About Teeni Banini

Welcome to Teeni Banini.

My husband Karl and I founded Teeni Banini in 2003 as a source of quality products that parents and crafters could depend on. Over the years, we've concentrated our focus on products geared toward children.

I began my journey in life at Southern Illinois University, where I studied Mathematics and Developmental Psychology. After college, I spent the following years working in Marketing and as a Business Analyst. At 28 I met and married my husband Karl.

In 2003, we delivered our twin boys prematurely. Kyle, our surviving son, spent the next 6.5 months in the NICU, coming home with some motor delays. In 2007, I gave birth to Ian, an energetic and curious little boy. Today, both boys are happy, healthy and strong, and are always glad to help us out in the product testing department.

Our experience with the differing needs of our own children has helped us to better understand the factors that are important in choosing children's products, and we have tailored our selection to include the best products we could find. Whether you're looking for toys that center on refining motor development or imaginative play, our ever growing selection of products features something that will fit your needs.

Additionally, we have taken special attention to seek out products that are not only safe for your children, but are also manufactured in way that will help to preserve the environment for their future. Each of the products we offer must pass our rigorous screening process, which includes the following criteria:

• Produced using safe raw materials
  It seems you can't turn on the TV or open a newspaper these days without hearing about another toy recall. We feature products by manufacturers who take steps to insure the safety of their products, such as using harmless vegetable-based paints and performing thorough safety testing.
• Produced by a socially responsible company
  You can be assured that the products you buy from us were not produced in a "sweat shop". Our various manufacturers are based all over the world, including the United States, but regardless of where they are located, they all maintain good, equitable working conditions for their employees.
• Manufactured in an environmentally friendly way
  Our manufacturers use natural resources responsibly and use recyclable materials wherever possible. As an example, Plan Toys uses wood from rubber wood trees that are no longer capable of producing latex. After the trees are cut down, new trees are planted in their place.
• Minimal packaging
  It's not always practical to completely eliminate packaging, but the products we sell tend to have a lot less of it than the toys sold at your average big box store. Plus, no wire ties!
• Batteries NOT required
  You'll be hard-pressed to find any battery-operated toys for sale here. We believe that toys that don't "do everything" are more likely to inspire a child's imagination and encourage exploration and learning (and we're pretty sure most parents wouldn't mind having one less noise-making toy in the house). Plus, fewer battery-powered toys mean fewer batteries being manufactured and disposed of, which is always a good thing.

We're always happy to answer any questions you may have about our products, our manufacturers, or our company. Please feel free to contact us via our Contact Us page.

Katra Knoernschild, Founder