we make the ordinary extraordinary

Blue Squirrel was founded to reinvent classic outdoor kids’ play spaces by blending sensible, modern design capabilities with child-inspired magical thinking. Our goal is to deliver happiness to the whole family.

 

Delivering Happiness to The Whole Family

Our Vision

The backyard is a safe space for your family where your kids can just be kids. We’re committed to delivering outdoor play spaces that help foster creativity, collaboration and curiosity in children aged 5-15.

A letter from the founder & CEO

Blue Squirrel was born from my personal experience. From 2020-2022, I had the experience that millions of other parents across the country and around the world had: months of school closures and virtual-learning gave me the chance to observe how my young children were learning, playing, and spending their time in a whole new light. Some of what my wife and I saw was great, but a good deal was seriously lacking. There was too much screen time, not enough time spent playing outdoors, and not enough attention given to the developmental aspects of play. I want to see my children playing in ways that pique their young imaginations, engage them physically, and push them mentally. Eager to find something that would motivate our kids to get outdoors, my wife and I looked for a playset.

But when it came to existing models, I was incredibly underwhelmed. The shopping experience was time consuming, the products were largely underwhelming relative to the high price points, delivery wait-time estimates seemed endless, and the added fees and expenses for shipping, delivery and installation added over 20%. Moreover, the customer service experience was stuck decades in the past, with slow response times, hands-off freight delivery, and 8 hour plus do-it-yourself assembly times.

After 25 years as a real estate developer, I set out to make my next development project my most impactful. Instead of building for adults, I decided to dedicate my next “development project” to my kids - and for all kids. As a proud #girldad of two little girls, I created the Clubhouse––Blue Squirrel’s inaugural outdoor playset product.

Along with a team of industrial product designers and engineers, I created the Clubhouse – Blue Squirrel’s inaugural outdoor playset – a modern take on a timeless product.  The Clubhouse seamlessly blends classic playground equipment (like monkey bars, a swing, climbing wall, and slide) with collaborative and creative playhouse accessories (like a soccer net, basketball hoop, window boxes, chalkboard, and the hidden hideaway behind the bookshelf) for hours of structured free play. 

 

With so many outlets for imaginative and creative play in our Clubhouse, we at Blue Squirrel intend to reinvent the backyard, creating the perfect space to safely empower our kids to learn life lessons through play-based learning. Our hope is that Blue Squirrel will help to raise the next generation of independent, curious, self-sufficient children through play experiences that remain in their memories for years to come.

John Mason, Founder & CEO, #girldad

Photo of a man and two children sitting in the grass smiling in front of the Blue Squirrel playground.

What Sets Us Apart?

Existing swing-set brands offer so many choices with so many different configurations to choose from but the reality is that most parents select a kid playhouse or swing-set with these classic features: swing, slide, climbing wall, monkey bars. We cut out the guesswork to deliver those core features and so much more! 

The Blue Squirrel Clubhouse has a rejuvenated aesthetic and intentionally designed play features to deliver a modern approach best-suited for today’s modern children. While play has long been recognized as a source of development for kids’ mental, physical and social faculties, the role of play has been increasingly prioritized during a global pandemic that threw kids’ education and development into the spotlight for many parents.  Blue Squirrel differentiates from the competition by combining intentional focus on aesthetics, functionality, and safety with features that emphasize developmentally-appropriate guided play.  The Blue Squirrel Blog, Climbing The Walls, is filled with ideas for creative and collaborative play. The Blue Squirrel Clubhouse is designed to deliver a premium experience for both kids and parents at a competitive price point. While other outdoor play brands often add-on more costs related to delivery and third-party set up fees, Blue Squirrel will launch with free white-glove delivery and installation.

Head over to the Product page for a side-by-side comparison of Blue Squirrel vs. the Competition.

Our Three Pillars

yellow scribble
premium outdoor playhouse

Magical

Magical features like indoor monkey bars, rainbow stairs and secret doors are designed to inspire a sense of wonder in a fun-filled backyard playset.

safe outdoor playset

Safe

Safety is always the #1 priority in our design process. Features like slide proportions, stair railing and baluster spacing are configured for backyard playset ASTM compliance.

durable outdoors playhouse

Resilient

Durable, splinter-free polywood, a steel superstructure and steel ground anchors make each Clubhouse sturdy - just like the resilient children it's built to support.

Our Sustainability Pledge

As a company that is rooted in the mission to create happiness through healthy and positive outdoor play experiences, we are committed to doing our small part to help protect and improve the environment through reforestation. We are following the lead of our brand’s namesake backyard animal - the squirrel! Did you know that squirrels are often responsible for planting new trees? To celebrate the first 1,000 members of our newsletter community, we have planted 1,000 trees through onetreeplanted.org.