Dandelion KIDS Blog

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Tammy Everts wrote a fantastic review of DandelionKIDS on the ohdeedoh blog (http://www NULL.ohdeedoh NULL.com/ohdeedoh/toys-infant/dandelion-kids-056055), and we thought we’d share it with you. In her post, she also lists a few of her favourite products that we carry – a great list indeed!

Here’s what Tammy had to say:

We’ve been regular visitors to Dandelion Kids ever since they opened their bricks-and-mortar store three years ago, but we only recently realized that the shop has an excellent website that offers pretty much everything from their broad but carefully edited selection of organic clothing and fair-trade toys and baby gear.

Best of all (if you’re Canadian) is that this Vancouver-based company ships internationally! No longer will you get three-quarters of the way through the ordering process, only to be denied at checkout. (If this has ever happened to you, you know how frustrating it is.)

Check below the jump for a roundup of some of our favorite items.

Dandelion Kids carries an excellent balance of local designs and international imports, with a focus on products that are ethically manufactured. It’s where we were introduced to great toymakers like Vilac and Plan Toys, and where we saw (and immediately bought) our first Bilibo. (Ah… so many misty memories.)

As for local products, the store does a booming trade in organic cotton baby clothes from Fig Organic, sustainably manufactured slings from Baby Buddha, and books from award-winning publisher Simply Read Books.

With frequent sales and high product turnover, the store’s inventory is always fresh and interesting. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite items, old and new:

• Every time we go into the bricks-and-mortar location, our preschooler can’t stay away from the Ride-On Tractor from Vilac. Woe betide us if there’s another like-minded kid present.

• We love Flensted’s mobiles, and this new owlish version is no exception.

• We really love the Animal Cutlery Set from WMF. The set includes a fork, knife, French fry pick (!) and two sizes of spoons (classy!).

• For the banner lovers amongst you, here’s a set of sweet cotton banners we think you’ll like.

• This Sub Adventure duvet set is made to Öko-tex environmental standards. Öko-Tex is “a European certification process which ensures that certified textiles do not contain chemicals harmful to human health.”

• Saffy is a new title from the abovementioned Simply Read Books. We’re big fans of this publisher’s leaning toward strong colors and simple but compelling artwork.

• From our “Hey, so long as we’re dreaming!” list comes this fantastical mushroom table and chairs set that looks as if it were lifted straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

For us, what really separates Dandelion Kids from the rest of the pack is the exceptional level of truly personal — and genuinely friendly — customer service. If an item appears out of stock on the website, you’re encouraged to call or email, and staff will even search the store’s shelves for you.

Thanks very much for your great review Tammy.