The Story Behind our Collections: Kidsonroof

Having a nearly 4 year old son who has inherited his Dad's engineering and architectural mind, I am always looking out for creative toys that have an element of construction.  I was led to kidsonroof a while back and when we wanted to expand the imagine & play section of the boutique we knew the kidsonroof collection would fit pefectly with Sisters Guild.

Kidsonroof = creativity + imagination + sustainable approach = great to play with -/- visual pollution for the grown ups!

Behind kidsonroof is a creative family who live a very inspiring life in Holland. Romy Boesveldt and Ilya Yashkin established kidsonroof in 2005. With kids comes a new perspective and as a family they wanted to 're-connect modern life with nature and discover basic values.' Together with their 3 kids and their little friends they have a 'testlab' where they conjour up new ideas. Further design visions are nurtured from simple time spent in the Southern French Mountains in a 'little shed' with no electric or running water.  You can see how such creativity can flourish.

Ilya has trained as an architectural designer. He brings the ingenious 3-dimensional design to kidsonroof. Romy is all about conceptual development and styling.  Together they are the imaginative heart of kidsonroof.

Kidsonroof really is all about imagination.  The Totem collection consists of sets of recycled cardboard pieces decorated with graphics and pattern that slot together to become planes, trees, buildings, birds, animals, ships, figurines and so much more.  With kidsonroof the possibilities are fantastical and far-reaching. For a child's mind that is just the thing, there is no limit to the way something can be played with.  

The Totem collection can be fully appreciated by adults too - for play and decoration.  We know many a home that has the Totem Tree and the animals from the Totem Books bringing wonder to shelves, tables, desks, hallways, mantlepieces and windowsills.

Another collection within kidsonroof is 'Casa.'  Here the scale gets a bit bigger, yet it is the simplicity that can be enjoyed. There are recycled cardboard houses to decorate and play with inside and out.  And a Trojan Horse..

The Trojan Horse is made of recycled cardboard and children can sit on it or play with it, along with its' baby horse.  Extra magic comes from the little tinkling sound from within the horse.
This beautiful toy and pure object was designed by Alex Hellum. By the shape and character of the horse you can spy his Scandinavian origins.  Alex has worked for over 20 years in the UK as a teacher and for Heal's and Ercol amongst others, but he is originally from Norway.

Altogether kidsonroof is an oustanding creative achievement that brings something so refreshing to children's play and to our homes. Kidsonroof is a noteworthy classic for the new creative generation of parents and children who desire and appreciate design that is visually stimulating, tactile, imaginative and ecological too.

I know my home is slowly being filled with the Totem and Casa pieces and they don't feel like toys - they are pure joy and celebration of shape, colour and form!

Discover the kidsonroof collection here

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This is part of our series of blogs where we share the story behind our collections; because the collections and their creators mean so much to us here at Sisters Guild we want to pass the story on.

We bring a new blog each day; other series of blogs include our 'Monday Makery' with ideas and 'how to's'  to make and bake with all the family, Wednesday we woo you with our favourite pieces from the boutique and its new arrivals, Thursday is all about the art of living; discovering places and sharing new treasures and Friday we bring you the 'A-Z of Sisters Guild' a collection of pictures that convey the life behind the boutique

You can Follow us on Twitter here ,like us on Facebook here and visit our rather marvellous boutique here
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Monday Makery - tablecloth play house

We are constantly making dens in our house. Using sheets, tablecloths and blankets thrown over drying racks, tables and chairs. Each den becomes the perfect hideaway for the girls. A place where they invite their favourite bears and dolls to tea. Its territory for the under four foot and a cozy refuge from the day. Despite there being numerous beautiful 'wendy houses' on the market we've never had one at home, i'm not sure where one would go now, however, we do have three tables in the house! So, here we turn an old double duvet cover into a tablecloth 'wendy house'.  The best thing about it is that there is no need for it to get put away or moved to a corner. We can lay the table as usual. Though I think from now on the girls will want to eat their meals inside their house rather than on top!

here's what you'll need:

• large piece of fabric - enough to cover your table and touch the ground on all sides. I used an old duvet cover and opened it up by cutting along the seams to create double the fabric. There wasn't quite enough fabric to reach the floor at the back of the 'house' but I trimmed the excess from one of the sides and joined it to the back. 
• scissors
• velcro
• scraps of fabric - enough to create your curtains and your door.
• ribbons for tiebacks
• paper and pen - to create your number stencil or name for the front door
• bamboo pole to give the top and bottom of the window frames their shape and prevent them from sagging

here's how:

1. Once you've got your base for the house and all the sides touch the floor, measure the doorway and window frames and mark them onto the sheet/base fabric. 
2. Cut the holes for the doorway and windows using pinking shears to prevent the fabric from fraying.
3. Cut the fabric for the doorway to fit with an extra inch either side and and extra inch above the top of the frame. Do the same with a rectangle of fabric for the windows making sure you add an extra inch either side and extra inch for the top. 
4. Cut up the middle of your window fabric with pinking shears to create a 'pair'of curtains leaving an extra 2 inches at the top where the curtains will hang.
5. Now cut a length of velcro to fit the top of the door and another two pieces to fit above the windows.
6. sew the velcro in place with one side onto the fabric house and the other onto the fabric door and curtains.
7. Cut 4 lengths of ribbon for your tiebacks and stitch to the sides of the window frames.
8. To prevent the bottom and the top of each window frame from sagging it will need some framework added. You can do this with cotton covered boning or as I did, use bamboo pole. I hemmed the top and bottom of the frames by folding over 1 1/2 inches of the fabric frame and sewed along the edge. This created a long pocket for the bamboo poles (cut to size) to slide into.
9. The girls wanted to add numbers to the door so I drew a '6' and '4' - as requested, onto paper and cut out. I then pinned them onto their chosen fabric, cut out and stitched onto the door.
10. Finally attach the curtains to the window frames along your velcro strip, hang the door from the central frame, open the curtains with your tiebacks and your home is ready!

As all the coloured pieces are attached using velcro the whole thing can be machine washed without the colours running. It's bound to get grubby with all the tea parties both on top of the house and inside. Though I've kept the house quite simple with its decoration I know over time I'll end up adding fabric window boxes and elaborate with fabric flowers growing up the side. The reverse side I may add a shop sign and make a larger door and fabric shelving for fabric fruit and veg. The table cloth works well because its so versatile so the more it can be the better!

Happy house making fun!

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We have more Monday Makery craft & recipe ideas here.

If you would like to share some ideas as a guest blogger on the Monday Makery we would be very excited to hear from you. Use the contact form on our main website here.

For behind the scenes photos of Sisters Guild we have the gallery of the A-Z of Sisters Guild here.

www.sistersguild.co.uk