FAQs

Can you make me a ....?

I'm sorry but from summer 2019 I stopped taking orders for custom handpainted figures. We can sometimes supply different quantities of shapes than those shown on the website but it is not possible to take orders for custom products, different shapes or size variations. 

If you can't see something you'd like please get in touch, it may be the product is just shown as out of stock.

 

Overseas orders

Orders can be sent to most European countries by Royal Mail Tracked and Signed parcel. There is a weight limit per parcels for international orders, but for bigger orders it often works out cheaper to send more than one Royal Mail parcel than to use a courier service. 

 

Packaging and recycling

Parcels are sent out using new and re-used cardboard boxes, with as much re-used clean packaging material as possible inside. Along with tissue paper you might find re-used paper packaging, bubbles, bubble wrap and card inside your parcel. We only save and reuse packaging where it is perfectly clean.

Please forgive us if you have a random looking box - we love a nice new shiny box as much as the next people but it's so wasteful not to re-use boxes where we can. We compost as much other cardboard as we can and offer some on freecycle too - great for local people making no-dig veg beds!

Your figures and shapes might be loose packed or contained in bags. Unfortunately as wood parts quickly burst through paper bags, we still need to use plastic bags but we're trying to move across to paper bags for many shapes.

 

Why are some parts not suitable for children 0-36 months?

Some products are not suitable for children from 0-36 months because they are small parts that could present a choking hazard or obstruct a young child's airway.  This includes any 'people' shapes under 6.4cm in height and other shapes that would fit inside something called a 'Small parts cylinder'.

Other parts have an advisory marking of 1+, meaning they are suitable for children who can sit unaided.

  

What does drum waxed mean?

Drum waxing is a finish applied to some shapes at the end of the manufacturing process. It tends to use carnauba wax, and acts as a very thin coat to seal porosity in the wood. It makes a good undercoat for painting with acrylic paints.

 

What does EN71 compliance mean?

EN71 certification is part of the journey to compliance for making and selling toys. You can be sure our parts that are EN71 compliant are suitable for making toys, but that doesn't mean they are a finished toy or can be UKCA or (for Europe) CE marked. 

EN71 compliance testing is expensive, so we are focusing on larger parts that will be suitable for making toys for all but the youngest children. If there's no test, it doesn't mean the part is not suitable for toy makers, it just means we haven't done the first stage of testing for you and that's generally because they are smaller parts that are not suitable for children under 36 months in age.

If you are buying EN71 certified shapes for toy making we'll be glad to email a copy of the certificate to you. If you are buying larger packs a download link is sent automatically when we ship your parcel.

 

Why aren't your unpainted shapes CE marked? 

Little Brown Dog Workshop sells unpainted wooden peg dolls and shapes, so these blanks are craft parts rather than toys and they are covered by the general product safety regulations instead. For the shapes to become toys they need to be decorated and finished, and it is this completed toy and its packaging that needs to demonstrate compliance and be UKCA marked.

What the parts are decorated / dressed / painted and sealed with is just as important as the shape itself and the maker of the finished toy needs to demonstrate that all these elements, and the product packaging, complies with toy safety legislation.

There's a detailed process of testing, reporting, demonstrating conformity and marking to be dealt with before any completed item can be called a toy.