About us

The first time I came across the Abel blocks, I didn’t think: how do I play with these. I just thought: yesss! Of course. This was missing. And that while nobody in our family had played with building blocks for years at that very moment.

Not because I was looking for them. But because they resonated with something in me, instantly, almost instinctively.

So different from building with straight blocks or the familiar Kapla planks. Alongside the straight lines, there were suddenly curves, waves, circles. Shapes you find in nature. And something fell into place. As if the picture had never quite been complete without them.

So obvious. As if they had always been there. And then immediately: wait, why has this only just been invented? Why are almost all blocks straight?

I only found the answer to that later, when I actually started playing with them. That the blocks wobble when you stack them. That the centre of gravity is different from what you expect. That you have to search a little, rotate, try again. And that then, almost by itself, shapes emerge that you never could have imagined beforehand. A bit like watching clouds: you suddenly see all kinds of things in them.

That was the moment I became a true fan.

I’m Maiko. Working since 2010 as a distributor in the world of sustainable children’s products and kids lifestyle brands. I have seen a lot of toys come and go. Cleverly designed, beautifully made, well sold. But I was looking for something that doesn’t just keep children busy, but sets something in motion in them. To build, to think, to create from within themselves. To be resourceful, to find their own solutions and feel the joy and pride of having made something that is truly their own. That was true for my work as a distributor, but just as much at home, as a mother of four boys.

Abel Wooden Toys was founded in 2016 by two brothers from Friesland, Folko and Jelmer. Boys who grew up with space around them, literally and figuratively. With the freedom to play outside, to explore, to try things without a predetermined outcome. That love for adventure and discovery was at the heart of everything they made. And it still is, in every single block.

That an entire world of mandala’s, flatlays and endless creative possibilities would eventually emerge from this, nobody at Abel could have foreseen. Even now, I’m surprised almost every day by what people make. The possibilities seem to keep opening up, over and over again.

And that is exactly what I believe about children.

It’s all already there, inside them, from the very beginning.: imagination, curiosity, the ability to completely lose themselves in play. Something you don’t need to teach, but that deserves to be fostered. And given space and room to flourish.

At the end of 2025 I got the chance to take over Abel. I didn’t need long to think about it. With Abel, it feels like everything comes together. A brand of my own in open-ended play that invites without prescribing. That leaves room for the unexpected. That never stops surprising. Children, parents. And honestly, me too. Every single time.

Maybe that’s what I love most about it.

That it’s far from finished. That so much can still emerge, on the drawing board and beyond. And that you and your child get to be part of what comes next.

Welcome to Abel.