Hasta La Ideas

(Photos courtesy Brinca Dada)

The New York International Gift Fair is a biannual showcase of homegoods, trinkets, doohickeys, and gewgaws so terrifically vast and enlightening that we often find ourselves departing the Javits Center—in a deluxe, easterly bound shuttle bus, no less—plotting to give up this whole words business to open an UnBeige Emporium of Swell Things. Unable to decide among a flagship in Manhattan, Milan, Miami, or Bora Bora, however, we content ourselves with highlighting some of our favorite finds from the fair’s Accent on Design division for you (at no charge!) and relaying one top choice to the NYIGF organizers as part of their Bloggers’ Choice Awards. This season, we bestowed the honor for “urgent, odd, and delightful design” on the latest offering from New York-based toymaker Brinca Dada. Best known for its stunning modernist dollhouses and complementary furniture, the New York-based company brings its flair for architectural fun to building blocks with this set of curvy, asymmetric wooden shapes that will inspire kids to think outside of the Lego box. “I wanted a set of blocks that could be rearranged and made to look like a Frank Gehry building,” Brinca Dada founder and CEO Douglas Rollins told us. And once the tots tire of Bilbao building, the blocks can be used for a game of Masochist Jenga! The blocks will be available this fall, along with the new Bennett House (pictured, at left). The De Stijl-flavored mini-townhouse, complete with solar-powered LED lights and rooftop pool, is the perfect home for Rietveld Barbie.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.