My name is Steph Allison and I live on the South Shore of MA with my two elementary-aged children and two crazy dogs. My childhood was filled with “the good old stuff” - shrink art, bicycles, forts, painting, blocks, cars and trucks, crazy 8’s, monkey bars, and more. I would cue up the CD player and blast “We are the Champions” and choreograph a dance routine with my younger sister. Competitive sports were present too, but the free play, the type where the kids came up with the ideas - not the adults, was where the magic really took place.

In 2008 I graduated with a Masters in Child Development from Tufts University. I studied about the bodies, brains, and environments of children for 6 years under some of the most knowledgable professors. My professional career took the scenic route, and I found myself in the world of fundraising and private school admissions for 13 years. At each of my jobs, I was working for a school: first Perkins School for the Blind, then Harvard Graduate School of Design, and most recently Inly School (a Montessori school). Kids have been the center of my universe for as long as I can remember.

A funny thing happened when I decided to launch this business. I realized how all of the paths I’ve been walking have brought me back to the beginning, where the significance of play lives, but with a much deeper understanding and context for how it sculpts our brains from the very youngest of ages. As Maria Montessori said, “Play is the work of the child.” I’m so lucky that play is also my work too.