I am very excited to announce that I am featuring the first dad maker on my blog! Filip is the dad and maker behind @ah.woodz. Filip makes children furniture that grows with your children. It is multi-functional and amazing for a kids physical and mental development. All of his furniture is inspired by Montessori, Waldorf and Pikler methodologies all researched by his wife Kasia, built by Filip and tested by their son. This truly is a family run business!
Do you have kids? If so how many & age? I have my Boy Adam 22 months 12 days, and my new baby girl Hanna(banana) 6 weeks
What's one thing people probably don't know about you? Archery! Kinda pretty good at it. Or at least I used to be. I have a bunch
of medals to prove it.
Are you a stay at home mom/dad? NO WAY! I don’t know how my wife does it’s. I think it’s easier for me to work two jobs than take on that roll.
What is your favourite thing to do for yourself? Making myself the perfect espresso. Weighing the beans, getting that perfect grind, distributing the grind evenly in the bottomless portafilter and then tamping it just right. Then I watching that shot pour into my clear double walled espresso glass, the cream slowly rising to the top like a Guinness stout. Ahhhhhh!
What's one thing you couldn't live without? The Big Dude up stairs. He’s who I thank for everything in my life and why I still have one.
What's your favourite date night activity?
ate night? What’s that? Last date night my wife and I had was about 9 months six weeks ago.
Where is business located out of? & what's your favourite thing to do in your hometown?
We are out of Port Credit, Mississauga, Ontario. Fave thing to do is enjoying all the festivals and events that happen like right across the street from where we live. Also walking with the family down the lakeshore stripe with ice cream from our local ice cream parlour.
How did you choose the name for your business?
Ah! Well those are my kids initials, woodz because it’s made from wood. And lastly the DZ is supposed abstractly refer to my wife’s hometown of Łódź, which almost sounds like woodz when said in polish.
How do you balance having kids & running a business?
Very badly! I have a construction business. I usually work long hours. I build this furniture myself which I usually do at night and on the weekend, and I have two beautiful children. My attempt at making it all work is wake up real early, stay up real late.
What has been most challenging about starting your own business?
The marketing and social media aspect. I’m horrible and new to both.
What have you found most supportive when starting your business?
My family. My wife for letting me out so much, my boy for “helping me” and my folks for letting me use their space and helping me when I’m backed up
What sets your business apart from those alike?
I think my products are well thought out. I use quality materials and a lot of skill, love and passion. Each piece Is made like that first time I made it for my boy. I just want it to be great.
Coffee or tea? Coffee
Neutral or colourful? Neutral
Morning or night? All day
Wine or beer? Neither, I don’t drink
Starbucks or Tim Horton's? Neither local small shops
Online shopping or in store? In store
Instagram or Facebook? Now i use “insta”
Text or phone call? Call
Instagram: @ah.woodz
Etsy Shop: AhwooDZ
@Camara.Crew Stamp of Approval:
I first met Filip and his products at the Bump Baby & Toddler Show in my hometown of Hamilton. Lily immediately gravitated to his booth as he had all of his toys and furniture set up to test. With my daughter being quite the monkey she loved climbing and testing everything out! I had to pry her away from the both, with dare I say some tears shed by her as she didn't want to stop playing. After that I knew I had to reach out to Filip to collaborate as his products were definitely Lily approved! For this collaboration we got The Cubes Cubed collection. It is a collection of three cube like pieces of Montessori inspired furniture handmade using quality Baltic Birch. It has a simple, modern and neat design. Each of the tree pieces are multi-functional and can serve different stages of a child's development. Prior to getting this cube collection we had an Ikea Table and Chair set for Lily. While I liked this set there were definitely some cons about it. One being that I didn't feel it was sturdy and Lily could easily tip the chair. With Filip's cube collection I do not have that worry at all! All of the pieces are handmade with so much care that the quality is outstanding. Due to the design of the cube chairs there are no worries about Lily tipping them over. Yet, they are the perfect weight that she can move them around on her own in her playroom to use them how she wishes. Lily enjoys using them at her table as well as using them at our coffee table to eat her lunch. She also uses it as a stool to keep a watchful eye on her brother when he is in his playpen! All while momma doesn't have to worry about her hurting herself. I also like that the chair has 2 different seat levels depending on how you turn the chair so depending your child's size/height you can have them sit on the side that is right for them. It allows us to use the seat in more areas of the house as well (i.e. Lily's table, the coffee table, while playing with her toys etc.).
The other thing that I love about this collection is that it is compact! I The chairs fit underneath the table beautifully. For someone who doesn't like clutter, it is perfect! It gives the perfect minimalist look to your playroom.
Filip delivered the table personally. He explained how to use the entire collection. It was such a relief to see that all the products arrived assembled. Lily was also quite pleased with this as she wanted to use it right away. I am not joking when I say she didn't even let me move it past the front hallway before she started using it. She sat in our front hallway colouring for probably 30 minutes before she let me move it downstairs to her playroom. She was SO excited! Probably my favourite part of this collection is the endless imaginative play that you can have with it! The top of the table provides a great space for play! Whether we are doing a puzzle, matching game, colouring or a craft there is always ample space & it is easy to clean! You can flip the table around different ways and get creative on what it is. We have pretended that it is a boat, used it for puppet shows and as a fort. The opportunities truly are endless which is so important in helping to support your growing child. This piece is definitely going to get lots of love and play from both my kiddos.
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