from The New York Times. 30 September 2004

Finally, a design store for the preschool set. On Sept 23, Lisa Mahar opened Kid O, a shop in Greenwich Village that sells modernist toys, furniture and books for children. ''As a mom and as an architect, I was frustrated that I couldn't find well-made toys with both style and substance,'' Ms. Mahar said. She decided to open the store last winter after a friend gave Emmett, her son (left, with Ms Mahar), a sleek wooden car by the designer Ulf Hanses. Within two weeks, she was scouting for products in Germany. Ms. Mahar designed the cozy minimalist show, which has an extrawide stroller-friendly front door and roomy aisles, with her husband, Morris Adjmi, a fellow partner in MAP architects in New York. The merchandise is mostly from Europe and cool enough for parents to covet, too. Mobiles inspired by Alexander Calder are custom-designed for Ms. Mahar by David Vande Vusse in Manistee, Mich.; $125 for a tabletop version, far left, and $150 or $250 for hanging models. Wool felt puppets from Samii, above, are hand-made in Nepal; $28 each. Ms. Mahar is also authorized to sell Montessori toys from the Dutch manufacturer Nienhuis, many of which were deigned by the educator Maria Montessori, including stackable pink laquered wooden blocks...(cont'd)