When the opportunity came up on Blog-match to receive a Bizu Style Station to review, I thought I'd sign up because it sounded right up Sophie's street but I'd never actually heard of the product. When it arrived, Sophie excitedly leapt around the room telling me that she'd seen it on TV and that it looked really really good and that she was going to put it on her Christmas list and could she play with it right now please please pleeeeeease ?!!
A quick bit of research while Sophie got unpacking revealed that Bizu is the latest creation from Spinmaster Toys, aimed at tween (but I'd also add teen) girls aged 6+, giving them the tools necessary for creating simple but very impressive animal charms and jewellery. The Style Station acts as a fun, funky and functional way of storing your beads so that they don't end up getting lost or sucked up in the hoover. It also allows you to select the beads you want to use before releasing them down the chute, which is certainly much more enjoyable than just picking them out of a box or bag !
In the box, you have enough supplies to make four animal creations - four stretchy plastic strings, an assortment of 40 beads (including heads, tails and other body parts), little accessories and clips to make them into keyrings. There is also a long plastic tool which makes threading the beads an absolute piece of cake.
You can mix and match the different animal parts to make crazy creations but Sophie wanted to follow the instructions to make the "proper" animals to begin with - zebra, cat, dog and monkey. The great thing is, you can pull them apart and start all over again as many times as you like, as well as buy extra bead refills to mix and match things even more.
It is very simple to turn your threaded beads into bracelets, but - even though they are stretchy - they were a bit tight for 10-year-old Sophie. They did fit perfectly onto 6-year-old Juliette and 2-year-old Pierre's wrists though.
The very nifty part though - and I was very impressed to see that Sophie managed this totally by herself with no explanation from me - is that, in an action very similar to balloon modelling, you can twist the legs around the body to turn your bracelet into a lovely little 3D animal.
It's great to find a toy that is totally mess-free, that needs no glue, batteries or adult intervention and that allows more than one child to play together. I actually thought it would be a bit cheap and plasticky but I've been very impressed at the solidity of the Style Station and the reusability of the beads and strings.
I can definitely see the refill packs of beads being a stocking filler this year for both of the girls !
star rating : 5/5 (I asked Sophie and she said it deserved 10/5 !!)
RRP : £19.99 for the Styke Station, £5.99 for the refill packs of beads
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I would have loved something like this as a kid, so I will by it for my cousins little girl and then I will have an excuse to play with it, lol
ReplyDeleteMy 10 year old daughter would love this. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDelete@mumoffunkids