Nook

There’s something very satisfying about this toy before a baby has even touched it. The soft weighted tray, the translucent shapes, the strange little objects that look somewhere between modern desk accessories and tiny futuristic sculptures. Nook by Toys by People is built around the kind of play babies naturally invent for themselves anyway — posting, pulling, slotting, flipping, chewing, hiding, carrying things around for no obvious reason, then carefully putting them back again.

Each piece has its own texture and function. One rattles softly, another clicks when turned, another has soft brush-like silicone designed for stroking and chewing. The cool stainless steel can feels completely different in little hands compared to the squishy silicone shapes, and the whole set has been designed around grip sizes and movements babies instinctively gravitate towards.

The tray creates little resting places for every object, which somehow makes the repetitive “in and out” phase feel weirdly calming instead of chaotic. And aesthetically, it’s genuinely beautiful — soft muted tones mixed with translucent colour pops that feel much closer to contemporary home design than traditional plastic baby toys.

A really clever sensory toy without looking remotely educational about it.