I discovered Red Fish Toys while I was on Twitter. Yes, sometimes I actually think about work when I’m on social media.
I knew right away it would be the perfect subject for our December Q&A.
Red Fish Toys is located in Bayville, New York.
You can visit their website at https://www.redfishtoys.com/.
It is the creation of Seyda Dener. Seyda is a working mom. She saw a need for her son and turned it into a business that makes educational puzzles for toddlers and young children, but let Seyda tell you about it in her own words.
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I’ve been in the fashion business for over 20 years, traveling extensively to Europe and Asia. I started Red Fish Toys when my son, who’s now 13, was a toddler and needed occupational therapy. After I purchased all the wooden puzzles of the one brand at that time, I started looking for something different during my travels. At that time, I used to travel to Sri Lanka where I eventually found a partner to produce my designs.
2. Do you have a background in early childhood education?
Even though my major is English literature, I have many credits in child psychology and a teaching license.
3. What kinds of toys did you play with as a child?
My favorite toys were wooden sets, brain teasers and books.
4. What inspired you to create Red Fish Toys? How did you choose the name? How many employees do you have?
I started Red Fish Toys to offer natural, fun, educational, quality puzzles that toddlers, parents and grandparents love. The puzzles are loved by all three generations which is not very common with toys these days. We either buy useless toys that children like or educational toys which won’t even put a smile on them. Our puzzles get the same positive reaction from all three generations.
I ran a poll on social media to choose the brand’s name among three options. My favorite was picked. I think the name is easy to remember, visually cute and appealing.
Red Fish Toys is a family business that I handle with the help of my husband and son.
5. When did you make your first puzzle? Who was it for?
I do not personally make my puzzles, I design them. The puzzles are hand-crafted in Sri Lanka by mostly women who lost their husbands to the civil war.
6. Why puzzles?
Puzzles are purposeful toys. I’ve had a tough time finding useful birthday gifts for my son’s friends.
7. Do you personally design each puzzle? How do you choose the animals for each puzzle?
Yes, I design each puzzle. Some of my designs are inspirations from local artisans and some are from scratch.
I choose the animals based on a few criteria:
Animals that make you smile in any condition, like an elephant, a turtle or a dog
Animals that toddlers are mostly into, like a dinosaur, a butterfly or a horse
I also take into consideration consumer feedback for new designs
8. How do you determine safe sizes for your puzzle pieces and age appropriate ranges?
We make sure that ALL of the pieces of all of our puzzles pass the small parts test and are safe for even the children younger than 3 years old. We determine the ages based on the ability of an average child.
Our puzzles vary in difficulty. For example, our easiest numbers puzzles are the snail, which goes in a swirl and the turtle, because it has a big base as a starting piece. The easiest alphabet puzzles are the bookworm and the alligator; they have upper case letters and go in sequence. So, even among the numbers, upper-case and lower-case puzzles, there are differences in complexity.
9. What age ranges do you make puzzles for? What made you decide to create toys for these age ranges? Have you considered designing puzzles for older kids?
We make puzzles for 1-6 year-olds, even though we do not want to put a restriction on age. Red Fish Toys is also popular with older special needs children and Alzheimer’s patients.
I am considering a decorative line of standing puzzles without numbers or letters. Unfortunately, iPads and computers are inevitable and children lose interest in these types of toys. Even the most conscientious parents can only keep them away from electronics for so long. Therefore, I do not believe older kids would be as interested in and excited about the wooden puzzles.
10. What are your puzzles made from?
The puzzles are made of sustainable rubber wood and non-toxic paints (tested by internationally accredited labs). There are two ways that the rubber wood is sustainable:
For every tree cut, another one is planted.
The rubber tree exudes a latex sap, the world’s primary source of natural rubber. The trees are harvested for their latex each year. However, by the time a tree is around 30 years old, latex yields decrease and the tree is cut (to be replaced by another one). Our puzzles are made of these repurposed trees.
11. What are some of the educational benefits of your puzzles?
As well as the educational benefits such as letter and number recognition, learning the alphabet, counting and the colors; our puzzles also have developmental and emotional benefits.
Developmentally, they help enhance fine-motor skills and coordination skills.
Emotion-wise, wood has a warm touch which is proven to provide children with the opportunity to connect and understand nature through play.
Playing with quieter, more inviting wooden toys is calming and makes for happier kids.
12. People can order directly from your website. What is the latest date they can order to receive their purchase before Christmas? Where else can they find your puzzles?
The puzzles can be ordered on our website, www.redfishtoys.com as well as Amazon.com. We offer same day shipping from both websites. It would be best to place an order latest by December 19th to be on the safe side.
13. Your puzzles are gender neutral. Is that intentional?
Yes, our puzzles are intentionally gender-neutral. I had sadly realized after becoming a mother and starting to browse toy stores, that the boys’ section had all the puzzles and brain teasers, whereas, the girls’ section had the Barbie dolls, jewelry and beads that add nothing to the child’s brain.
I am personally opposed to limiting the color and toy choices of children and creating gender prototypes.
14. How can parents reinforce what their toddlers are learning at play with your puzzles?
The puzzles are interactive toys that connect the children to the parents/caregivers through play. It’s best if parents share the process with the toddler, at least until she/he is able to manipulate the pieces and not get frustrated. It’s also important to turn puzzle assembly into a creative process, such as asking for words that start with each letter of the alphabet, starting a conversation on colors or naming the animal like they do for stuffed toys.
15. What else do you want people to know Red Fish Toys?
Even though Red Fish Toys isn’t the smartest ‘business’ decision (I still have a full-time job in fashion), its purpose is my drive and I am hoping to touch the lives of many toddlers (before they dive into YouTube and Instagram) and give them heirloom quality toys that they can play with their own kids and grandkids.
Red Fish Puzzles are a great choice as fun, unique and natural…
Baby shower gifts as room décor until the baby is ready to play with them,
Birthday or holiday gifts for toddlers (guaranteed to put a smile on their face).
