Building High With High-End Blocks

Though parents of toddlers are some of block manufacturers’ biggest customers, it’s not just kids who are doing the building, manufacturers agreed.

Specialty blocks — many of them manufactured in Europe — are where it’s at these days. Yes, they’re a little pricier, but they’re also made of high-quality hardwoods, such as beech and maple, with vibrant nontoxic paints and stain-free finishes, manufacturers told TDmonthly Magazine. Traditional block sets remain popular, as do marble runs.

“With blocks, [children] learn about gravity, patterns, shapes and classification,” noted Annie Hood, a Lebanon, N.H. mother of two. “Playing with blocks improves dexterity and fine motor control.”

About a year ago, Hood learned about and bought her children their first set of HABA (ToyShow) beech wood blocks, a brand that has been manufactured in Germany for 65 years, but only reached the United States in 2002.

Lea Culliton, HABA’s vice president of sales in the United States, told TDmonthly that HABA blocks are kept by consumers for years. It’s the commitment to quality that has made their blocks so successful in the United States, she said.

Like HABA, Selecta Spielzeug, another German block manufacturer, produces blocks for high-end buyers, according to Yvonne Koepff of Selecta Spielzeug’s marketing department. Selecta’s Combinello set is one of its biggest sellers. This brightly painted, 16-piece set includes triangles, squares and arches from which toddlers and preschoolers can create an endless array of houses, cars, sailboats and bridges.

ABC blocks, which have been around for decades, continue to be popular sellers for Uncle Goose Toys, based in Grand Rapids, Mich. The company manufactures and sells 1 ¾-inch square Classic Embossed Alphabet Blocks that, according to company spokesman, Scott Bultman, have timeless popularity because of their quality and nostalgic elements.

Environmental friendliness has proven a strong selling point for ImagiPLAY’s (ToyShow) wooden play sets and puzzles, owner Barbera Aimes told TDmonthly. The company’s colorful sets are made of non-splintering, hard rubber wood. Some of ImagiPLAY’s popular playsets include a zoo and the Arctic Expedition, both of which include snap-together pieces.

Though parents of toddlers buy the most blocks, the market has expanded, manufacturers agreed. HABA sells a lot of its architectural sets to adults, Culliton commented. With those sets, builders can create everything from the United States Capitol Building to the Eiffel Tower to an onion-domed Russian scene.

Hood, who owns HABA’s Middle Eastern architectural blocks, noted that the sets offer lifelong appeal. “Even teenagers and adults enjoy the challenge of the architectural blocks.”

Anchor Building Blocks by Wonder Works (ToyShow) are artificial stones that were first introduced in 1880 by the German company Richter. Antique sets sometimes fetch prices of more than $1,000, said collector George Wetzel of Peotone, Ill.

Anchor Blocks are often bought by grandparents, noted Lynn Whitlark, owner of Purcifal’s Magical Toys in Lubbock, Texas. “The kids are aiming toward engineering and architecture … They want to bring them into something that’s higher end, and that produces a beautiful result,” she told TDmonthly.

Top-selling blocks at oompatoys.com include Fabolina Picture Blocks by Selecta Spielzeug; Skyscrapers, Fantasy Blocks, Marble Ball Track and Little Amsterdam by HABA; and a set of wooden ABC blocks on a wooden cart by French manufacturer Vilac.

Appealing to builders of all ages, blocks’ popularity just keeps on building. Here are a few sets to get builders started: