Blue Squirrel was born from personal experience. As a result of the pandemic, Founder & CEO John Mason had the experience that millions of other parents across the country and around the world had: months of school closures and virtual-learning gave him the chance to observe how his young children were learning, playing, and spending their time in a whole new light. Some of what they 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. He wanted to see his children playing in ways that piqued their young imaginations, engaged them physically, and pushed them mentally. Eager to find something that would lure his kids outdoors, John looked for a playset.

But when it came to existing models, he was incredibly underwhelmed. Legacy brands were wildly expensive, with ghastly shipping estimates, and the same aesthetics as the sets his parents had bought him as a child nearly thirty years prior. Moreover, the customer service experience was stuck twenty years 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, John set out to make his next development project his most impactful. Instead of building for adults, he decided to dedicate his next “development project” to building for his kids - and for all kids. As a proud #girldad of two little girls, he created the Clubhouse––Blue Squirrel’s inaugural outdoor playset product. Eager to satisfy children and parents alike, he partnered with a team of industrial product designers and engineers to develop a modern take on a timeless product. The Clubhouse seamlessly blends your classic features (like monkey bars, swings, climbing walls, and slides) with collaborative and creative elements (like soccer nets, bucket and pulley systems, window boxes, chalkboards, and a hidden hideaway).