Do We Actually Play with Dollhouses?

Yes. We really do.

And perhaps that's one of the things we didn't expect when we started Little Forest Animals.

Somewhere along the way, between growing up, going to work, making plans and trying to keep up with everything life asks of us, we seem to have forgotten about the little children we used to be.

The ones who loved surprises.

Who could spend an entire afternoon making something out of almost nothing.

Who didn't need a reason to play.

We Thought We Were Making Dollhouses for Children.

When we first started Little Forest Animals, we thought we were creating something for children.

And we were, of course.

But as we began designing each dollhouse, choosing the colours, imagining the rooms and deciding where every little piece of furniture should go, something unexpected happened.

We started having fun.

Really having fun.

And then we became curious. How much could we surprise ourselves? How far could we go?

And who were we trying to surprise?

Well, the little children inside us, of course.

And you know what's funny? Even now, whenever we see a grown-up discover one of our dollhouses for the first time, their reaction makes us feel like the happiest children in the world.

First, a loud “Woooow!”

Then, a smile. The sudden urge to open every door and peek inside every room.

And just like that, they're back in their own childhood.

That moment, right there, explains everything.

Because we know that feeling so well.

Sometimes a new idea comes to us in the middle of the night, and we can't wait until morning to try it.

One idea becomes another. One little detail changes everything. And suddenly, we've spent hours in a world we created ourselves.

Isn't that exactly how children play?

We were so busy making dollhouses for children that we hadn't noticed we were playing, too.

Perhaps We Never Really Stopped Playing.

Looking back, we think rediscovering that feeling happened slowly.

A little like watching a child learn to walk.

One small step, then another.

Somewhere between our sketches, our ideas and the houses we were creating, we began remembering a part of ourselves we hadn't visited in years.

And we realised that perhaps we hadn't lost our imagination at all.

We had just started calling it something else.

Designing. Creating. Building. Working.

All those grown-up words for something that once came so naturally.

And the funny thing is, we still get just as excited when a new house arrives.

We still want to open every door.

We still want to see what happens when the lights come on.

And yes, we still move the furniture around.

And you know what? We have a feeling you do exactly the same.

We know you say you're buying all these lovely little things for your children. But between us, we think you're buying a little something for yourself, too.

Even if you're a grandmother. :)

And why shouldn't you?

After all, there's no age limit on playing. And certainly no age limit on falling in love with a dollhouse.

Maybe that's what we've been discovering all along.

We don't really grow out of play. We just forget, every now and then, how much we love it.