About Grapat
What we think
Components, curiosities and characters for open ended play. Many of the pieces feel like they have been gathered directly from nature. Some might even be souvenirs collected from imaginary worlds. The Nins are definitely beings but they are also are simple enough to take on new identities in every adventure.
All sets come without instructions but with boxes designed to last for five years or so. A great and intentional combination. These are natural, robust toys offered with little structure - objects waiting to be inscribed with meaning through play.
Place
Grapat’s toys are coloured, finished and packaged in Catalonia, Spain. All the timber they use comes from European forests.
Originally Casiana and Jordi made the parts themselves in their attic. However they quickly generated more demand than they could handle. A nice problem to have for sure, but also an existential challenge for a business that designs and makes its own products with great love, care and attention to detail.
Grapat moved to bigger premises locally in 2017 and now also work with part suppliers in Spain, Germany, Italy, and Poland. By retaining the final and critical step of colouring and finishing their products in their own workshop, they preserve the designer-made feel of the pieces in an honest way.
Materials
Pieces are dyed and not painted and then finished with plant oils and waxes. Wood grain, character marks and imperfections remain visible which preserves the nature of the raw material. This minimalistic approach to finishing wooden items always feels particularly authentic to us.
Colour is a major feature of Grapat’s design philosophy. They use a wide range of colours to great effect and the overall effect is harmonious. In part this is due to their use of dyes rather than paints as the ever present wood grain ties everything together very effectively.
What Grapat say about themselves
‘We start from the basis that play is the child’s language. The game is their homeland, where they can talk and express themselves without instructions or limits.’
Grapat was founded in Catalonia in 2015.
How do children play with Grapat loose parts?
They figure it out!
It’s amazing to watch little minds and hands at work.
The intrinsically unstructured nature of loose part play can be stressful for some grown ups. But children aren’t intimidated by the lack of instructions or cues. In fact the challenge and uncertainty are part of the fun for them. Stand back. Give them the space to play. It will be most rewarding in the end.
If you want to play with them, try stacking, colour sorting or pattern making. Go with what inspires you in that moment.
Grapat’s parts are created without intention. They mean something for sure but what is not clear. Not clear until they are played with anyway. Play is how they get their meaning. And for each child the particular meaning is unique.
What is loose part play?
Open ended loose part play is what little children do naturally. It’s everything they get up to when left to their own devices in part rich environments. It is sense making and story telling. It is being little + human.
You see it in pockets full of stones. In the piles of leaves and sticks around the garden. In their delight at discovering another acorn.
It’s the gathering, and organising. The building and swapping. The treasuring.
Parts are things that can be picked up, moved around and given meaning through play. Things that inspire and distract and captivate. They find them in woods, on beaches, in meadows, on wastelands. Everywhere and anywhere.
Their value is potential. Not grown up perceived reality.