GRIMM'S X NEON: Colours that make us shine bright

Neon colours are special colours. They are full of light and they can also make us shine, because colours have a proven influence on our emotions. The idea of natural wooden toys with bright neon accents shows how well the greatest possible contrasts can harmonize with each other and create something new. In an interview with Elke Grimm, Creative Head and Heart, and Marco Stuber, Managing Director of GRIMM'S, we find out how the neon collection came about, how the perception of wooden toys has changed in recent years and why we should often take children as our role models.

How and when did the idea for the GRIMM'S products in neon colours come about?

Elke: The idea for the neon collection had been lying dormant for some time, but finally became a reality at the beginning of 2023. The winter had been long and gray and seemed to have no end. I was in a museum on a grey Sunday afternoon and stood in front of a canvas by Rupprecht Geiger, a German artist whose art is known, among other things, for its bright colours. The luminosity of this colour, which shone at me with such positive energy, simply touched me and never let go. I realized once again how much colours can influence our feelings. When I stumbled across Wassily Kandinsky's quote a short time later: "Colour is a power which directly influences the soul", I knew that we needed neon colours at GRIMM'S! This quote has now also become the guiding principle of our neon campaign.

What do you want to achieve with the neon collection?

Marco: With our GRIMM'S X NEON collection, we want to emphasize how modern and contemporary classic wooden toys can be. Children love bright colours and we especially love the contrast between the warm naturalness of the wood and the particularly bright colours.
When our company was still in its infancy, wooden toys were very much in a niche and tended to be somewhat harshly referred to as "eco toys". And even if the values behind it and the quality spoke for themselves, it was simply not particularly hip and the awareness of sustainability was not yet very pronounced in most of society. It has always been our wish to appeal to everyone with our toys and thus spread the word about the free play that our products stand for and show how valuable it is for children's development. Fortunately, wooden toys are now also becoming increasingly popular and are no longer niche products.
In addition, we simply want to contribute to a positive feeling with these rousing colours, which is urgently needed in times when there is so much going on in the world and is good for mental health.

What were the reactions of the employees at GRIMM'S when they heard about the Neon products or saw the first prototypes?

Marco: In fact, the entire team was on fire very quickly and worked hard to implement the new collection with dedication and lots of positive vibes. As we really wanted to launch the collection as quickly as possible because we were and are all so enthusiastic, there was a lot to get through in a short space of time. But we managed it and are very happy about it! Many thanks again to all our employees!

How did the colour combinations come about?

Elke: I'm always attracted to playing with contrasts, combining superficial opposites to create something new. In this case, the modern coolness of the colours and the original warmth of the material. The colour combinations are simply 100% Elke. That's why I can't explain why so many of the rainbow's arches are in neon colours, soft colours and wood tones, as they ended up being. It was simply the most beautiful and harmonious way for me. First I had the pink colour scale together and then I felt the need to add cool neon tones alongside the warm neon tones. The result was the neon green colour scale.

What is special about the new colours?

Marco: We are particularly proud of the fact that we have succeeded in using neon colours in glaze technique for the first time. This is an absolute novelty in the use of colour in wooden toys and therefore a significant milestone for us! The familiar GRIMM'S feel remains as usual and the colours are of course just as tested and safe as all the other colours we use.

Is the neon collection a limited edition? Will there be other products in neon colours?

Marco: We can't answer these questions with certainty at the moment. We would like to have more neon products, but in the end, of course, the customers will decide how much they like the colours and whether we add the collection to our range and expand it or whether it just accompanies us for a nice summer.

What are your favorites from the collection?

Elke: My personal favorites in this collection are the rainbow neon pink and the neon pink disc tower. These warm neon shades simply appeal to me.

Marco: During the shoots with the children, they grabbed all the products and simply played with everything in a criss-cross pattern. Within a very short time, all the colours were mixed together and we noticed that the warm and cool neon shades shine even more in combination than they already do. So I don't have a single favorite in the collection, but I particularly like the mix of the two colour worlds.

Do the neon colours glow in the dark?

Elke: No, our neon colours are day glow colours, which means that they reflect sunlight particularly well thanks to their pigments. However, they do not store the light like fluorescent night paints do and therefore do not glow in the dark.

What size is the neon rainbow?

Marco: The neon rainbow consists of 10 parts and is therefore two arches smaller than the large rainbow and the same size as the counting rainbow.

How did the new branding come about?

Elke: In the past, we have repeatedly received inquiries as to whether older products that families had at home were original GRIMM'S items or not. Even though our products can usually be identified by their special look and feel, it is difficult to prove this with one hundred percent certainty if the GRIMM'S stickers are no longer on them. We want to avoid these uncertainties in the future and have taken a closer look at lasered branding and finally implemented it properly for the first time in our neon collection. We want to show this: This is 100% GRIMM'S and you can expect everything from it that our company stands for! We are super happy with it!

What do you think about the criticism that some people would have preferred to see new products instead of new colours?

Marco: Fortunately, the vast majority of reactions to the neon items have been very positive. Many people seem to feel the positivity of the colours and appreciate the modern accents we have set for wooden toys. Of course, we were aware that you can never cater to all tastes - especially with such striking statement colours. But we were so convinced of the colours right from the start, and still are, that we wanted to focus on them and reinforce the contrast by giving GRIMM'S classics a new look. So we deliberately decided against new products for the neon collection.
However, we can already assure all those who would like to see new products that we are not lacking in inspiration and ideas and that we will of course be fulfilling this wish soon. So you can look forward to it ;)

What do you mean by #NotJustForKids?

Elke: #NotJustForKids is actually a long-standing dream of ours, namely to design toys that not only appeal to children and fulfill all the principles of free play, but that also appeal to adults in terms of quality and appearance and therefore find their place where the family comes together and life is raging. We want toys that are loved and enjoyed by the whole family - our neon collection emphasizes the win-win situation for young and old with #NotJustForKids!
And at the same time, of course, it is also a very conscious invitation to all adults to play again themselves and be completely in the here and now. We all too often forget this in our hectic everyday lives and children are simply masters at it and our greatest source of inspiration!

Click here to go to our GRIMM'S X NEON pop-up online shop