A Christmas Gift Proposal

Well, as is my wont, I'm already planning for Christmas (I hate shopping for gifts in December!). And right now I'm talking with my brother-in-law about the very neat playstands he made for his daughters a few Christmases ago.

If you're not familiar with a Waldorf playstand, a playstand is a simple movable wooden shelf that children can use to create houses, have a little store, do a puppet show, or any other kind of imaginative play. Because most children use them to make houses or shelters of some kind, it's become popular to make simple canopy frame that fit over the tops so that older children can play in them as well. Two playstands plus a sheet makes a playhouse: and unlike the traditional playhouse, this one can morph easily into a castle, store, or cave with the addition of a little child imagination!

Now that we have a playroom, I'm hoping to have a set of playstands made for our family for Christmas. My brother-in-law Mike Schmiedicke (his little on-the-side company is Strong Oaks Company) makes them out of antique southern yellow pine reclaimed from an 1800's carriage house/horse barn. I think they're so much more interesting than the pale birch ones you usually find for sale. He made a deal with me: if I can help him sell five playstand sets this Christmas, he'll make me one for free.

Magic Cabin sells their playstand set for $279 + 29.99 shipping. and Nova Natural sells a pair of theirs for $318, plus oversize shipping. Mike will make a set of playstands for just $250 plus shipping (and if you live local to us, you can pick up and save yourself shipping!).

If you have toddlers and don't need or want the canopy frame, you can get just the playstands for $180 ($90 apiece).

Mike's playstands have two shelves and a thick top bar for extra sturdiness. They are finished with an all natural non-toxic honey beeswax and citrus oil finish. Mike says he's open to using a lacquer finish for an additional $40. If you would like to have the stands unfinished, he would take $20 off the price.

So if you're interested, please email me at regina@reginadoman.com for further details! Thanks!

And wish me luck in my quest for Christmas presents!

UPDATE: Mike has a store at Etsy where you can see and order the playstands! Also the approximate dimensions of the playstands are: 42"Wx40"Hx11"D.