This week the new Grapat collection of 2022 is hitting the stores worldwide. The collection is called WildWild, and I can assure you it is so much lovelier in real life. I’m lucky to be from the land of Grapat, and it reached my local toy shop early, and I was able to get our new toys yesterday. There are so many new toys so beautifully crafted, that it was tough deciding what to get. But, I’m a Grapat Mandala gal through and through and it made my decision easier. I got the three new mandala sets, plus the petal platforms.
I can’t wait to give you a closer look and share with you why we like these marvelous wooden parts so much.
In this post:
- Why do we like playing with the mandala parts?
- About Grapat
- New Grapat Mandala 2022
- How do we play with Grapat Mandala at home?
- Gorgeous petal platforms
- The rest of the Wild Wild collection
- Where to buy Grapat
- New Grapat Mandala – We are in love
Why do we like playing with the mandala parts?
There are many reasons to introduce these beautiful wooden loose parts to your play, but here I’ll list my favorites:
- Invitation to creativity
- Open-ended play
- Family time together
- Intergenerational activity
- Problem-solving
- It helps develop fine motor skills
- Pattern creation
- Focus, awareness, and peace
- Develops design & color sensibility
- Counting resource
- There is no right or wrong way to play
- …
And many more!
About Grapat
Joguines Grapat is a family project that came to be when the founders left the city to bring up their children in a more natural environment. They saw children’s play as a sacred moment that should not be interrupted and where adults should take a step back and let them play at their speed and create their own rules. (The only limitations to be set are: respect & not hurting oneself, others, the environment, the material, and the creations of others).
They believe that the game in children is like an earthquake that can not be stopped, however much we adults try with all our strength. Their wooden toys come without instructions and as an invitation to let free play, without the time and slowly. You can learn more about them on their website.
Grapat is also from my homeland, and I was so surprised to discover them three years ago when living in the U.K., not having heard of them when I was back home (2 years before). They are doing a fantastic job and also being completely plastic-free. These beautiful creations are conquering hearts worldwide, and we are not surprised. They are magical!
New Grapat Mandala 2022
Grapat has launched three new additions to their mandala range:
- Tulips
- Rainbow Mushrooms
- Natural Wood
They are all so beautiful. You can see there has been a lot of thought, love, and care put behind every one of the pieces. Now let’s dive and have a closer look at each of them.
Grapat Mandala Tulips
The tulips are the novelty this year. It is an entirely new shape, and it comes with new shades of yellow. Very summery and bright. There are 36 of them and 12 of each shade. They are a gorgeous sight.
And yes, they are stackable. As soon as I got the pieces out of the box, I had to do a quick test. I’ve only managed two so far, but I’m sure we’ll manage more (or someone might) in time. Stay tuned for #grapatstackingchallange on Instagram because it will be tagged for sure if somebody accomplishes it.
Grapat Mandala Rainbow Mushrooms
The Mandala Rainbow Mushrooms replicates the rainbow eggs and all the Lola colors. They are all a perfect match. They come in 12 shades of the rainbow, and you have three mushrooms of each. There is a total of 36 mushrooms, and it is a beautiful view.
Grapat Natural Wood Mandala
The Natural Wood Mandala set is beautiful if you enjoy playing with natural wooden toys. They are just so lovely. It’s a collection of 120 pieces in 10 different shapes. Drops, snowflakes, cones, flowers, mushrooms, honeycombs, eggs, pebbles, trees, and pineapples. So you have 12 of each to start creating.
It comes in a textile bag to store them, which is a great idea and very practical.
This set is fantastic in terms of price-quality. It cost us 35€. Usually, Grapat’s mandala sets range between 14-17€ for 36 pieces. So approximately for the price of two color sets (72 pieces), you get almost double mandala parts. I think it is a fantastic deal.
How do we play at home with the Grapat mandala?
We enjoy playing and interacting with Grapat mandala pieces at home. They were a discovery for us the summer of last year, and they are now an essential part of our playroom. “Why?” may you ask? Well, they are a wonderful open-ended toy, beautiful to touch and see, and you can do so much with them. Because I was not raised with wooden or open-ended toys, this is quite a new concept in our house, and I honestly wish I had discovered it earlier.
The less a toy does, the more the child can interact with it. So these unstructured materials are invitations for them to use their imagination and creativity. And I believe they are fantastic to have around and to play with. (Even I enjoy playing with them – they are great fun).
So, what do we do with these mandala pieces at home? Many things. Here is our list with some examples for each which I hope will spark some inspiration. I did another blog post with more in-depth examples that you might like to check later. I’ll pop the link also at the end just in case 😉
These are our favourite things to do with Grapat mandalas:
1- Mandalas – obviously.
2- Flatlay creations
3- Animal designs
4- Small world play
5- Stacking
6- Pretend play
7- Counting games
8- Color sorting games
9- Spin them
10- Pattern sequencing and placing activities
Gorgeous Petal Platforms
Additionally, there has been a new material in this year’s collection: the petal platforms. Grapat had launched a circular platform in the past, but they have released a set of 24 platforms shaped like petals this year. They are sturdy and thick and an excellent addition to the playroom. When my son got home from school and saw what I had bought, he went directly to them.
Grapat describes them as “Perfect unstructured material that lends itself to different open-ended play activities. They can be used as platforms for free construction play and Mandala arrangements.”
So far, we’ve stacked them, arranged them in flat designs, used them with the mandalas, and pretended they were pizza slices. They were delicious 😉
Other new toys in 2022
The new Wild Wild collection includes all these new beauties:
- Wild – Wild is the centerpiece of this year’s launch. It is a collection of 12 creatures from the fauna realm. They come in a wooden sorting tray and each little creature has a story writen for them in a card as an invitation to play.
- Wonders – This is a collection of 12 elements from nature to spark conversations about the changes in seasons and to recognize mother earth’s gifts every month of each season. They can be combined with the perpetual calendar or can be used in open-ended play as whatever your children can dream up.
- Yay! & Hooray! & Wow! & Ooh-lala! – These are four different sets with three humanoid figures in each set inspired by abstract artistic movement. They all have a distinctive chromatic combination: Yay! is pinkish, Hooray! is green and yellow, Wow! is blue, brown and yellow, and Ooh-lala! is purple, green and yellow.
- Dark Baby Nins – Nested in a coconut shell come 6 dark headed baby nins in a clearer range of than the basic grapat colors.
- Storage box – A lovely square wooden storage box.
Where to buy Grapat Mandala
If you want to buy Grapat Mandala loose parts, you will most likely find them in toy shops with open-ended toys or Waldorf and Montessori-style toy stores. Probably in the biggest city near you, you might have some that you can go in and explore. I go to Aúpali in Barcelona – I love to wander around.
If that were not the case for you, luckily, there are online stores where you’ll be able to find them. Unfortunately, Grapat toys are not listed on Amazon. So, I am sharing other web pages I have bought from while living in the U.K. and Spain (some are local, but others have international deliveries). Additionally, although I haven’t been there, from their I.G. and I.G. accounts of people living there, I will also recommend other places worldwide (based on their comments and opinions).
Store with International deliveries
- Babipur.co.uk – You’ll even find a whole Grapat section on their site, and they deliver worldwide.
- Oskar’s Wooden Ark – They are based in Australia, and they also provide international shipping to selected countries (New Zealand; United States; Canada, Singapore & South Korea) using Australia Post.
Store with delivery in the UK
- Babipur – of course, you have Babipur. They are from the U.K., and you’ll find all the Grapat Mandala pieces here.
Stores with delivery in Spain and Portugal
- Jugar i Jugar – Their toy portfolio is beautiful. It’s been my favorite online option lately if you are in Spain. Their customer service is excellent. If you purchase before 2 pm, you get your delivery the next day.
- Rupali – It is a store in Barcelona, located in the neighborhood of Sarrià, filled with surprising toys that you’ll love. If you are ever in town, I suggest you make a stop. They also have an online store that delivers to the whole Peninsula and the Islands.
Store with delivery in the USA
- Bella Luna Toys – They have a wide selection of Grapat toys and most Mandalas. I’ve never ordered with them (I haven’t been in the U.S. since I’ve had children), but they seem very nice, have a lovely online store, and have excellent customer reviews.
Store with delivery in Australia & New Zealand.
- Oskar’s Wooden Ark – Here is another passionate Grapat bunch. Based in Australia, they also provide international shipping to selected countries (New Zealand; United States; Canada, Singapore & South Korea) using Australia Post.
- Little Toy Tribe – Is a small family-owned business from Brisbane. They are currently shipping orders within Australia through their website. If you are from New Zealand, contact them through email with the list of what you’d like, and they’ll send a shipping quote.
Store with delivery in Malaysia
- Bueno Blocks – Bueno Blocks has an impressive range of Grapat toys. They are a very kind family-owned business that wishes to bring these toys to families in Malaysia.
New Grapat Mandala – We are in love
I must confess I am thrilled with our new acquisitions. Yes, I am in love with them. We’re excited to create and play with the tulips, the mushrooms, and the natural wood mandalas. I’ve tried to show you the new pieces in as much detail as possible and shared what I believe is just a bit of their potential. Hopefully, it will spark some inspiration and invite you to play with what you have (or maybe you go and buy some of these new ones). They are amazing little treasures that bring so out so much of ourselves. I believe they are wonderful.
Our collection is now complete, and we can’t wait to share what we create and come up with. You can follow us on Instagram @thefairyglitchmother. I hope you will like it!
Happy creative playing! 🌟
P.S. If you liked this post, you might also like some other ideas with other open-ended toys in some of these posts 😉:
