I am getting to an age where friends are having babies with more frequency, and that means presents. There is nothing I like better than a good excuse to buy frivolous delightful things, and thus was very pleased to spot the Barefoot Berlin stand at the Hackescher Markt Saturday market. The stall was filled an eccentric menagerie of giraffes, octupi, aardvarks, all in a wild medley of colours. The toys are individually made from nubby handwoven fabrics, coloured with ecologically friendly dyes from Switzerland, and stuffed with kapok. What's not to love? I selected the giraffe because I couldn't resist his indignant expression; David insists he resembles me.

Barefoot Berlin, Kreuzbergstr. 75, 10965 Berlin (U-Bahn stations Mehringdamm or Platz der Luftbrücke)
(030) 44 35 91 37, [email protected]
Open M-F 2 - 7 pm, Sat 12 - 8 pm
Also at the Hackescher Markt market every Saturday and the Kollwitzplatz market every first and third Saturday of the month