We loved the idea of wooden toys: warm, tactile, calm. But when you actually start shopping, you notice the trade-off.

If it’s colourful, it’s often painted or plastic. If it’s “natural”, it’s often… beige.

We wanted a third option: calm wooden toys with real contrast and real colour — without coating everything in pigment.

So we began experimenting. First with the usual timbers, then with accent pieces, then with full palettes: woods that already carry colour in their fibres. That’s what took us into the world of exotic hardwoods — the same sort of species used for inlay work, instruments, fine furniture and specialist joinery, in England for centuries.

Not because it’s trendy. Because it solves the problem.