Westport has a strong educational toy legacy. Back in 1988, Westporters Melissa and Doug Bernstein founded Melissa & Doug, a toy brand known for encouraging imaginative, open-ended play. Now, 37 years later, Westporter Cali Carleton is building another educational toy brand here: Domino & Juliette. Her inspiration came from a place familiar to many parents: not being able to find the kind of toys she wanted for her five children, whom she homeschools. “I was looking for toys that were meaningful, purposeful, and that they would be able to learn from and play with,” she says. “So I started making my own.” She shared her creations on social media (she is behind the popular parenting account @chasing50toes), and when COVID-19 hit, friends and followers started reaching out, asking for ideas on how to implement her creations with their own children. “Parents were wanting more, from a resource standpoint,” she says. “I thought I think I can reach more people and help a bigger audience if I actually produce these.”
She started with activity mats— placemats that doubled as activity boards, with QR codes that offer suggestions to parents and caregivers on how to use the mats— and expanded to Domino & Juliette’s now-bestselling puzzles for numbers, shapes, and letters. One of Cali’s most distinctive ideas was to have their puzzles feature soft, food-grade silicone pieces. “Traditionally in playrooms, you see wooden [painted] alphabet puzzles,” she explains. Educational toys like that are only safety tested for ages 3 and up, but if you are teaching an older sibling letters and a younger baby spots an abandoned "M," parents know what happens next: it goes right into the baby’s mouth. “Our puzzles are safety tested for 0 and up,” she says. “With my fifth, when he wants something to chew on, I’m like here’s a triangle! Here’s a letter D!” The pieces can even go in the dishwasher. She also wanted to design toys that were easy for parents to pack— all the puzzles come with a zippered canvas storage bag.
Beyond teaching letter recognition, Cali drew on her homeschooling knowledge to make sure the puzzles taught early phonics. Behind each letter is a word featuring the primary sound that letter makes, which is why the X piece doesn’t reveal a xylophone or an x-ray, but a fox or a box. “X doesn’t usually make a Z sound, or say its own name,” she explains. “We’re not setting kids up for success [using those words]. We’re trying to be smart for parents and smart for kids.”
Domino & Juliette supports more kids than just those that have the toys in their playrooms, too. With every purchase of a Domino & Juliette toy, a pack of crayons is donated to a school in need, which they’ve been doing locally in Bridgeport. “To actually go into the schools and see the children receiving the crayons was so special.” And earlier this spring, they launched their Block by Block campaign to support daycares, preschools, early learning centers, and pediatric medical facilities in need— they can apply to receive a case containing 12 sets of the best-selling Squeeze & Stack Blocks.
Cali credits the Westport community as a big part of her story so far. It was a Westport friend who suggested the name (Cali’s daughter is named Juliette) and local businesses have been big supports, including children’s boutique Honey Pie downtown, which was the first retailer to sell the products. Now, Domino & Juliette is available locally at Awesome Toys, too, where Cali says "Nick Tarzia, owner of Awesome Toys, and his partner Flaviana Dos Santos have consistently made themselves available as a resource—always willing to brainstorm, offer feedback, and answer my questions. Their support has been invaluable." You can also find Domino & Juliette at Naturino Kids shoe store, they’ve partnered with Crafty Kids, and received mentorship from Sarah Robinson, owner of The Wonder. “A lot of local business owners have been very helpful to me. It’s been really amazing— this is a great community.”
But Cali’s greatest joy is building a brand that her children have been so hands-on with. “Working on this project with my children has been absolutely incredible,” she says. “They’re my best testers!”
For more information or to order product, visit dominoandjuliette.com
"We’re trying to be smart for parents and smart for kids.”