awards round-up

Aroundsquare has won a few awards and honours lately that are worth pulling together for a little mention:

B Corp Best for Communities Honouree - Aroundsquare is very proud to have been named by B Labs as one of its B Corp Best for Community Honourees. All Certified B Corporations have to pass rigorous standards to become certified in the place, so to be recognized as a leading micro-enterprise among B Corporations is truly an honour. We take pride in being a founding Canadian B Corporation, and we take pride in our score of excellence in the areas of governance, community, and environment on B Labs's Impact Assessment. And we are extremely proud of the partnerships and policies we have developed which have contributed to our recognition as part of this Best for the World campaign. 

Academics' Choice Mind Spring Award - Winning this award with the Goodwood Deconstruction Blocks series was a real honour. Because Aroundsquare advocates play for play's sake, rather than trying to focus on overtly educational elements, we've often stayed away from programs that try to promote baby genius thinking. But Academics' Choice gets it right. They look for toys which have genuine developmental benefit as well as real play value. This is a nice complement to the other awards which the Goodwood series has already won, including Dr. Toy's Best Green Product, Best Vacation Product, and 100 Best Children's Products.

Slow Toy Award - Aroundsquare's first commercially available toy design, Twig, which is licensed to Fat Brain Toys, won this terrific award which I had never even heard about before. It's strange, because a year or two ago, reflecting on the slow food movement and my design philosophy, I started playing with the idea of slow play. I remember searching online for it and not finding anything relevant. Fast forward and suddenly there is this terrific award program, with support from Harrod's over in the UK, and the whole bit. I had hope back in the day that Twig would become something of a timeless toy, and it seems like it's on its way there. Other awards Twig has earned over the years include: Parents’ Choice Gold Award 2009; Creative Child Toy of the Year Award 2009; Dr. Toy Best Green Product 2009; NAPPA -National Parenting Publications Honors Award 2009; Exceptional Parent Magazine's Top Toy Picks for 2009; and 2009 Grandkids Superproduct Award. Additional links to articles on the Slow Toy award here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Twig can be purchased at www.fatbraintoys.com or here.