The kids make their own wooden torch using our kitset which includes laser cut pieces, electronics and instructions.

They make their own, real set of Bluetooth speakers which work properly and give quality sound.

And soon, they will be able to make a really cool "Sparkle" Christmas Tree for your dining table.  (Reuse it every year!)

We normally say age 8+.  That's for independent making.  But it depends on your child's "makiness".

The torch isn't just connecting up a light circuit.

By doing it, your child is working on their fine motor skills and the ability to follow instructions.  Kylie says her very keen 5-year-old daughter needed a little help with the torch kit.  But I helped a 12-year-old put the batteries in the right way and also explained which way to turn a screwdriver.

The speaker isn't really harder than the torch - it's just longer and there is more in it.  The Sparkle Tree will be easier and is lovely for the more arty child (all that wood to decorate and enjoy).

The Tinker Tiles are for someone who doesn't care that much about looks, they just want to make things light up, spin, flash - (the Stefan's of the world).

No.

Our kits are NZ designed and made.  We design the kits together with many comments and additions from our wider Whanau.

Stefan draws them up in CAD, then laser-cuts them in Russell, New Zealand.

He sends them to Sophia in Auckland who packages them all up, writes instructions and sends them off to you, lovely customer.

We order our electronics from China because NZ doesn't manufacture much any more.

We try as much as possible to get our packaging and anything extra from NZ local sources.

They definitely work. Our torch has a wide and strong beam so is perfect for camping.  Our speaker sounds really good - good bass and quality sound.  Our Christmas Tree will be durable and you can use it year after year.

I've only been asked once if they were durable - but it surprised me.  We make our kits from eco-ply wood (sustainably harvested, not rainforest).  So if you drop them, they don't shatter - unlike say, a plastic torch or speaker.

We encourage you not to glue the last piece of wood on the torch so you can change the batteries.  Sometimes when I've dropped my torch (Sophia), that piece has flown off.  I just pop it back on.

There isn't too much that can go wrong unless you give them an extremely hard life.

My sons listen to their speakers while in the shower...the bathroom gets pretty steamy so I keep waiting for the electronics to short or the wood to soften but so far, so good.  They've been using them for about 9 months with no issues.  This is not recommended use but hey, it gives you an idea!

I don't know if I'm allowed to name the people but there is a subscription based science kit service that has a name with "Kiwi" in it - but they aren't actually NZ made.

We get asked frequently if we are planning such a service.

Short answer, we'd love to but we need to develop more kits.

Now that we've made our own laser-cutter - yes, you read that right - we're hoping to be a bit speedier, and then we'll see.  We certainly have a lot of ideas!

Join the mailing list to keep up with new developments in our range.

Not ruining the planet is a big deal for us.  We choose to have one (hybrid) car and have hubby bus to work.  (Sophia).  Stefan's family drive a fully electric car.  We both compost and recycle and buy our veges in string bags etc.

So we decided from the start to try and source the best products.

For example, you've probably heard me say our wood is sustainably harvested.  This means we searched hard for a wood that wasn't grown in the Amazon rain forest.  It isn't a bamboo that was planted in the rainforest after a whole bunch of natives were cut down for that purpose.  It isn't nasty MDF full of glues.

Our wood is an Italian Black Poplar growing sustainably in land that was once used for agriculture.  (So already cleared).  Ideally, we'd use a NZ tree or ply that has been grown like this but we also need something that works well for laser-cutting and doesn't give you splinters or drop lots of gum (ahem pine).

We do get our electronics from China so we try to buy in bulk rather than tiny orders.  Because we're small, this is somewhat tricky.  We try to use metal or resist plastic where we can.  It's just not always practical.  However, you can reuse these pieces.

We buy our packaging here and don't have fancy plastic windows in our box.  We've been asked to.  But it just adds more soft plastic into our landfills.  So no.  All our packaging is paper or card and can be reused/recycled.

We're not perfect, but that's how eco we are.

These are just some questions we get asked.  Do you have one?  Please either use the "Contact Us" form, or email Sophia at:

sharperthinker@gmail.com.