interfacelift

 

interfacelife

as i work more on this site i have started paying more attention to the other sites on the internets… and some of them are really good.  i bet there are people that make a living with these things… and probably even people who make a living making spaces for people to  make a living with these things.  the whole thing is a bit bizarre, the virtual surrealtors, the unsung heros who spend long hours toiling over gigantic abacuses. 

 

…and the little cyborgs growing up among us.  the little guys who are conceived first as digitized pictures from an ultrasound and circulated over the emails before they even see the light of day.  their whole world is digitized before they even have a chance to know analogue.  there’s nothing inherently wrong with it… it’s just weird.  and it’s weird objectively, because weirdness is defined by its opposite, and the opposite is bigger than this point in time.  it might not seem weird in the here and now, but is freaking weird in the big picture of life on earth!  but here on the internets we all embrace it, and we’ve probably all been called worse than weird at one point in time or another. 

 

introducing driftwood

introducing driftwood

 

square blocks that look round… liquid geometry… not an easy toy to get your head around, even trickier to build… check it out at http://www.aroundsquare.com/driftwood/home.html

driftwood is based on a simple concept… when you connect 3D shapes together loosely at the edges, they can bend into different shapes.  these puzzling blocks, like tactile kaleidoscopes can transform into variety of forms, displaying different color at each turn… the shapes inspire curiosity as these seemingly rigid forms flow from one to the next… they are just plain fun to fumble around with…

 

driftwood belongs to a family of geometrical anomalies that includes flexagons and kaleidocycles among others 

 

introducing twig

introducing twig

after several false starts, we’ve finalized the design of twig – building blocks for the budding architect.  check them out at http://www.aroundsquare.com/twig/home.html

 

 

twig takes the idea of building blocks to the next level… the simplicity of traditional blocks is retained, but the open construction of twig enables all manner of new twists and turns.

 

little hands develop big minds through experimentation with the aesthetics and physics of surreal architecture.  the joy and simplicity of creative play with real wooden toys helps children to become grounded in what really matters.  wonder around the site to get a sense of the possibilities…

 

inaugural post

 

inaugural post

 

when you see this post, don’t think of posting something on the bulletin boards, and don’t think of mailing something, think of some gnarled fence post pounded into the ground on the corner of some plot in the countryside.  this post is just a branch that was busted off some tree, but the cool thing about it is that it was pounded in while it was still green, and the ground was pretty good, so it actually sprouted roots, if you can believe it, and the little buds and stuff.  that’s what kind of post this is. …well, sort of.

 

bringing us up to the present:

 

2001: 

• the first monkey knuckles were born, under the name “wing nuts”

• the name monkey knuckles is coined  

• being the only player of this toy, matt adopts the title of world champion

 

2002: 

• connected with some of the folks involved with astrojax

• invited to the NY Toy Fair to get acquainted with the toy industry

• exciting times as numerous companies tragically and sometimes dramatically reject the idea of licensing mk

 

2003: 

• US Patent filed for “toy having two sliding balls on a string with end stoppers”

• down time for mk… play develops among a small core of players

 

2006:

• US Patent granted… breathing new life into mk

• monkey knuckles goes into small-scale production

• aroundsquare is born as a butterfly net to collect and other toy ideas which had been floating aimlessly

• aroundsquare.com launched

 

2007

• wonderaround log launched… floating aimlessly through the uncharted waters ahead