Anne Moze All Wood Toys

I first saw Anne Moze All Wood Toys on eBay where they can be hard to get. At that time, Arielle was a baby, and I remember thinking that I should look into them when she gets older. Now that she is three, Arielle has been playing with Holztiger wooden figures and enjoys them very much. Recently, I stumbled on Anne Moze's site on Hyena Cart, and I'm so glad I did.

Anne Moze started making her toys five and a half years ago, after visiting her sister in Germany. She said "We went into a wonderful toy store filled with amazing wooden toys, so subtly painted, it was the way I pictured as a child what the North Pole was about, surely this was what Santa's elves made.... it transcended me to such pleasurable heights and invoked wonderful memories, that I wanted to pick it up and bring it back home. Unfortunately, we stay at home Mom's tend to have big aspirations and small ready funds.. I could only afford a few small mementos." When she returned home, she gave the toys to her youngest daughter who loved them. Anne thought,"If Marguerite Ostheimer in a war torn and broken Germany could make toys to uplift children...well so could I."


Anne Moze's wonderful figures and play sets are carved out of Poplar wood. She uses non-toxic acrylic water-based paints that conform to ACMI (Art and Creative Materials Institute) standards as a stain, and does not try to hide the wood grain. Since there is no layering of the paints, there are no paint chips to worry about. The oil is an organic walnut oil.


Anne wrote to me "I have had many compliments on how uplifting my toys are, how much joy children get from them and best of all the love that parents say they feel when they open them up. I wrap each toy individually, each one deserves it's special moment, whether it is Mom, Dad or the little ones, it is the the first moment of unwrapping them that determines what it will become. We give toys to our children and take delight in watching them play and bring them to life. I hope my toys will extend your child's innocent years, that they can learn even something as fierce as a dragon starts as a baby, and if they nurture them gently that even a dragon will grow up to be decent and caring of others." What a great philosophy.

I quoted Anne a lot; I don't usually do that, but I feel her own words best explain the magic of her toys.

I bought the unicorns ($15) for Arielle. I love that they have 'real' tails that she can put a ribbon on. In the few days they've been here, they've done a great job as steeds for fairies and are playing very well with the other wooden figures.

I keep admiring Anne's play sets and I'm sure that after the holidays, I'll be back for more.