly, all good things…

must come to an end. We are in our final week of business here at Nico & Zoe Toys. Thank you to all who have supported us over the years, and continue to do so. We appreciate your outpouring of love for us & our toys; it means a great deal during a difficult time.

And, in our final week, we ask your help in clearing out our inventory. Though many of our best sellers have already gone, we still have some fabulously fun, green, and high quality toys to go. From now to June 30th, every toy order placed with us on the website or in person will be given 30% off in checkout, no matter the size of the order.

Just use the code – closing – in checkout.

Remember, all sales are final. Sale & business will end on Saturday, July 30 at midnight.

-Stacy & Pam, the owners & parents of Nico & Zoe.

Wooden Rainbow Stacker, at 30% is just $9.80.

Sale is ON – get saving folks!

Before Pam & I close this chapter of our lives, we’re having a BIG closing sale. Help us liquidate & get some great deals on our one-of-a-kind, high quality, green toys. We’re offering 25% off every single toy we’ve got – while supplies last – until the end of the month. Just visit us at www.nicoandzoe.com and use the code closing in checkout.

Remember, this is a closing sale, and we will not be excepting returns (unless damage occurs in shipping).

Discount applies to everything, including clearance items.

Time to get shopping!

-Stacy.

The toy store, it is a changin’….

We’ve been busy over here, with the end of school for Nico & Zoe, plus little sis, and a little summer fun in the sun that has FINALLY arrived to the Pacific Northwest. And, with the arrival of the summer season, we have a little news to share with you.

Nico & Zoe, making funny faces.

Long before Zoe’s arrival, her mom Pam spent her time in the professional world of web design. As they always do, priorities changed, and thus the thoughts of what to give that little girl to play with became much more important. It was there that the first ideas for a toy store focused on high quality, uncommon, and safe toys began.

Playing Together in Downtown Seattle.

Skip forward. Zoe’s an 8-year-old 3rd grader. Nico has entered the picture, and he’s even got a 3-year-old little sister. And, once again, priorities are changing. Pam’s found herself focused on a design job & career path she enjoys, and she’s ready to return, and maybe a little more schooling while she’s at it.

What’s that mean? It means that it has been a thrilling adventure, Nico & Zoe Toys, but it’s time for us to call an end to this period of our lives. It’s time to close.

Now, don’t fret! First, we’re going to have a sensational sale on our entire site. That’s right, every toy will be on sale. Good time to stock up on the gifts you know parents & kids are gonna love. We’re working on it now, and hope to have that sale up & going by Friday a.m.

Lily's Arrival, Nico's has a little sister.

And, the second reason is sitting on my lap right now. Lily, Nico’s little sister, has got my priorities stuck right where Pam found herself 8 years ago, and they won’t be changing for a good, long while. So, while the store Nico & Zoe Toys may be closing, Nico, Lily & mom are going to be right back at it. All we ask is for a little patience while Pam & I wrap the paperwork necessary to close, first. Once completed, we’ll be offering the same well made, imaginative, green toys we’ve always loved around here, just with a little name change.

In the meantime, stay posted for our sale announcement, soon!

-Stacy, co-owner of Nico & Zoe Toys.

They'll always be friends, no matter the changes, our 3.

Only Buy USA? Not This Time!

There has been growing concern over the chemicals used in children’s products over the last several years, especially when it comes to plastic. And, several studies have linked the use of BPA in those products with a whole host of health concerns – cancer and developmental & reproductive health being high on the list. Yet, the US has yet to ban BPA in the production of baby bottles, much less anything else.

And thus, at Nico & Zoe, we only carry plastic toys made in the European Union. The EU banned BPA in children’s products, and Canada followed suit.

Now who’s join the growing list? China & Malaysia. That’s right. China.

China’s Ministry of Health announced it plans to ban any BPA-containing baby bottles or other food and drink items for children. Malaysia’s ban will start next March.

Go USA? Better think again.

Read more about BPA & what’s being done to ban this chemical:
Washington Post
Mother Earth News

And the Nico & Zoe Toys bunny giveaway winner is…

Kimberlee has won our giveaway! Kimberlee also has the very crafty and cool Blog Magpie Shines. Check it out. Love what she did with the hideous coffee table!

Thank you everyone for participating. It was fun to see what everyone liked from the toy store and see all the great people we have connected with recently. We appreciate your interest in our toys, and will continue to bring to you new, interesting, and green toys & related information.

So, what should we giveaway next…?

If you are still looking for some last-minute Easter basket items, go to Nico & Zoe’s Easter Section > Get your order in by Monday to allow enough time to get into those baskets!

New Toys are Coming!

March is our month of reorders after the busy holiday shopping season, and we’ve got all kinds of goodies coming our way in the next few weeks.

First up is the ever popular Rubbabu squishy, soft rubber textured balls and vehicles. Not only are these super fun to roll, throw, toss & squeeze, they are always appealing to all ages – we’ve watched toddler to teen pick up these toys & play.

In our box of Rubbabu, we’ll have new colors to our Toddler Mascot Cars – red & torquoise – and will restock all of textured play balls & smaller vehicles.

Toddler Mascot Car - Blue, Red, Pink, Green & Turquoise, $15.

Next, we’re anxiously awaiting the return of a few of our popular made in the US, high quality, small production wooden toys from Camden Rose. We’ll be restocking the ever popular Good Eggs wooden 1/2 dozen eggs set just in time for Easter & spring celebration, along with the Toddler Zoom little wooden push car, and a new edition – the Knitting Tower.

Good Eggs, Wooden Egg Set, $9.

The Knitting Tower enables young children, and even adult beginners, to practice the essentials of knitting. How it works is that the birch wood tower holds your stitches while your fingers freely move the yarn. The tower is made with 6 knots on one side & 4 on the other to give you a choice between a tight stitch 6-pin knot or a stretchy stitch 4-pin knot. Set includes the tower, of course, made of birch wood, with 100% wool yarn & instructions to get you started.

The Knitting Tower, will be $8.

But, this is just the beginning. In April, we hope to bring more Wader, made in Germany, and thus, nontoxic & safe plastic boats & sand toys, plus more of our ever popular handmade heirloom rattles by Mossy Creek. Spring is so much fun around here!

You can view all our new toys here>

You can view our Easter & Spring toys here>

The perfect Birthday Party gift is here!

Springtime always brings a slew of birthday party invitations to our doorstep. Maybe it’s the slightly improved weather, or the hope there of, or all the new blossoms, but for some reason, this is the season of celebration around our neck of the woods. And, we’ve got the perfect, gender neutral, pleasing toddlers to school age kiddos birthday gift for you!

The Party Cake by Voila Toys is a wooden birthday cake, sliced into 8 pieces, with all you need to serve up & play – wooden knife, cake server , candles, and a decorative wooden label with “Happy Birthday.” Perfect!

Now, there other wooden play foods out there. What makes this one so great? First, Voila makes their wooden play food out of SOLID wood, and not MDF. I don’t want to freak you out…but you should know that the big wooden play food company popular here in the US does use MDF for their wooden toys, and MDF commonly contains formaldahyde. Voila’s wooden play food is made of 100% rubberwood, a sustainable wood, no chemicals added.

Also, Voila stains their wood. What’s that mean? Well, it means that the color is rubbed into the wood, and not painted on. Thus, this cake can be served up over and over again without worry that the paint will chip off or be ingested.

Lastly, Voila’s Party Cake is versatile. You have the basic needs – knife, server – but also a few added extras to extend the learning while you play. There are 8 candles in 4 different colors, matching to the colors in the holes on the cake. The decorative wooden label with “Happy Birthday” on one side, also says “Merry Christmas” on the other side. And, the doily under the cake is printed with basic fractions to help children with basic math as they play.

See? We think The Party Cake by Voila is the perfect birthday gift there is, and will surely be giving a few of these away this season.

The Party Cake by Voila, $26

What happened, Part 2.

February is also the birth month of Nico’s Papa. And, if you ask Nico just how old he is, he’ll tell you 144 with a completely serious, straight face. He truly believes it. That’s how powerful the belief in magic can be, and really, shouldn’t it be?

It seems to me that the skeptics of the world should hang out in Nico’s mind, just for a day. It’s a world of elves, wizards, fairies, magic wands, and magical creatures. There are complex characters, drawn out dialogues, and a few good battles. He’s just constantly thinking, creating, and acting out this magical world, complete with noises and running through the house of course.

Life in that land is never boring. He can truly be anyone, and we let him. We don’t put any gender, age, skepticism or religious confines on that play. Magic is fun, why not see where it leads him? The “real world” will meet him soon enough, and it’s not nearly as fun as having an elf as a dad!

Nico’s favorite props for his magical world, apart from a good stick, tend to be open ended. He likes his magic wand for magicians of all sorts, but constructive pieces that can be made into many different ships, planes, or gadgets in his magical quests.

So, as we wind up February and start looking towards March, let’s think about we can inspire those little magical thinkers with some creative fun. I bet it would do us all a bit of good!

Soft Dough Rainbow Tub - a non-toxic, made in Oregon play dough, $11.

Wooden Magic Wand - Purple, Pink, or Yellow, $4

Papa Don’s Toys are Back, with something new….

There’s a lot of love out there for Papa Don’s wooden Threading Beads, and we are happy to announce that they are back in stock, as of today. Yippee! And, because we have had such good response to Papa Don’s handmade wooden toys over the past year, we’ve decided to add something new.

Introducing the Lawnmower Push Toy! No, it’s not a new idea, but is a beautiful, high quality version of the classic popcorn pusher that not only makes a beautiful tumbling noise while pushed, but is sure to outlast your toddler’s “mowing.” Now, that’s impressive!

Lawnmower Push Toy, handmade in the US by Papa Don's Toys, $37.

Now, how did I miss that?

Yes, 2011 is here, and the whirlwind of the holidays is slowly coming to a close. Don’t get me wrong, I love how popular our toys get once November rolls around. It just tends to be a blur, and survival is the goal.

Now, the new year has brought us back around to paperwork, reorders, and taxes, and much more time to just sit & look around the showroom. What do we love, what could go on clearance, what was the surprise of the season, and what remained just as popular as ever? In was in this contemplation that I make such a great discovery!

One of our most popular baby shower & new baby gifts are our Wee Gallery Art Cards, which we pair with sleek, modern photo mobile by Kikkerland. Well, there must be a whole lot of baby going on these days, because we are finding ourselves out of the set, again. So, I’m looking through our cards to see just what we’ve got, and notice a little symbol in the corner that I don’t recall ever seeing there before.

Wow! Recycled paper? How did I miss that? Oh, right, our last reorder came in early November, and then I think I ate some turkey, and next thing I know, I’m toasting with some friends.

So, today, I’m so excited to announce that there’s even more reason to love Wee Gallery’s cool, modern art – Art Cards are now printed on recycled paper! Yippee! And, sorry, Wee Gallery if it has been that way far longer….

Off to that reorder – with naturally Black & White Animals and Photo Mobiles back in stock in just a couple weeks.

Art Cards + Mobile Gift Set, $25.