Product Care Guide

Thank you so much for welcoming our toys into your home! This is a quick and easy guide to help you keep your toys looking their best!

Our products are made from wood, which is naturally antibacterial, so our care instructions are fairly straight forward:

  1. Do not soak the toys in water. Wood is a porous material and soaking it in water will cause it to swell. Also, our sealant makes them water resistant, but not waterproof. Soaking the toys, even for a short period of time, will weaken the finish and change the shape of the wood.
  1. If the toys need to be cleaned, simply wipe them down with a clean cloth and warm water. 
  1. Allow to air dry, or wipe down with a dry cloth.

And that’s it! Less is definitely more in regards to cleaning our toys.

You may notice over time that our wooden toys begin to take on a little bit more character than when they were new. As the toys are loved throughout the years, scuffs, marks, and chips may develop. We choose to celebrate these markings and see them as a sign that our toys have been well loved and welcomed into the stories of playtime. These beauty marks represent the history of all of the stories told and all of the memories made. It is our hope that you and your child will continue to love them even more fiercely, as the toys age and their imperfections show. 

About Northern Narrative

Hello Friends! We’re the Wilson family! We would love to take a minute and introduce ourselves to you!

Hi! I’m Amanda...the voice behind our social media pages! I’m an elementary school teacher, momma of three sweet babes, and an absolute dreamer in my heart and soul. 

My husband of 6 years, Kyle, is a heavy duty mechanic by trade, a super dad, and the “muscle” behind Northern Narrative.

Our three little ‘toy testers’ are a rambunctious crew. They simultaneously keep us on our toes while also keeping us smiling. 

With three little humans that we are responsible to raise, and a classroom full of kiddos that I get the privilege to teach…the topics of learning and child development have been central pillars in my life for years.

Northern Narrative started as a dream, while I was expecting our oldest, to bring simplistic, nature based, Canadian made toys to our own children’s playroom shelves. Play based learning, small world play, loose parts play…these weren’t just trendy Instagram hashtags for me. I knew that presenting children with toys that required their full creativity and imagination was incredibly beneficial to not only their development, but also their happiness. 

We dreamed about creating heirloom children’s toys that could be passed on through the generations. All of their imaginative stories held within them, ready for the next set of curious little hands, and ready for another round of wonder. 

So there we were, at the time, with an ambitious idea, two kiddos under two…and zero woodworking skills. Now, two years later, and one more baby added to the crew, we are continuing to learn each and every day, and with each and every collection. Northern Narrative has become a part of our story, a very special part. And we are so honoured that so many of you have welcomed us, and our toys, to be a part of your family’s or classroom’s story. It truly means the world to us. 

Thank you so much for being here, friends!