Our Story
Hugs for Kids was born in 2012 in the beautiful Dandenong ranges, by Bek and Adam.
Inspired by their children, or rather the desire for beautiful things for their children (as opposed to the lacklustre, commercial options offered), and fed up with having to source these beautiful things. Simply, they wanted more… more for themselves and more for their children. A store in Belgrave, another one in Beaconsfield and then a move to online.
The children grew up, house moves, new businesses formed, farm animals adopted… priorities changed, and they decided to sell…
…and we decided to buy.
We are Karli and Gavin. Like Bek and Adam, our children are our muses, and our hope is for them to experience all the joy and magic that childhood has to offer. Whether this is beach-combing, building a huge block tower or exploring colour theory with bath paints!
Karli is from an arts/design background and is a Steiner trained preservice early childhood and primary teacher and Gavin is a Design Engineer. Between us we have a wealth of knowledge and experience. We enjoy spending time in nature, living simply, gardening, making and creating.
From our beliefs and ideals, we see the value in simple, natural and quality-made toys that promote open-ended play, based on a Steiner/Waldorf philosophy, and this is where we envisage the future direction of Hugs for Kids.
We also bring to Hugs our strong sense of ethical responsibility, and a desire for a world where sustainable, ethically made, socially responsible toys and products are standard.
We are also striving to work with local makers, and are particularly keen to promote Australian made.