Papperlapapp: the Austrian brand making toys out of cardboard, on purpose
Most toys arrive finished. Papperlapapp hands the child a kit and a question: what do you want to build?
The brand comes from Graz, Austria, and from Elisabeth Flik - a product designer and mother of four who went looking for toys that weren't made of plastic or composite wood, found almost nothing, and decided to make her own.
Everything is made from 100% local corrugated cardboard. It's sturdier than it sounds, recyclable up to twenty-five times, and stores more CO2 during production than it releases. A dollhouse, a play kitchen, a puppet theatre, a stick horse with a swappable horn and blade - all of it assembled, decorated and customised by the child.
Which means the play starts before the playing does. The building is half the fun.
