Holy Hobbit! A real life Shire House...

Learn more about this amazing low impact dwelling at http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm.

New Press! Seattle Post-Intelligencer - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2008

At Planet Happy Kids, it's all about fun and saving the world












Isabella Faget, 3, tries out the hammock at Planet Happy Kids in Ravenna on Friday with the help of Hannah Kohrmann, 10. The showroom for the larger online company sells fair-trade, organic, socially responsible, natural and green products for children.

At Planet Happy Kids, it's all about fun and saving the world
By PAUL NYHAN P-I REPORTER

The first thing you need to know about Planet Happy Kids is that it's not a toy store.

Sure, you can buy dollhouses, toy monkeys, play train sets and children's books at the Ravenna spot. But owner Bridgett Brown created Planet Happy in April as a showroom for her far larger online operation that sells natural and socially responsible toys.

Part of Brown's design is that Planet Happy lacks many defining traits of a modern toy store. There is virtually no plastic and no rows of shelves spilling over with toys and electronic gadgets.
Instead, the store resembles a boutique you might stumble upon in a posh London neighborhood, with lots of open floor and wall space, natural wooden trucks, organic stuffed rabbits and fair-trade flutes.

This is a place to play and shop, with a button-making station up front, a working hammock near the cash register, a child-sized couch in back, and lots of spots for children to check out toys or read.
And a live hedgehog sleeping in a refurbished television set by the front door.

Brown opened the shop with two themes in mind.

"We wanted it to be like a house," Brown said. "I designed it like a woman's boutique."

She also wanted it to be different because Brown is another member of Seattle's new generation of tattooed toy traders, hip types who are opening independent stores, such as Izilla's on Capitol Hill, with an alternative tinge that connects with mainstream parents.

Inside the one-time garden store, parents and their children are not pressured to buy.

"Feel free to play around, read a book or just hang out in the swing," a sign at the entrance says.

Or they can check out finches and doves flying around an antique cooler-turned-birdcage, and Littlefoot the hedgehog.

With its live animals and eclectic inventory, Brown's outlet may appear more passionate than practical. But the laid-back showroom is only an extension of her online eco-friendly toy business that was doing well even before the holiday recall panic a few months ago.

During the panic, Planet Happy drew notice from NBC's "Today" show for its focus on sustainable toys.

Flip over the price tag on a stuffed hedgehog -- which are all over the store -- and you will learn if it was made naturally with organic, fairly traded, recycled, green or multiuse materials in a socially responsible way.

You won't find any Elmos, Big Birds or SpongeBobs because those toys didn't make the Planet Happy cut.

But there are boxes of popular German-made Haba toys, play airports made of recycled rubber trees, wooden play kitchens, grow-your-own mushroom kits and plenty of books.

"I kind of look for odd ducks, so when someone comes in to get a gift it's not the same thing" they would find elsewhere, Brown said.

Brown also is not trying to overtake Amazon.com or Toys "R" Us.

"We want to kind of scale it down a little so the items we do carry are more unique," Brown said.

The business's first ad ever, which ran in the Utne Reader, summed up Brown's philosophy: "What if toy stores had no plastics, TV characters or toy guns?"

Even dollhouses are equipped with solar panels and toy trucks are labeled biodiesel.

"How can we take those toys and really teach kids about sustainability?" Brown said.

Even much of the store is recycled. The flooring used to sit in a Weyerhaeuser showroom, and branches holding lighting came from a tree that was cut down nearby.

And the store dog, Willow, was rescued from a shelter and nursed back to health.

The toy selection favors girls, though Brown is trying to add more inventory for boys, and items children can build themselves, such as terrariums and buttons. Most weekends, the store hosts $5 classes on topics such as meditation for children, celebrating seasons and terrarium building.

You might not find everything you are looking for at Planet Happy Kids, but you should find something that won't make you think about recalls and landfills.

IF YOU GO

Planet Happy Kids
2914 N.E. 55th St., Seattle
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sunday by appointment.)
www.planethappykids.com

How to make (and enjoy) a Gnome hat!

If your feeling like a Gnome, you must dress the part. Here are some easy Gnome Hat Instructions for you little Gnome head.

Hannah wears her Gnome hat...


















Breah wears her Gnome hat...


















Bridgett wears her Gnome hat...

Willow wears her Gnome hat...and everybody smiles!

Wow! Let's go hula hoop together...

New Press! See Planet Happy on the Seattle Channel...















CityStream Segment: Toxic Toys 12/6/2007Kid's toys are not all fun and games anymore, see what some local grown-ups are doing about Toxins in Toyland. This feature originally appeared on CityStream 12/6/2007, the SEATTLE CHANNEL's weekly magazine show.

Thank you so much Seattle Channel!

Bridgett, Breah & Peri

Happy Green Halloween!

Have you all got your costumes yet? If your still wondering what to be here are a couple ideas that we came up with this weekend:

Forest Fairy:

Collect all the leaves that you find to be the most beautifully and/or special. Gather a few pieces of cardboard, we used an old Priority Mail box, grab some glue and a piece of fabric (to tie you wings on with).

Cut out four wing shapes, and one fat rectangle and glue down your wings on it. Then glue down you leaves to the wings, let fry, cut away any rectangle that shows through, and then attach your fabric to the rectangle or wings and wear around the neighborhood!

We put Hannah in my old black shirt and some leggings, gave her a set of antennas (headband with pipe cleaners attached).

TV Set:

Grab any old box that will fit over you head and shoulders. Cut out opening for you head, torso, and arms (be generous). Draw on a fantastic show or movie (the more made up, the better). Put clear packing tape over your show for a realistic "screen" effect. To hold your box on you, grab two piece of fabric or an old pair of socks to make shoulder straps. You can staple them if you like...whatever works best for you. Make a pair of antennas (headband w/pipe cleaners attached) and your set!

The showroom in: red

Halloween Gets "Green" at Planet Happy!



















Planet Happy will be hosting a Recycled Costume Construction Party on Saturday Oct. 27 from 4-6 p.m. Bring some of your own goodies and ideas, or choose from a wide variety of recycled materials and costume ideas designed by the Planet Happy staff. Natural treats and sparkling refreshments will be provided. Little partygoers will also have a blast playing classic Halloween games such as: Pass the "Organic" Pumpkin and Pin the Longlegs on the Daddy.

This event is a great hands-on opportunity for little one's to utilize some common items that are often disposed of, while making a masterpiece they'll be proud to show off on the big night.

Free, all ages. Email us at: info@planethappytoys.com, Call: 206-729-0154 or drop by the showroom to let us know your coming. 2914 N.E. 55th St., Seattle, http://www.planethappytoys.com/.