Makedo, a kit developed to help children turn old cardboard boxes into toys has finally arrived in the US.
Initially launched in Australia by creator Paul Justin, the kit offers children a number of safe, easy to use plastic clips and connectors , and encourages them to transform used cardboard and other packaging into whatever they can imagine.
For Justin, Makedo's purpose is to help children build the creative tools they'll use for the rest of their lives.
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"Kids' learning happens through play," he told Fast Company. "It's those formative years that are so critical, that teach them ways to think."
Justin didn't have the idea for Makedo until he had several kids of his own. After the birth of his third child he started thinking about his favorite toys from his own childhood. Eventually, he came to the idea of mixing lego-style creative building with sustainable design.
Makedo comes with three main components: the re-clip, lock-hinge and safe-saw. These three tools open the door to a seemingly endless number of creations. Just check out the MyMakedo website to see cardboard creations from around the world.
According to Justin, Makedo makes perfect sense to children, but sometimes bothers parents used to purchasing shiny new toys.
"Sometimes we joke that the kids always get Makedo, but it's the parents who are buying the product that don't," he told Fast Company.
Makedo has taken off, and is available in over 40 countries, and was even inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2005. Now it's coming to America. Justin sees the US as the perfect fit for his creation, considering that one of America's biggest exports is used cardboard packaging.
"In America, we're really excited by the potential, because I think there are certainly those building blocks available," he told Fast Company. "But also, there's a huge revolution in the Maker movement that seems to be stemming from America. It's a wave we're definitely riding. And people are just sort of getting back to making stuff, doing their own thing, and sort of customizing their own toys."
