Because we use natural wood and do not stain, the markings on your toy are dependent on the tree that was cut down. Occasionally you will see sap lines, birds eye markings, spalting, gnarly or musical markings. The exact shade of the wood is also dependent on the tree and can vary within one piece. 

Please know that we do not consider natural grain to be faulty or defective. In fact, most customers love that their toy is unique. 

Please remember that we are human and sometimes miss things.   All toys are made by hand, they are not mass produced by large machines.  Occasionally there will be a spot that may not be as smooth, this is normal on a handmade toy.  On blocks, there will always be 2 sides (the top and bottom) that are not as smooth as the 4 sides, this is because that is the end-grain of the wood.   It is not dangerous or defective.   If you would like to sand those ends smoother than we do, you are welcome to!   

Personalization size and format will be dependent on the information you want engraved and can be different from what is pictured on the website. We fit it on the toy the best possible way so it is uniform.  Unfortunately, because each toy is different depending on how long the personalization is, we are not able to send a proof. 

All of our wooden toys are 100% made here in the United States. Our workshop is in our hometown of Madrid, Iowa. All of our lumber is sourced from Iowa and the Midwest. The few parts that we do not make ourselves such as wood rings are made by companies in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, and Maine.

We use a 100% food-grade silicone that is manufactured in China and 3rd party safety tested here in the USA along with all of our wood toys.  There are no fillers or additives in our silicone.  We've used the same 2 small manufactures in China since we introduced silicone parts to our toys, they are small factories that we talk to often!  The silicone is: Lead Free, BPA Free, Cadmium Free, Mercury Free, Phthalate Free, FDA approved, CCPSA approved, LFGB approved, SGS approved, CPSIA compliant, have ASTM International Certification and CE Certification.

We make all the vibrant toys with ink here in house, in Madrid, Iowa with high quality, non-toxic inks and water-based, organic paints approved by the federal toy safety standard, ASTM F-963, for use in kids toys. 

No!  We third party safety test all our toys, finishes, paints, inks, etc. for  heavy metals, phalthates, lead, VOCs and more to make sure they meet or exceed safety standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and abide by ASTM F-963 requirements.  

No, with normal wear and play the ink is permanent and will not come off on its own.   The color toys are not designed to be teething items. 

Yes, our wood is natural. We do not stain it. We use Maple, Cherry, Beech and Walnut woods and their natural colors. Our finish is a 100% organic beeswax and flaxseed oil mixture that is all natural and nontoxic so it is the perfect finish for baby's mouth. The oil brings out the color and the beeswax provides durability. Our paint is a water based, organic paint from a company in the United States. They are 100% safe, lead free, no VOC's, non-toxic and approved for use in children's toys. The glue we use is non-toxic too. Our grasping toys are left "naked". There is no finish on them. 

Yes!  Our toys are ASTM F963-11 compliant and we are registered with the CPSC as a small batch manufacturer. We also have 3rd party safety testing done on all our toys on a yearly basis, for the wood, silicone and color parts of toys.

All of our toys go through extensive safety testing prior to us being able to sell them, therefore we are unable to take custom requests for shapes/toys other than what is already in our store. We always welcome ideas though!!

Please be sure you add hello@bannortoys.com to your email contact list so you can be sure to receive any communications from us. 

Email is the best form of communication for us as we do not have a shop phone. Please email us at Hello@BannorToys.com with any questions. Please note that we try to respond within 48 hours, Monday through Thursday.