Kickstarter

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that pledged to back this book project - Playing Around - How what we played with shaped who we are.  Also, I want everyone to know that since we did not reach out goal, your account will not be billed.

All of this said, our spirits are not down, we intend to move forward with the book and are conducting interviews even as we speak.  So, once we land with a publisher and we're off and running, make sure you check back at our blog...

http://playingaroundbook.blogspot.com/

for additional updates.  And everyone that pledged will still receive the items that they would have gotten had we been successful with funding.

So, stay tuned.

Eddie Goldfarb created his famous chattering teeth (Yakity Yak Teeth) in 1949 and he still going strong with his latest creation being the Lego Creator Game.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Goldfarb for the Playing Around book.  Not to give anything away, but Mr. Goldfarb's favorite toy almost meant he was going to be a toy inventor from day one.

He always knew he wanted to be an independent inventor, but he didn't decide on toys until he was stuck on a submarine during World War II.  He and his two-man crew maintained all of the electronics on the submarine including the radar.  During his downtime, he would read books and Popular Mechanics magazines as well as sketch and write down ideas.

When the war ended, Eddie was all set to go with a notebook full of ideas and the skills to bring those ideas to life.  He licensed Yakity Yak Teeth in 1949 and has been going strong ever since.

On Monday, I will be interviewing two icons of the toy industry.  First with Mr. Eddie Goldfarb who is the inventor of the classic wind-up chattering teeth.  Mr. Goldfarb is alo the inventor of Stompers, a toy manufactured by Schaper Toys in Minneapolis.  It was a classic battery operated four by four vehicle series that did very well in the 80's.  In addition Mr. Goldfarb invented Shark Attack, a great board game where players had to scramble to keep ahead of a menacing shark.

Then I will be talking with the former founder and CEO of CAP Toys, Mr. John Osher.  CAP Toys brought back the great Stretch Armstrong Toy and had a huge hit with Spin Pops.  Lolipops on a motorized base that spun in the consumers mouth.  He sold CAP Toys to Hasbro and using the Spin Pops mechanism created an inexpensive spinning toothbrush under the name Dr. John's Spinbrush.  He sold Dr. John's to Proctor and Gamble for a large amount of money.

Both of these interviews should provide fascinating material for Playing Around.

As part of the University of Minnesota's Product Design initiative they are offering a new Toy Design Class.  The class is open to Design Majors and Non-Design Majors, even freshman can take the course.  It is a nice show of commitment on the University of Minnesota's part to the importance of the toy industry and play itself.

I was honored and pleased to be a part of the review team that evaluated the student's projects yesterday.  Other reviewers included representatives from Target, Creative Kidstuff, Whiteboard Solutions, and the University of Wisconsin - Stout (another well known design school).

The review was hosted by Professor Barry Kudrowitz, who has previous Toy Lab experience at MIT.  Professor Kudrowitz and his assistants all wore lab coats that had a University of Minnesota Toy Lab logo on the back.  Something I thought I would never see, but am happy now to find it at my alma mater.

I will be interviewed for an article to be run in the Twin Cities City Pages Newspaper tomorrow.  The article will focus on the current state of the American Toy Industry, I will make certain the book gets a mention.

In addition, I will be participating tomorrow in a design review of students' work at the new Toy Design Class at the University of Minnesota.  The Professor of the class is MIT Phd graduate and toy inventor Mr. Barry Kudrowitz.  Professor Kudrowitz has agreed to be interviewed for the book.