Tidy Books® – The Story…

An old fashioned tale about getting kids reading!

Tidy Books® is an award winning line of creative storage solutions for children, designed by violin maker, and mum, Geraldine Grandidier. Here, Geraldine shares her story about how a great handmade idea become an award winning business. Tidy Books® is exclusive to NEST in South Africa.

The Tidy Books story began with a confused 3 year old who couldn’t find her favourite book on the shelf. The 3 year old was my daughter, Adele, and as she hauled all her books out to check their covers, I understood she needed a helpful bookcase. Amazingly no such bookcase for kids existed. That’s why, working late in my violin workshop, I created my own.

My bookcase presented books face out, so kids found it easy to choose and pick out books, which enticed them to read. Adele loved my bookcase; I often found her snuggled up ‘reading’ her favourite books, or tracing the alphabet with her fingers. And I’d found a business to get on with.

Now, Tidy Books is famous all over the world for creating original storage designs that make sense to kids. My iconic bookcase has become a firm favourite with parents; it saves space, keeps rooms tidy and gets kids reading. I’ve added to the Tidy Books ‘family’ with our practical, can’t-believe-nobody-thought-of-it-before Bunk Bed Buddy, our sturdy, portable Book Box and our family organiser, the ForgetMeNot. All of my designs are solutions to real-life family problems.

As Tidy Books has grown over the last 10 years, it’s our old fashioned values which I’m most proud of, because that’s what makes us different. We care about making a difference to family life; our designs are original, beautiful and useful. We care about quality; our products are built to become heirlooms, and are guaranteed for 7 years. We care about the planet; we use sustainable FSC certified wood and eco-friendly water lacquer.

We care too, about being a good citizen; with every purchase we donate to literacy charities, Beanstalk and Litworld to get more kids reading. And we’ve struck a chord with parents who want their children to curl up with a book, just like they loved to do as children.

We’re delighted to be part of Nest Designs’ exciting range for children, and we’re looking forward to meeting new friends and customers in South Africa.

“It’s such a joy to see her enjoy books as well as her other toys.” Ian, York, UK Tidy Books customer.