Our Commitment to Respectful Storytelling

A Journey of Wonder and Responsibility

Our greatest wish at Storytime Scarves is to spark a child's curiosity about the world. We believe in the power of play to open up conversations, build connections, and create "windows" through which children can view other worlds and "mirrors" in which they can see themselves reflected. Sharing stories from global cultures is a profound opportunity, and it comes with a significant responsibility to represent them authentically and avoid stereotypes. We are committed to undertaking this work with the care, humility, and respect it deserves. This page is a transparent look into the pedagogical principles guiding our creative process.  

Our Guiding Compass

A set of core principles guides us to ensure our work fosters genuine appreciation and honours the source of every story.

Inspired By, Not Replicated: Our products are imaginative play resources inspired by global cultures, art, and stories. They are not authentic cultural objects or replicas. We aim to create a sensory starting point that sparks a child's imagination, not to copy or replace items of deep cultural significance. The creative process is the focus, not a perfect final product.  

Fostering Appreciation, Not Appropriation: We are guided by the critical distinction between cultural appreciation and appropriation. Appreciation seeks to learn about another culture with humility and respect. Appropriation involves taking from a culture without context, often trivialising traditions and causing harm. We are committed to avoiding harmful pitfalls like promoting stereotypes or trivialising sacred traditions. Our work is designed to build bridges, not to perform a version of another culture.  

Centred on Child Development: As a company founded by an early childhood educator, our designs are grounded in the principles of early childhood development. We know that young children learn best through concrete, sensory, and experiential play. Our resources are, therefore, designed to be hands-on and process-focused, meeting children where they are in their developmental journey.  

A Starting Point for Your Discovery: Our scarves are the beginning of a conversation, not the end. They are a gentle launchpad for a family's journey of discovery. We wholeheartedly encourage you to continue this journey by seeking more authentic resources, mainly books, music, and art created by people from the source cultures.  

Our Journey and Our Dream

We are a small, independent business founded by a passionate educator. Our first and most important investment is to get this educational and ethical framework right. As we grow, our dream is to build partnerships and find ways to share our success with the communities and artists whose stories inspire us. We are not there yet, but it is the destination we are working towards. We are on a journey and committed to learning and improving every step of the way.

Thank you for being a part of our story