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Smarty Parents

The Smarty Parents story began over a bowl of deliciously sticky oatmeal that our son Josiah, who was two years old at the time, was spreading into every nook and cranny of our wood dining room table. After experimenting with available placemats and having little success, we two rather energetic parents saw an opportunity. Thus, the Kiddy Platter™ Placemat & Craftmat was born.

With the arrival of our very crafty second son, Michael, we quickly realized the practicality of the Kiddy Platter went beyond meal time. Drawing, finger-painting and "doughing" on the Kiddy Platter became as much a part of our daily routine as eating on it. As our eldest son entered a Mandarin immersion program and Kindergarten included actual homework, the Kiddy Platter became the go-to surface in the car during our commute. Our invention was further validated when a high-end competitor introduced a similar, more expensive alternative.

In the winter of 2011, we had the pleasure of meeting the inventors of Yummy Dough, Andrea and Stefan Kaczmarek, and our mutual stories as parent-inventors simply clicked. Their inspiration was their two daughters, Sarah and Luisa. Ours was our two sons. They invented Yummy Dough while experimenting in their kitchen in beautiful Idstein, Germany. Ours was invented while experimenting in our Portland, Oregon dining room. And of course, our inventions perfectly compliment one another.

Our goal is to help parents make meal time matter and craft time count with great products that kids love. We believe that once your children have tried Yummy Dough, or used a Kiddy Platter, you'll enjoy using them as much as we love bringing them to you.