Oi Blocks Wooden Construction Kits: Building Imagination at Spielwarenmesse 2017

Anyone who wants to encourage creative play in children and attaches great importance to sustainability and ecology will be delighted with the wooden building set from Oi-Blocks. Founder Klaus Ehrmann admits that, at first glance, the toy is aimed less at children and more at parents - because the packaging is also consistently ecological and uses a gray recycled cardboard box. However, it quickly becomes apparent when playing that the children enjoy playing with it, are creative and learn to construct. Find out more in the video!

Sustainable wooden toys from Oi-Blocks

Simone Dericks: Hello Dr. Ehrmann, greetings! So we are here with you at Oi-Blocks. I have already seen very big toy companies in the toy industry today. Big names, a start-up company like yours, how can it hold its own in the world? Klaus Ehrmann: I think through innovation, through new ideas. One of our guiding principles, for example, is sustainability, which we attach great importance to. Open-play, as they say. Creative play, encouraging the creativity of our young children and, of course, quality - we try to manufacture very high-quality products and toys. This is a plug-in toy. It requires very precise production and construction so that the joy of playing really comes out in the end. Simone Dericks: You are a small Swiss company. You come from Switzerland and this is your first time at the toy fair in Nuremberg because you also want to enter the German market. Klaus Ehrmann: The German market, or even the European market. We have been on the Swiss market for a good year now and are selling there. We used this trade fair to simply see what potential there is on the European market, what the interest is like and to find out how big such a company can become. Simone Dericks: You just mentioned sustainability as one of the three pillars of your company. That means it's wooden toys, nature. Which parents is this aimed at? Klaus Ehrmann: That's a good point, it's aimed at parents. You won't see a child coming into a store and shouting, "Dad, dad, I want the wooden toy in the gray recycled box". It may have a nice picture on it, but it's aimed at parents who really care about the environment, who want to buy a toy that will last a long time and can perhaps be passed on to the next generation. They say we want to stop littering ourselves with plastic.

Focus on quality: toys made from Swiss beech wood

Simone Dericks: What kind of wood do you use? Klaus Ehrmann: We use Swiss beech wood. The wood is already prefabricated by our suppliers. We do the final stage, drilling the holes and coloring the wood, ourselves. The blocks are colored with oil and not with varnish. The advantage is that you can really feel the wood. And on the other hand, if it falls down - and you may be familiar with this - the varnish flakes off in places and the color disappears. That's not the case with us, it's really pure nature. Simone Dericks: What age group is the toy made for? Klaus Ehrmann: It's for ages 4 and up. We tested it and looked at it. It's difficult for under 4s, you need a certain amount of dexterity to take it apart and put it together, and it's recommended for ages 4 and up. Some parents want to buy it earlier. That's fine, but we're a bit conservative. Simone Dericks: Is it very expensive then if I buy a toy like this? That's often a question of price for parents. Klaus Ehrmann: I always like to talk about the value you get from it. Of course, if you have a wooden vehicle like this, or let's say you buy this wooden airplane made of plastic, you're quickly adding a factor of 2, 3, 4 or even 5. But of course you buy this additional value, the sustainability, the longevity, the quality and also a beautiful object. There are people who put it in their living room.

Creative building with a simple modular principle

Simone Dericks: Yes, it looks beautiful here too. But how does it actually work, how do I get to have such a great plane? Klaus Ehrmann: Yes, the principle is actually relatively simple. You have different blocks and then pins, so to speak. These pins are inserted into the block and then you can bring the blocks together. We have a second pair of longer pins, the short ones with the slot, which are the connecting pins that join the individual blocks or slats, as you can see here. To add a bit more variety and dynamism, there are also longer pins that can be rotated. Simone Dericks: Ah, okay. Klaus Ehrmann: With the pins that can be turned, you can put wheels on them to add movement and dynamism. The propeller, the vehicle, can be built here. It's actually a relatively simple and straightforward idea. Simone Dericks: Now I have one last question. Is it a unisex toy, is it suitable for both girls and boys? Or would you say that the tendency is more towards one gender or the other? Klaus Ehrmann: There is a clear tendency towards boys, it is a construction toy. Although the tendency is clearly towards boys, we also want to give girls who are interested in it the opportunity to play with it without any prejudices. Simone Dericks: Thank you first of all, I think it's great, including the philosophy behind your product, and I wish you lots of success!

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