Usuals chopped and shaved a variety of branch sizes to the right length then slotted them together to create recognisable shapes for children. "We can make these toys 'till we have no more prunings," they told us.

The collection includes a tractor, boat, dog, car and two different horses, most of which can be rolled around on wheels created by circular sections of wood.

The car, boat and tractor toys have each been whittled into shape from a main log with thinner sticks added to create details.

Unravelled rope provides ears for the dog (above), which can be pushed around by the long stick that protrudes out of its back to act as a lead.

The rope is also used for the tail and reigns of the hobby horse that has a simple carved head and a long thin branch for its body (above).

A second, smaller horse has been formed from five branches, four wheels and a thin rope tail (above).

Usuals was formed by design duo Van Eijk and Van der Lubbe, who make all the toys in their studio.

Other wooden toys we've featured include vehicles made from tools associated with household chores and an oil rig and tanker with red highlights.

See all our stories about toys »
See all our stories about wood »

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Inspired by the cotton-reel tanks they played with as children, All Lovely Stuff designers Ed Ward and Carl Clerkin adapted the mechanical toy to hold a felt tip pen.

To propel the machine, simply wind the cotton reel while holding the wax cylinder, then place it down and let go. The height and position of the pen can be adjusted to make bigger or smaller circles, or straight lines.

The machine comes in a self-assembly kit containing an oak cotton reel, a clothes peg, a felt tip pen, a rubber band, a dowel and a piece of wax, and is available online from All Lovely Stuff.

Earlier this year Dezeen filmed a movie with designer Carl Clerkin, who told us about his aim to create functional wooden products with "a little bit of charm about them".

Other machines we've featured on Dezeen include a rotational moulding machine that inserts spontaneity into serial production and a contraption that mimics birdsong – see all our stories about machines.

We've also featured lots of toys on Dezeen, including wooden toys that incorporate plugs and clothes pegs and a knitted tree filled with knitted creatures.

See all our stories about toys »
See all our stories about products »

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Congratulations to the winners! Christopher Wortley from the USA won a set of Stackable Snowmen and Yuho Sakai from the UK won some Happy Little Trees.

Seattle-based industrial and product design consultancy Fruitsuper Design has released both winter products just in time for the holidays.

One winner will receive a Stackable Snowmen set, which includes 12 solid hardwood stackable pieces that combine to create three different snowmen.

Mixing and matching the stackable pieces creates 81 possible snowmen, each approximately 15 centimetres tall.

Another winner will receive a Happy Little Trees set, which includes five powder-coated steel models of trees. Each tree is about 13-20 centimetres tall. Both of these wintery sets are available from www.fruitsuperdesign.com.

This competition is now closed. Winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeenmail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.

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and Happy Little Trees to be won appeared first on Dezeen.

Congratulations to the winners! Heather Walsh from the UK, Daniela Silva from Portugal, Mickie Bull from the UK, César Monroy Márquez from Mexico and Lee McLaughlin from the UK all won a set of Balancing Blocks.

The stone-shaped building blocks are coated in a water-based paint and are available in white or multi-coloured sets. As the blocks vary in size and shape, they can be stacked to create a large number of patterns and shapes.

Made of oak, each set of ten faceted blocks comes with a printed cotton drawstring pouch that will be signed by the designers especially for this competition.

This competition is now closed.

Five winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeenmail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.

Other wooden toys on Dezeen recently include models of satellites orbiting the Earth and vehicles incorporating items associated with household chores. See more stories about toys on Dezeen here.

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by Fort Standard to give away appeared first on Dezeen.

Wilson originally exhibited her knitted creatures at the Royal College of Art graduate show almost ten years ago, after which New York gallerist and retailer Murray Moss "latched on to them and bought the collection," she explains.

The knitted tree was created for an exhibition called Endangered Species at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (below) as a way of "giving the creatures an environment and place to live".

The characters inhabiting the tree include Cyril Squirrel-fox (below) and his offspring Rill and Ralf - read more about the knitted tree and creatures in our previous story here.

In the movie, Wilson speaks about the importance of manufacturing the products in-house at her Bethnal Green studio, just a stone's throw from Stepney Green - see all our stories about Donna Wilson here.

The Stepney Green Design Collection consists of 10 products selected by Marcus Fairs of Dezeen from creatives who live near to VIVO, a new housing development in the east London district. The project also includes objects chosen by east London bloggers Pete Stean of Londoneer and Kate Antoniou of Run Riot.

The collection is on show at the Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Road, Whitechapel, London E1 4UJ, from 10am to 10pm every day until January. After this, the objects will be given to VIVO residents.

We’ll be publishing movies of all the designers who contributed to the collection over the coming weeks – see all the items they designed for Stepney Green Design Collection here.

The music featured in the movies is by American designer and musician Glen Lib. You can listen to the full track on Dezeen Music Project.

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