Ostheimer Toys

Ostheimer Wooden Toys – Imaginative Worlds of Play, Caringly Crafted by Hand

For many decades, Ostheimer Wooden Toys have brought an adorable and lovely image of the world into many children´s rooms. The mind of children senses the world around them as being good. They want to be amazed and to admire and they desire to re-enact all perceived experiences. Fanciful playing themes come to life>
 

If you look at the firm vehicles of the Konrad-Keller-Line, at the mobiles and the wardrobes, or at the world-famous Ostheimer wooden figures:all of them feature a consciously unpretentious design. With their elementary shaped forms and colours, all figures create scope for imaginative playing. Thus, each figure correlates with a childlike view of the world.

Children need a good und lovely image of the world surrounding them. They are looking for security and sense in life. Finding these emotions in playing, children gain courage and strength to face the reality.

Our Values

We are convinced that good, high value products for children can only emerge from a profoundly responsible attitude. At Ostheimer's we take our responsibility very seriously.

Producing high quality toys is our main concern but we feel that real quality asks for awareness and care in all aspects involved in this enterprise. That is why we feel that our commitment has to enclose the all of the following tasks:

stheimer Impulse & Tradition

For more than 70 years we have been carefully manufacturing wooden figures by hand. It is our desire to provide children with a beautiful and pleasant image of our world with all its human beings and animals. 
Children do need such pictures to grow up healthy in our world.

As manufacturer of high quality toys our work is always focused on the children who will play with our products. We are convinced that while they engage in free imaginative playing they are able to take important steps in their development, they experience the beauty of childhood and gain talents that will strengthen them and help them to meet life with all its challenging aspects. That is what our toys are intended for.

You are welcome to learn more about Our Company Today or about Our Tradition & Impulse

Safe Toys for Children

The child, as a developing being, is at the centre of our awareness. This not only involves the production of safe toys made with verified materials.

We went one step further and trained one of our colleagues to keep abreast of all current toy-safety standards and regulations. She monitors every step of the manufacturing process.

Beyond this, it has always been an important part of our aims and objectives to use high-quality, environmentally-friendly materials. All our resources are chosen consciously. Our lumber comes from sustainable and local forestry. It is painted with carefully chosen colours and organic oil, to preserve the natural qualities of the wood. By doing so, we make it possible for the child to experience all these qualities in a unique way.

All toys you purchase are labeled with the necessary warnings. Warnings are helpful because they support parents in their vigilance. Despite all necessary care, it remains important that children can enjoy relaxed play and feel the confidence and certainty of their parents.

 

Crafting by Hand

Made for children's hands. Each toy is individually crafted. A unique original.

We strongly believe, that the hiqh quality can be perceived in a toy that has been made by hand, by many caring hands, from the design all the way to the finished individual product.

This is one of the basic impulses of our company and it is a guideline in our daily work as manufacturers of good toys.

Sustainable Production

It has always been an important part of our aims and objectives to use high-quality, environmentally-friendly materials. All our resources are chosen consciously. Our lumber comes from sustainable and local forestry. It is painted with carefully chosen colours and organic oil, to preserve the natural qualities of the wood. By doing so, we make it possible for the child to experience all these qualities in a unique way.

In human surroundings, trees appear as an allegory of life. They endow us in many respects. The sight of them delights us; they give us shade, fresh air worth breathing and an abundance of fruits. Wood characterizes our everyday life as a vital material for building houses and furniture. In winter, it supplies us with warmth and light.

Another wonderful gift that trees present to us is the possibility to make wooden toys. Treated gently, wood retains its naturalness and energy which will benefit children. They can experience the purity of nature with all their senses.

Wood - Our Natural, Lively Material

At Ostheimer, we appreciate wood and this is expressed in the way we treat this lively material throughout production stage. Starting with the conscious purchase of wood from sustainable forestry, continuing with efficient utilization and ending with the use of residual wood for the heating our buildings. Each step is dedicated to the protection of our environment.

Every piece of wood tells its own story. You can experience these stories through our toys. The surfaces are not sealed by paints or varnishes. The careful treatment with paints and organic oils gives children the possibility to experience the vitality of the wood with all their senses.

Work As Social Life

Made by People for People - Thus, Toys Are Created in Highest Quality

It has always been a founding idea of our toy company that the cooperative work between people with and without disabilities is an important part of a healthy work process.

The interaction of both creates an important basis for everything we do. This is what gives our toys a special human presence. The frame of mind of the people involved in the process will always show in the products they make.

 

Making New Things Possible

When Margarete Ostheimer converted the company from private ownership into a foundation in the year 2001, it was her desire to support forward-looking initiatives and projects. It has always been her conviction, not to accumulate profits, but to return them back into community. This is still a notably important part of the Ostheimer’s corporate philosophy. The same is true for Ostheimer’s belief that through our toys children are granted that which is essential for their healthy development.

Margarete Ostheimer with her brother Klaus Ostheimer celebrating her 80th birthday in 2010


 

Awareness of Real Quality

If we use the term „quality“ for something, we usually speak of aspects like its nature, material, high class workmanship, safety, healthiness or stability. These values, these kinds of „qualities“ are usually seen and evaluated in products. They can be tested, measured and examined. They are „obvious“, perceivable with our senses. All these aspects are taken into consideration, if we speak of the high quality of Ostheimer products.

We are convinced, however, that for real quality in a product you need to look even beyond these physical aspects. All things surrounding us, make an impact on us, not only in respect to what we can see or detect physically. This is all the more true for children who are still developing. Everything that a child encounters has an influence on its development. As toy manufacturers we therefore bear a special responsibility. We feel, it is an important aspect of our work to gain extensive insight in and awareness of all qualities that are effective in products and thus make an impact on children.

It is important to us to further deepen our awareness of quality in this way.

 

Inside Our Workshops

Made by People for People

The process from the first draft to the finished toy describes the development of a unique, child-oriented individual item.

Each of our toys is shaped by many hands and the thought of the children´s eyes,evevtually catching sight of it, accompanies our employees throughout the process of creating it...

...while sawing, sanding, painting, oiling it, and also while carefully packing it for shipping.

How Ostheimer Figures Are Made

Our world-famous, original Ostheimer Figures are created with a lot of devotion, care and artistry. We would like to give you some insight into our workshops, to let you participate in the process of hand-production from the draft all the way to the beautifully shaped Ostheimer toy horse...

Designing		Sawing		Sanding

Designing

To bring the artistic layout into shape, the accurately drawn silhouettes of our figures are stamped onto the finely planed planks.

Even at this point it is necessary to work with care, taking into account the shade and grain of the wood to suit the proportions of the figure.

 

Sawing

Carried out with flair and accuracy the sawing creates the basis for the correct profile of the figures.
 

Sanding

The pre-sanding removes sawdust and smooths the surface of the wood. Next, the lively form of the figures is created by an artist. Thus we create the characteristic form, which is distinctive for our toys.

A soft final touch of the contours finishes the process of shaping our figures and prepares the surface for the following paint-work.

Rubbing off, the soft final touch

Painting

Now our figures are gently painted with a steady hand using a fine paintbrush. Thus, they get their tender, child-oriented appearance. Transparent colours allow the beautiful wood texture to show advantageing and amplifying its warm charisma.

Oiling

An immersion bath in high-quality organic oil imparts our wooden figures with colour retention and protects the surface.

Not before our figures have passed a final quality-check and been given the Ostheimer-seal of quality, are they carefully packed and delivered to children all over the world.