Back to the Basics: Black and White Style from Wee Gallery

Feeling overwhelmed with the number of products available for your newborn or infant; bewildered by the options, but afraid of holding back the inner genius in your little one if you don’t buy the right toys? There are two reasons you can relax: most of the toys marketed to newborns and infants are useless and the folks at Wee Gallery have come up with an elegant solution. Wee Gallery, which sells beautifully designed animal prints for small children, is the brainchild of Dave Pinto and Surya Sajnani, Clever Parents to Siddu, almost 4, and Anya, 1, of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Like most first-time parents, Dave Pinto and Surya Sajnani read everything about babies and parenting they could find. One fact that stood out for the couple in their research is that newborns can only see 12 to 15 inches away and are most interested in their parents’ faces and black and white geometric figures (the high contrast combination stimulates brain development).

‘We read about child vision development after Sid was born and drew black and white animals on his wall because of that,’ says Dave. ‘Later, we heard of a friend’s pediatrician who said that most toys for newborns were pointless, and that the best thing was just to draw some black lines on a paper plate and put them in the crib. This gave us the idea. Anyone can draw black and white lines, but what about something more beautiful?’

Thus was born Wee Gallery. Surya, who is an artist and graphic designer, designed the animal prints. Wee Gallery sells the prints as Flash Cards, Wall Art, Mobiles, and Greeting Cards.

Wee Gallery Flashcards. The boxed set of six 5×7 cards includes a cat, an elephant, a fish, a giraffe, an owl and a snail – the picture is on one side, the word is printed in script on the other side. The cards are printed on sturdy board and finished with matte lamination and rounded corners. $12.95 for the boxed set.

Wee Gallery Flashcard Tips. There are any number of ways to use the cards. They were originally intended to be simply propped up along the railings of the crib, but people stick them along the changing table, attach them to the back seat in the car, and hang them from our mobile. With the Kikkerland Mobile that we sell, the cards can be hung vertically to be seen from a distance, but for newborns in the crib it is better to attach 4 clips to each card (one clip at each corner) so that the cards face down into the crib for the baby to see. This only allows for two cards, but that’s plenty for a newborn. The cards should also be removed at sleep time, and changed often.

As kids begin to sit up the cards are then used for holding and dropping and waving and looking at. At around 18 months, our son started calling the animals by name and would decorate his window sills with them. Part of the appeal of these cards is that they are totally open-ended. There’s no specific way for kids to play. Our friend uses gets her daughter to guess the animal by looking at the other side, not reading but recognizing the object. She’s a smartie though.

The Un-Flashcard. Dave and Surya aren’t big on using them as flashcards, preferring a game of flashcard ‘Hide and Seek’ with them instead. ‘Sid hides them and then helps me find them,’ says Dave. ‘He always forgets where he’s hidden them, so the game often ends up with one or two of them lost for days.’

Wall Graphics. The Wall Graphics are very simple to use and re-use. Just peel off the backing and stick them up. No worries if you don’t get them in the right spot the first time. To adjust the position, simply peel them off the wall and re-stick. ‘They work with any walls really,’ Dave says. ‘They won’t peel your paint and ours have been re-positioned 4-5 times already.’

New. Are you have twins? Are there twins in your child’s preschool class or neighborhood? If so you know that when children see identical twins for the first time they are curious. A great gift for parents of twins or twins-to-be, “What Should We Call The Twins?,” is a unique board book that introduces children to the concept of twins in an upbeat and whimsical way. Through entertaining puns, the book is also a fun read for adults. The 7″ x 7″ book is available in stores or on the Wee Gallery website, and retails for $6.95.

So what’s next for Wee Gallery? There are more animals in the works along with new products. ‘We are working on a new card set as well as wall art, clothing and bedding. We hope to have a number of new images available by May.’Buy Wee Gallery products online – www.weegallery.com