Archive for month: March, 2015

It’s a simple equation really, and one that each piece is as integral as its counterpart. Magic is something we all search for, most often as children and more necessary as adults – What is MAGIC? it’s happiness, adventure, excitement, friendship, the smell of freshly baked cookies.

But it’s also something crucial and important for children’s development, giving them healthy, creative surroundings to grow and be nourished in. (It’s also a huge piece of the PlayZone puzzle, and why we work so hard to create something that encourages and grows along with that magic)

Time for a maths lesson…. Let’s break down this equation:

MUSIC

This is a big one, and something that begins with human nature. We thrive on it, but not only that, it sparks development from day one. Studies upon studies have been done on music inside the womb, as children grow and the benefits for those with disabilities. And though with anything neurological we have a long way to go, we can all pretty much agree that music makes us feel beyond what we experience. Music encourages us to dance, to smile, to cry, to get angry – and it encourages us to teach our children that.

OUTDOORS

Another part of life that began with the beginning of us – we’ve always been outside. Just because we’ve dictated the shift indoors as we’ve gone through the generations, doesn’t mean we should forget where our roots came from. In the mud and forests and fields of exploration, this is where we still have a chance to get back to. And if we need to entice the next generation somewhat? Let’s have some fun doing it!

KIDS

They’re why we’re do everything we do. The laughing and crying included. Let’s do a little more for them, let’s create an equation to nourish their adventurous nature. Let’s get them outside to feel the sun on their face, let them play music, dance and sing. Let them create MAGIC.

 

I know that sounds like a ridiculously jargon filled sentence but it is at the base of everyone’s desire to improve and create. To put it simply:

How do we match or surpass the things that inspire us?

Here at PlayZone we take inspiration from so many places:

• The Living World
• Children Led Play – What do kids actually enjoy doing?
• The New Zealand Attitude – A little corny I know but we’re pretty special in this corner of the world
• Architecture – Both man made and natural
• Science, Pioneering and Technology Advancement
• History, Exploration, Adventure

In all honesty the list could take up a fair amount of room. So much can motivate and encourage our ideas, so much more can plant new ones. And I understand that the Great Kiwi Playground isn’t the outcome for everyone’s inspiration – But it’s ours. We take great pride in it in fact. That and it’s pretty gosh darn fun too.

Inspire: Treehouse Edition

These. These are beautiful. Thursday Inspiration is all about this – Beauty in the structural, industrial and re-loved/re-designed.

Thank you to the lovely team at Recyclart who got me onto these, and thank you +Brauer  for the creative energy and the passion to create these.

French designer +Brauer lives and works in Paris. For 20 years, +Brauer has created many album covers for French and international artists and works in parallel as a visual painter, photographer and sculpter.

+Brauer carefully selects vintage pieces from the industrial past, marked by time and whose patina has been molded by years of manual use. He admires the beauty, sometimes hidden, of these abandoned parts, he changes their appearance, sculpts them, and incorporates light sources into their structure before assembling them to create a unique and poetic work. More than their technological features, he tries to reveal the original, almost primitive, form of the robots he creates.

The term Upcycling sounded like a fad to me, an era of  DIY hipsters that took someones off casts and painted it another colour, or the team on the Recycling Board decided they needed a new direction. But like any good Marketer and Blogger I researched, in fact the now ever-growing Pinterest board can attest to my researching, and I’m excited to say I’m a groupie! A fan, a beholder, a witness to a movement that I can agree with.

UPCYCLING – What is it?

Well Google defines it as “reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.” And in a nut shell Google hit the nail on the head (DIY reference). But it’s more than that now – it’s a community and a collective desire to create something magical from something not much loved, to perhaps provide minute amounts of relief to the environment, but most of all to out pour your creativity into something tangible. (Plus you feel pretty coll when you show all your friends).

UPCYCLING – How to do it?

I’m going to drop it in again –

• Research! Trove the treasure cave  that is Pinterest and don’t feel too bad when yours doesn’t quite match the glossy perfection of an image that you tried to copy. Find something that you love the look of or have ties to already – Wooden pallets and spools, Utensils, Bath tubs, Your parents old chest of drawers – and think about where you want it to end up. For your children? Your grand children? All for yourself? Just go for it.
• Plan – Take your time and have an outcome. Source your materials, find inspiration, find advice (remember you don’t need to take it!). It may take you a year but it’s worth it.
• Share – Involve your children, even if it’s just to get their ideas, but get them inspired by the idea that not everything has a one day shelf life. Teach them what you learn, pass on a sustainable mind set, give them their own Upcycling project.
• Start Small – The only reason I mention this is to point out the go big or go home idea doesn’t always work. Especially if you’re Upcycling for the first time. Try teapots, spoons or planter boxes – once you’ve mastered that move up to pub shed/studio/brewery/bath house that you have in mind.

UPCYCLING – Why do it?

Because it feels great that’s why! Because you get that almost mythical sense of self gratification that you’ve achieved something creative. And because most of all it teaches this amazing new generation we’re raising that everything they’ve taken for granted needs taking care of. This Earth, big and blue, is the only one we have, and we need to take care of our inheritance while we’re still around.