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BFK Labs | Building for Kids

@bfklabs

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We study childhood so brands can build better for children & families.
Strategy • Products • Storytelling • Experiences

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When I started doing author visits and speaking engagements at schools, I didn’t realise how much the children would change me. ❤️ I didn't even realise how animated and childlike I could be 😆

So, I'm bringing this one back today. #Day2

These are little snapshots from years of author visits, school talks, readings, workshops, speech days and conversations with children.

They started because of my children’s book Who Do I See in the Mirror? And these visits became one of my favourite parts of the journey.

Because children fill the room with so much positive energy. They are curious and direct. They notice things adults completely miss. They ask the question you weren't prepared for. And they are absolutely hilarious as well as hilariously honest 😄🤭

Being in those rooms taught me so much about the children I was supposedly building for. It really made childhood feel less like a “market” or an age demographic and much more like what it actually is.

Children are really just individual people, developing their own ideas about themselves and the world around them.

And I think that has quietly shaped a lot of how I work today.
I care about the stories children hear. I care about whether they see themselves in the things we create.

I care strongly about identity, curiosity, confidence and belonging.

And increasingly, I've been wondering,
How would we build differently if we really paid attention to children?
Better products? technology? schools and learning experiences? public spaces? stories?

Now, years after I first started walking into schools with my children's book and resources, I’m still asking versions of that question.

It now shows up in Philly & Friends, BFK Labs, Snuggles and so much of the work I want to do next.

So I’m bringing these pictures back because, looking at them now, I can see something I probably couldn’t see at the time.
These author visits were part of me learning how to build for children. ❤️

#ComeToTheFront #Day2

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This month, apparently, I'm #comingtotheFRONT… So let's start with a reintroduction shall we?

Hi, I’m Vese 👋🏾

And the simplest way I’ve found to explain what I do is this: I build for children.

I’ve been building products, stories, experiences and ideas for children and families and helping others do the same.

It started with Philly & Friends @phillynfriends and one children’s book. Somewhere along the way, that one idea became products, stories, partnerships and a much bigger narrative about childhood and the things we create around it.

Today, I’m building @snugglesapp, a storytelling platform where children can hear stories in the voices of their parents, grandparents and the people they love. I'm also growing BFK Labs @bfklabs, my children + family innovation studio, after many years of doing it informally. Give me an idea and I'll give you a tangible product or service in return. It turns out I'm pretty resourceful and what you'll call a doer 🤭

It took me a while to figure it all out but now I get it, there’s a thread underneath all of it.
I care about the whole child. Identity. Belonging. Faith. Curiosity. Confidence.

I care about what we build for children, how we raise them, what they believe about themselves, the stories they hear, the spaces they grow up in and the kind of world we are creating around them.

That belief also led me to start Firecrackers @prayerfirecrackers, a children’s prayer community helping children grow in faith and prayer. 🔥

I've been silent, trying to figure out how it all ties in but I’m going to change that. Who says it needs to tie in?🤷🏾 Take me as I am please, my mind is constantly moving 🤭😂

Along with 90 other people and our captain @kunbiesq I’ve committed to showing up here more over the next 30 days, so expect more of what I’m building, what I’m learning, what I’m questioning and probably a few ideas that aren’t fully baked yet. Let's see where my brain takes me... 😄

I believe we can build better things for children. ❤️

So, hi again. I’m Vese.
Apparently, I’m coming to the front. 😂
#ComeToTheFront

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