In mid-February, Erin and I traveled to the largest toy show on our continent and it did not disappoint us! While we wandered the aisles of New York Toy Fair, I was constantly reminded of why it is so necessary to fly clear across the country and spend thousands of dollars to attend. We walked a grueling four days straight in order to take advantage of every hour of the show and to see every booth’s offerings. We reviewed what we saw each evening and planned what we would order the next day. The final day was a frenzy of ordering until the show officially ended.
We walked away that last evening feeling satisfied with all of the unique new lines and products we found for our store. We enjoyed and valued the human connections we made with toy manufacturers. We marveled at some of the stories we learned about their products and about the journeys that vendors made to become successful. My favorite story was about how the Tangle plaything was created. In fact, it was originally a sculpture!
The Statue of Infinity sculpture originally created in 1975 was the inspiration for the iconic Tangle plaything enjoyed by millions of users for over 38 years. The Statue of Infinity is Richard X Zawitz’ attempt to manifest infinity in three dimensional form. After it is said and done, infinity is not a vast mathematical formula that is impossible to understand. Infinity to this artist represents we humans and our infinite energy to create. There is virtually no end to our abilities to create.
There are numerous mathematical and cosmic formulae incorporated into Zawitz’ Infinity. Most notably, Topology/Knot Theory, String Theory and Quantum Entanglement. By extension, each and every Tangle plaything contains and emits infinite creative energy. It is this artist’s goal that every man, woman and child on this planet experience the joy of the creative process.
At Fairhaven Toy Garden it has always been our goal to encourage and promote creativity and innovation in children and people of all ages. Next time you visit us, ask to see the Tangle plaything. I’m sure you’ll be just as surprised as we were with its infinite possibilities to create something unique.