My name is Carrin, and I live in Michigan with my husband and our young son (also our Director of Product Testing). Being at home with your growing child is a fleeting opportunity that you only get once. I’ve been fortunate to stay at home full-time, and we have been looking for a way to keep that going.
Conscientious living is the guiding principle of our household. It comes to us pretty naturally. Todd’s parents remember the Great Depression, and they raised their children with the habits that they developed during that time. When Todd was growing up, they didn’t “recycle” cans and bottles per se (though they do now). What they did do was to use things sparingly, save items for re-use, and fix broken things rather than throwing them out and buying new ones. Growing up in that atmosphere of effortless conservation, Todd finds himself outside of the mass-consumption, throwaway mentality that many of us find ourselves in. I have learned a lot from him.
For my part, a college major in Ecology and opportunities to live in our beautiful Upper Peninsula, South Dakota, and the Colorado Rockies have saturated me with respect for the delicate and complex balance of the natural world.
We know what the stakes are, and we know the world that we want to live in….and what we want for our son.
A return to simpler living is the nostalgic dream of so many adults. To us, it is an imperative. Only by appreciating the sensory satisfaction of a walk in the woods….having the pleasure of playing a board game with friends and family….tasting the sweetness of a perfectly ripe piece of fruit…. Only by doing these things we will realize how unnecessary are walking through the mall, watching cable TV all evening, and eating processed, packaged sweets. These things begin to seem garish in contrast to simpler alternatives.
So finding a way to instill enjoyment of simple pleasures in our kids is, we feel, a way to foster the future that we dream of.
Bringing this all together, Down To Earth Toys is the perfect step for our family to take. It’s a way for us to make terrific toys and games, which run off of kid’s imaginations and are built with environmentally sustainable practices, available to many more families. We’re delighted to have you here, and proud to share the dream.
Peace and fun to you and yours!
Carrin
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