About Us

 

 

Valerie and Julia are the duo behind little + kind shop. Valerie is an early childhood educator with a Montessori certification and several years of experience in special education. Julia is a former fifth grade teacher with graduate level training in teaching special education. 

We are two passionate moms who believe that children should be given the opportunity to play with toys that are good for both them and for the earth.

As new moms, we quickly became frustrated with the lack of high quality and open ended toys available in stores. We both wanted toys and tools to foster a simple and natural setting that gave our children the freedom to play and encouraged imagination, creativity, and a sense of adventure. Frustrated with spending hours online scrolling through an unnamed giant retail site, we decided to create our dream store ourselves. 

Inspired by our children, educator backgrounds and our cultural experiences, we have curated a collection that sparks wonder, encourages development, empowers exploration, and brings beauty and magic into your homes and play spaces. We have personally tested every product on this site and hope these toys and books bring your family as much joy as they've brought ours. 

We look carefully at every product and vendor to make sure that they align with our core values. We care about how our products are made; we strive to carry items where both the process and the materials take into consideration the health of both environment and the workers. We care about who our purchases are supporting, with a focus on women and/or diverse entrepreneurs. We care about access and representation, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to see themselves and their world reflected in our toys. We are happy to carry beautiful handcrafted work by individuals and family-run small businesses, some of whom are based locally in the Raleigh-Durham area. 

We are all a work in progress. We are always open to product suggestions and feedback on what we can do better. We would love to hear from you via email at littleandkindshop@gmail.com.