Oompa Blog - Baby Toys, Gear, Furniture

Haven’t visited ParentsConnect.com yet? Well now’s the time! From now until September 7th you can enter to win a $100 Oompa.com Gift Certificate! Entering is easy; simply visit www.parentsconnect.com, register for free to become a member, and post a comment on the Oompa Giveaway Sweepstakes page. The posting will not be judged in any way. The winner will be selected at random on Wednesday morning.

Reasons to Visit ParentsConnect.com

Informative - Upon your first visit you’ll immediately have access to a wealth of information!  Everything from Expert Advice on Pregnancy, to Potty Training, to Great Activities for Tweens and Teens.

Participatory - Even better, the site is more than just a factual guide.  Many sections of ParentsConnect.com are set up as a Forum, so that you can read the tricks of the trade from other experienced parents, and add your own two-cents.

Sweepstakes & Contests - Oompa isn’t the only one offering free giveaways at ParentsConnect.com.  Every week there are new offers to explore on their Sweepstakes page!

Share This

With happy colors and a smooth design, I was instantly in love with the seemingly unending supply of useful products from OXO.  They start with a huge array of BPA, phthalate and PVC free dishes, covered bowls, sippy cups, and utensils…

The OXO Tot Sippy Cup collection offers several spillproof solutions for teaching baby how to drink like a big kid, while the OXO Tot Plate has a removable, curved ring and straight side walls designed to help guide food onto utensils with ease. When it’s time for solids, the OXO Tot Feeding Spoon has a protective food-grade silicone coating which is gentle on baby’s gums and mouth.

Next, some practical, ingenious, and incredibly useful items!  Kneeling pads for bath-time, a ricer and masher for making baby food, a freezing tray for the extra edibles, and “POP Containers” for a quick, tight, storage seal.

OXO Tot offers several options for preparing homemade foods for baby. For a finer consistency, try the OXO Tot Baby Food Ricer. For a quick mash, try OXO Tot’s Baby Food Masher. And when you’re finished freeze it all with the Baby Food Freezer Tray.  Bath time? Save your knees with the OXO Tot Tub Kneeling Mat. Constructed of three layers of dense, resilient foam, this item makes bath time more fun for everyone.

And it doesn’t end there!  OXO makes a wonderful selection of transportable night lights!

The OXO Candela Nightlights ares a great bedside companion to ward off the darkness. LED lights provide eight hours of soothing light with plenty of time to send little ones off to dreamland. When removed from the charger, these little lanterns light up automatically (or if there is a loss of electricity). The charging base doubles as an optional nightlight that can be left on even when Candela is charging.

About OXO

OXO is dedicated to providing innovative consumer products that make everyday living easier. Their product lines include: Cooking Tools, Household Cleaning Tools, Bath Cleaning Tools and Accessories, Barware, Garden Tools, Storage and Organization Products, Trash Cans, Lighting, and Office Products, with a grand total of over 850 products! Located in New York, OXO’s Universal Design, a philosophy of making products that are easy to use for the widest possible spectrum of users, has caused them to grow quickly.

See More!

Check out OXO’s videos on their line of Food Prep products, and Sippy Cups.

Become an OXO fan on Facebook.

Follow OXO on Twitter!

Share This

We’re always working on brainstorming new ideas to help out our customers and improve the site. Recently, we’ve added some great new mattress brands, like Moonlight Slumber and Naturepedic. While these mattresses contain tons of great features that make them a good buy, it can sometimes be confusing to keep them all straight. Foam vs coil spring? Organic materials, or all-natural filling?

To help our customers to better compare mattress features, we’ve created a mattress comparison chart, which is linked to in every mattress description. The comparison chart allows you to easily select two or more mattresses to compare at the same time.

If there is anything else you’d like to know about our mattresses, let us know! We’re always happy to help you find the answer.

Share This

We’ve mentioned before how much we adore Tea Collection, right? Well, here is yet another reason–Monday-Wednesday morning this week only (8/23-8/25)  you can enter to win a $100 Tea Collection Gift Certificate on our Facebook page! To enter, simply post a comment on our FB page with a link to your favorite item from teacollection.com. The winner will be selected at random on Wednesday morning.

Reasons to love Tea Collection

• Modern and Cosmopolitan - The designs of Tea Collection are at once stylish and classic, homespun and worldly. Each season, Co-Founder Emily Meyer identifies a new location from which to derive inspiration, from the fabrics, patterns, and culture of the people who live there. This gives Tea Collection a unique and ever changing look, with an emphasis expanding and social awareness.
• Tons of Sizes -With tons of sizes for babies, boys and girls from newborn to 12 years, and even adults, there’s a hand woven sweater, or folksy patterned top for everyone.
• Non Profit Partnerships - The folks at Tea Collection firmly believe in their responsibility to help all the little citizens of the world, through donations of time and clothes to various non-profit organizations. To view a full list of their partners, click here.
• Free Shipping on Orders over $150 - Enough said!

Share This

Here again for the month of August—fabulous contests and giveaways to finish off your summer with a real splash. These are all ending soon folks, so be sure to get your entries in ASAP!

Familylicious Reviews

This prolific review site is currently running a back-to-school perfect contest with our Pooki Backpacks. These unique, kid friendly designs really make a statement. Check out their website to find out how to enter—there are tons of ways enter!

Contest ends August 29th@11:59PM PST. US only.

 And Then There Were 4…

We love when the serious testers get involved.

This family-oriented blog is giving away a set of lovely Bajo Wooden Architecture Blocks. Want to know more about these high quality, European wooden blocks? Check out what the author’s son thinks–what a little builder! Lots of ways to enter this contest–check them all out on the blog!

Contest ends August 24th at 10pm PST.

Lolidots Giveaways

Looking for a handsome backpack for that first day of school? Check out how to snag this cute Four Peas Rocker Toddler Backpack for free on this new mother’s blog. Contest ends August 25th. US and Canada Only.

We have more Giveaways in the works, which we’ll roll out very soon. Stay tuned!

Share This

When I first saw these block sets, I was impressed by their modern design.  Smooth, sleek lines, with basic, useful shapes to build all kinds of structures: a simple and fresh, standard beginner’s block set.  But was that all there was to this set?

I looked a little closer; something was most definitely not typical about these blocks…

Are those blocks…balancing? Picking up the blocks and playing with them a bit revealed their hidden surprise; the blocks are magnetized!

Using proprietary technology, Tegu somehow managed to completely internalize magnets into the core of each block, rendering them safe, and magnetic—and totally changing the nature of a game of blocks.

Does gravity get in the way of your imagination? Well no more.

The blocks will allow children to build all sorts of imaginative structures, characters and creations which would normally be impossible with a standard set of blocks. The magnets also provide an important lesson in the physic principle of magnetism and problem solving; the blocks attract this way, and repel that way.

Our test subjects (read: our children) were fascinated by the polarizing nature of the blocks, watching as they attract and repel. Our toddler got a bit frustrated by the blocks that “won’t stop pushing” but we feel pretty confident that he’ll come around once we build one of these:

Currently, Tegu blocks are available in two set sizes, the Original Block Set (52 pieces) and the Discovery Block Set (26 pieces). Each set is available in either a blonde hardwood, or a rich, smooth mahogany. Both sets are perfect for kids–and even adults. The Discovery Set is nicely sized for a desk, and makes a great corporate gift for that executive who still has a little kid in him.

Environmental and Social Sustainability

Not only are the blocks entertaining and innovative, they’re also made from sustainably harvested, FSC-certified wood, and finished with water-based, non-toxic coatings.  Tegu works directly with FSC-certified woodcutting cooperatives in Honduras to obtain the wood to make their toys, and also is involved with replanting efforts to help Honduras gain back their native forests.

After it is harvested, Tegu takes the wood and produces their blocks in regulated facilities in Honduras. The workers in these facilities are local craftsmen who are paid a true living wage, which is higher than the rate paid by the majority of facilities in the area. The owners are committed to maintaining a quality of life for their workers, through better working conditions and involvement within the community. \

Recently, Tegu has started an initiative to give back to Honduras: By going to their site, you can easily donate towards either the planting of a tree, or the education of a child in Honduras—or both!

We really can’t say enough how much we love this company and these new blocks, and we hope our customers will love them to. We’d love to see what creations you come up with!

See More!

Watch: Tegu’s Nate Lau talks about the secret behind the block. 

Check out Tegu’s Blog, where the designers discuss new ideas and happenings in the company!

Donate a Tree or Help a Honduran Child Go to School 

Follow Tegu on Facebook!

Share This

Back to School season is here, and with it a whole slew of new and fun products to get your little one off to school style. New products are STILL coming in, but here are a few trends we’re seeing so far that we’re getting excited about:

Manly Designs.

There is no end of cute, adorable, girly gear for kids out there–but what if your tot is after something a little less frilly? Enter the Camo Mini Backpack from Room It Up!

You can expect to see a few more slightly masculine and neutral packs this year. Which isn’t to say, however, that you’ll stop seeing flowers and bunnies.

Eco-Friendly Innovations.

Packing your kid’s school lunch is a great way to make sure your little one is staying healthy, but what about keeping the Earth healthy?  All those disposable sandwich bags can really add up, creating unnecessary waste in landfills.  A better solution? Itzy Ritzy Snack Bags!

Available in an assortment of fun and funky fabrics with PVC-free, waterproof and washable lining, these bags are about the size of your standard sandwich bag. The difference, however, is that these cuties can be thrown in the washing machine and used over and over again, keeping more waste out of the landfills.

New Characters. Same Great Look.

Beatrix (formerly known as Dante Beatrix) makes some of the most adorable backpacks and bags for kids out there. They’re keeping many of their most popular designs this year, as well as introducing a few new critters to the Makun forest, such as this slightly surly lady owl.

She makes me giggle every time I look at her. Also quite amazing, have you seen the Blue Robot Backpack?

Makin’ Art, the Natural Way.

Considering how many things seem to end in our children’s mouths, it’s nice to know that there are lots of companies out there making an effort to create their art supplies from natural, non-toxic ingredients.

Miss Brittany’s, for instance, makes a great molding dough, made entirely from natural ingredients, most of which I could probably even find in my own kitchen!  Other companies like Clementine Art, Eco-Kids and Max’s Mud are also producing great natural art supplies with no-nonsense ingredients lists. Many of them are even wheat, gluten or soy free, making them perfect for kids with allergies.

We’ll be adding and updating even more products in the coming weeks, and we hope you’ll check back on our site soon. You can view our entire Back to School line by visiting us at www.oompa.com/back-to-school

Share This

Here’s a few things we’re excited about lately:

1. Mod Dot Crib Set by Skip Hop

Remember when we mentioned that this was coming months ago? Well it’s finally here!

Modern, cute, and at $198.99, nicely affordable. But then, we pretty much love everything that Skip Hop comes up with.

2. Back to School!

We’re getting all prepped for the big Back to School season—backpacks and lunch bags galore. There is a ton of new adorable stuff this year as well, and we’ll share some of our favorite pieces to hit the market next week.

3. Women’s clothing at the Tea Collection

We recently discovered the adorable, folksy children’s clothing company Tea Collection. Did you happen to know that they’re now making women’s clothing as well? This sweater looks some comfortable and classic that just looking at it makes me want to curl up with a book in a snowy cabin in the mountains.

We’re hoping to work out some sort of cross promotion with them soon…stay tuned!

4. We’re moving!

After months of looking, we’re all set to move our corporate offices to another fabulous location on the east side of Madison. The space is a great fit, and it happens to be very close to one of Madison’s best restaurants, Sardine. We’re not sure what this is going to do to our waist lines–just thinking about being steps away from their delicious Steamed mussels and frites makes my mouth water.

Who wants to help pack boxes?

Share This

Petite Niki Frog from Blabla

Holly from Seattle, WA writes: We have quite a few blablas in our family, all were full size. Bought this little one for my youngest and we love it. Much better for outings since it’s too short to be constantly dragging on the ground. Cute and Cuddly…love it!

Comments on the size and real life appearance of items are always welcome, as it helps other customers to decide on the best items for them.  As always, as a thank you, for every review you post, we give you 10 loyalty points. If you post a photo with your review, we’ll give you 20 points. Keep those reviews coming!

Share This

Looking for a new blog to lose your afternoon in? Check out a few of our favorites for this month.

Raising Madison - This wonderfully informative local Madison blog was kind enough to do a review of our retail store this past weekend. Check out the review here, as well as reviews and commentary about tons of other local kid-friendly activities, stores and resources.

 Mommy Living the Life of Riley - Another great parenting blog. We love Melissa’s review of our Djeco Lunch with Friends Play Set–detailed, informative, and the pictures just make our collective hearts melt.

Mindful Mama - An incredibly comprehensive social networking site, filled with tons of articles, reviews, resources and videos, all centered around the idea of natural parenting. They even have a section for connecting with like-minded general practitioners in your area! A recent article on eco-friendly summer must-haves mentioned the ever popular Green Toys Tugboat, and plenty of other thoughtful and fun products.

Share This

In this video, Milanie talks about some recent Oompa developments for our Top 100 Products. Click on the image below to watch the video!

There has been so much going on at Oompa. You’d think we’d be relaxing during the summer, but that definitely has not been the case. We’ve been adding so many new products (check out the end of the video for a list of them all!). For the website, we’ve started doing what we call 360 views of products. We take pictures of products from all different angles and we stitch them together. The result on the website is a Flash file that allows you to spin a product, either to the left or to the right.

Also, for our top products, we’re creating individual product videos. I know sometimes I just don’t feel like reading through and tabbing through lots of text on any website that I go to. So for people who would rather see a video about a product, this is for you! The product videos, coupled with our 360 views, should give you a pretty good idea about our top selling products. Eventually, we hope to offer product videos and 360 spins for all of our products.

As always if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us as support@oompa.com, or you can contact me directly at milaniec@oompa.com

Share This

Meal time.

Does this very word make you feel tired? If your answer is yes, you might have a toddler.  Sure, some kids out there eat their cut-up carrots and peas without complaint or production…those were just never OUR kids. They want to eat ten different things, or perhaps just that one thing over and over  and over again (neither of which happens to  be what is actually SERVED for dinner). Jennifer Brandt, the blogger behind Perfectly Disheveled, sums it up pretty well in this video.

Like most crises of toddlerhood, the mercurial and picky eater usually does become more manageable over time. But what to do in the meantime?

Many parents find that turning meal time into something fun and entertaining encourages kids to associate meal time with something positive, as opposed to a constant battle on the front lines of broccoli vs string cheese.  One product that we’re intrigued by is the Constructive Eating Plate and Utensils.

The “in-home testing” we’ve conducted with this set has given us positive results, if slightly longer meal times (this is not the set to bring out when you’re trying to meet a deadline!). The ridges and valleys on the plate provide engaging surfaces on which to pile and shovel food, while the utensils, shaped like construction equipment, function wonderfully in play and are still entirely practical.

Meals may be a bit messier and take a little longer, but the tone of meal time has changed. I’m not going to say that this plate will make your kid eat Brussel Sprouts–but the entire experience seems less of a battle.

We’re curious what other parents think of this idea.

Do sets like this make meal time easier for you? What do you do to get your kids to eat?

Share This

A few years ago, when we first created the Made in the USA category, it was a relatively small endeavor. Manufacturers were mostly making their products out of the country, while parents and retailers like us were just beginning to look for products not only based on price and quality, but also where they were made. These days, the category has grown quite a bit and the products made in the USA have increased dramatically in quantity and quality.

In celebration of the Fourth of July and all things American, here’s a few of our favorite products that are made in the USA.

1. Eco-Friendly Blocks, 18 Pieces - Green Toys

You can’t talk about products Made in the USA without bringing up the fabulous Green Toys. These blocks are made from recycled milk jugs and manufactured in California. Lightweight, brightly colored and simply tons of fun.

2. Project Table and Stools (Fire) - Ecotots

This fabulous furniture is definitely another Oompa favorite, sturdy, well-made, FSC-certified wood and perfectly sized for kids. Plus, the super-easy, no tools assembly can’t be beat.

3. Patriot Children’s Tricycle - Dirt King

Made in the USA? Check. Sturdy, tough and durable? Check. Blue, red and white stars and stripes in all their patriotic glory? Check.

4. Eco-Friendly Bugs Lunch Bag - Mimi the Sardine

These adorable, reusable lunch bags are the epitome of the American melting pot: the fabrics are designed in Sweden, produced in Estonia and then it all comes together right here in the United States.

5. Natural Wooden Rocket Teether - Little Alouette

This rocket is simply designed and hand crafted by husband and wife artisans from locally sourced American woods and finished with organic flaxseed oil.

Have a fun and safe 4th of July Weekend out there folks!

Share This

Eco-Friendly Sand Play Set from Green Toys rating:

Victoria from New Jersey writes: Not only is this sand & water set cute and durable, but it’s so lightweight making it great for travel. Ours has been serving us well for playing in the snow here in NJ and on in the sand on Caribbean beaches.

Tons of great reviews and adorable photos this month everyone! As always, as a thank you, for every review you post, we give you 10 loyalty points. If you post a photo with your review, we’ll give you 20 points. Keep those reviews coming!

Share This

Oompa is pleased to welcome to the website the modern, sleek, stylish and appropriately practical—Netto Collection!

Netto is the creation of David Netto, an award winning interior designer and architectural historian, and brought to us by Maclaren, a stroller and baby gear company that is very well known here on Oompa. Netto strives to bring the benefits of modern design and luxury into the nursery, with an added emphasis on uncompromising quality and safety.

If you’re familiar with the Netto Collection, you may notice some changes. When Netto partnered with Maclaren last year, they chose to streamline their collections, reducing most of their collections to the three most desired nursery pieces: the crib, the changer, and the conversion kit.  This simplification cleans up the line very nicely we believe, and also allows us to offer you ENTIRE collections at a much more affordable price!

Three collections are currently available from Netto–the Moderne Collection (urban & stylish), the Louis Collection (classic & elegant) and the Cub Collection (simple & affordable). Another collection, Cabine, will be available most likely in July. Pieces are available individually and as full collections. Most full collections (crib + changer OR crib + changer + conversion kit) are offered at a reduced price, which allows you to furnish your entire nursery with coordinating pieces in one affordable package deal. Possible savings up to $600!

If you have any questions about the Netto Collection or any other items on our site, feel free to email us at support@oompa.com, or give us a call at 888.825.4109.

Share This

It’s giveaway time! Every month, we try to deliver a few quick shout outs to all the awesome bloggers out there, reviewing our toys and running giveaways. Here’s a few great ones, which you even still have time to enter!

Coolcanucks Blog -We’re only too happy to give the blog from over the northern border some love; especially since we can now ship to Canada! Enter this contest to win a set of Two Goblins Wardrobe Pegs from Bajo. The contest is open to both the US and Canada and ends June 25th 2010

Familylicious Reviews and Giveaways - Created by Debra, an active blogger and Mommy Organizer. Nicely organized tags makes it easy to find the reviews and giveaways you’re looking for (which we love!). Check out Debra’s reviews and win the Bajo Red Wooden Tractor with Open Cart this month. Contest ends June 27th 2010 at 11:59pm PST.  

Fun and Funky Mommy Blog - Written by a former children’s store owner and Mommy blogger, this site is a great resource for knowledgeable and informative children’s product reviews—AND of course, giveaways! Check our her review of our Clementine Art Natural Paints, and wins some of your own! Contest ends July 4th 2010 at 8pm

Share This

Here at Oompa, we’re always trying to find ways to make the site better and more interactive for you. Recently, we started working on making videos for some of our favorite and most popular Haba toys. You’ll find these videos within each product, under the video tab. New videos include:

Haba Squeak Squeak (HA1039)

Haba Discovery Blocks (HA1192)

  Haba Sakrada (HA3562)

  Haba Fantasy Blocks (HA2297)

  Haba Kringelring (HA1121)

  Haba Discovery Balls (HA3571)

We’ll be adding more videos in the weeks to come. Look for them on the product pages!

Share This

We’ve finally finished wrapping up the loose ends of our Beautiful Baby Photo Fundraiser two weeks ago—it was a crazy four days, but well worth it. Our five stellar photographers were taking photos of cute babies and kids almost constantly, and we managed to even blow right past our original fundraiser goal. We raised $1,300 for Operation Smile, enough to pay for five surgeries!

Many thanks to our amazing photographers, who gave their time and efforts to this wonderful cause. You can check out their websites, along with a few photo previews, below:

Tara Kuhlow, Tara Kuhlow Photography

Carrie Anciaux, Carrie Anciaux Photography

Justyna Nielsen, Funky Monkey Photography

Samantha Dutcher, Dutcher Photography

April & Derrick Look, Creative Look Studios

We hope everyone had a great time and can’t wait to do it again next year!

Share This

We have been adding a lot of new products to the site, especially from a company called Crocodile Creek. They’re based here in the United States and make a lot of great products. They are family owned by Steve and Mel Brown and they have been around for 25 years.

Some New Product Highlights

Stainless Steel Water Bottles

They are sized for, I would say, an elementary school aged child, or an older child or adult that doesn’t need to carry around that much water.  The bottles have twist tops and they are stainless steel (18.8), so they are very sturdy and environmentally friendly. My only, dare I say gripe is that you need a bottle cleaner to clean them, and I’m not a big fan of that, but that’s just me. Because they’re environmentally friendly, I would still highly recommend them. And again, there are a lot of great designs, so check those out.

Pouch Puzzles

 These are basically puzzles that come In a decorated ziplock bag. These are really useful if you need something quick to put in your purse, it is much easier to put a squishable bag in your purse than it is a cardboard box.
Lunch Boxes and Backpacks

So many great new designs! My favorite is their new tie dye backpack. Primarily because my daughter Fiona loves tie dye (she would decorate our entire house in tie dye if we let her). It’s kind of rubbed off on me and you don’t see that many tie dye backpacks for kids out there, so I am a big fan.

Blogger Shout Outs!

A few shout outs to bloggers that did giveaways with Oompa products. The first is to the blogger at Dear Crissy, she is a stay-at-home mom who also has a degree in English and is also a professional photographer. She did a giveaway with a Haba Kringelring, congratulations to the winner of her giveaway!
Next, a shout out to the blogger at www.everbrooke.com, she is a stay at home mom in Texas. She did a giveaway with a Haba Shark Bathbook, so another congratulations to the winner of her giveaway.

As always if you have an questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact us at support@oompa.com!

Share This

In this video blog, we’re going to run through how to use the wishlist feature for those of you who are new to it, or just looking for a quick refresher of all the nifty features. Click on the transcript below to follow along!

  Click Here to Read Transcript

Share This