Last month was all about design and this month we are talking color, so this seems like the perfect time to bring up Colorforms. Created in 1951 by two art students, Colorforms came into being when Harry and Patricia Kislevitz experimented with flexible vinyl as a wall paint alternative.
Originally geared towards artists, Colorforms took off commercially once they were packaged with background boards and marketed for kids. Not only did they give us Colorforms, the Kislevitzes were decades ahead of the wall decal trend.
Colorforms were the first plastic-based creative toy and one of the first toys advertised on television. A pioneer in toy-licensing, Colorforms entered the fray with their 1957 Popeye forms. Today you can find Colorforms featuring Yo Gabba Gabba, Michael Jackson, Fancy Nancy, and the illustrations of Mo Willems and Eric Carle, among many others. For the 60th anniversary of the product last year, Colorforms reissued the original set pictured above that includes 350 Colorforms, a play board and spiral bound activity book.
More Info: Colorforms
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colorforms and legos pretty much sum up my childhood. great creative play! :)
This was my "activity book" for church - kept me quiet for hours, unless someone put them back in the wrong spot, or worse, DIDN'T put them back!
I had Sleeping Beauty. 101 Dalmations, etc. LOVED THEM!!!!
Hell -- I still have a set that I bought at FAO Schwartz 20 years ago.....mine are the original shapes but I know I had them in various specialties....they are still fun.
The new ones are pretty well made, I got my kid a bunch of them. She likes them, they are way more "advanced" than the ones that I had. They have little 3D guys now and more of a scene than a blank slate. She has the Yo Gabba Gabba and Ni Hai Kai Lan ones.
I need them...loved them so much and will be looking for the new breed..for the next generation..just the name brings comfort and smiles....sigh..
Loved Colorforms to pieces. But sort of sad to hear that, like Lego, they're now coming with built-in scenes and Yo Gabba Gabba themes. The abstract shapes and blank slate were my favorite part.
I bought some Pee-Wee's Playhouse Colorforms on ebay and stuck magnets to all of them. Now they hang out on my refrigerator. It's like the sticky ones but it's magnets. I don't know why they never thought of doing that themselves.
A blast from the past! I loved Colorforms as a kid! I want new ones! Where are they found?
OMG...yes!
How about Shrinky-Dinks?
I had Muppet Babies Colorforms!
Colorforms were one of my favorite toys as a child.