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Allow me to share the story of “The Toycrafter.” 1/20
Once a upon a time there was a child with a rather eccentric grandfather. Now, this grandfather’s eccentricities had grown over the years, but this child only knew those eccentricities in the full bloom of the grandfather’s old age. 2/
Under this grandfather’s influence, the child grew up thinking that collecting things was a normal thing that human beings did. And deciding on what was to be collected was a most serious business. 3/
One day, the child was dragged to some activities that siblings were involved in. To entertain the child, two spinning tops were bestowed, an inexpensive, most ancient gift. 4/
Hours and months of entertainment later, a few more tops were added. One of them was egg-shaped and baby blue (and spun terribly); another was a cube (and also spun terribly). But these misshapen oddities captured the child’s fancy. 5/
(Once the child gained a theatrical role that, while the child was too young to have, the child was also the only one who could spin the dreidel every time without disaster. The egg-shaped top had proven worthwhile training.) 6/
Top upon top was added to the collect. And one day, a new toy store opened, a magical toy store. There were hand-crafted tops that flipped; Lucky Penny tops; top MAZES (The "A Maze 'N' Top", of course). All from “The Toycrafter.” 7/
And then, one day, as a gift there appeared “The Little Book of Tops: Tricks, Lore, and More” 8/
Don Olney had the merriest avuncular tone. It was an amateur narrative historian at his best. And he was also “The Toycrafter.” Not only was it the perfect little book, it had a spinning top attached to its ribbon bookmark. 9/
Our child had a hero and a guidebook. And while the child knew how much larger “The Toycrafter”’s collection was in comparison, no envy was to be found, not least because time was on the child’s side. 10/
Skip a few years ahead and our child has been deeply saddened to discover that the largest collection in that child’s OWN state is not the 500+ spinning tops much played with and carefully stored. 11/
No, there’s a Top Museum, at the time the only one in the world, a mere thirty minutes away. And the owner lacks the reassuring, encouraging tone of “The Toycrafter.” Instead, the child is crushed, hating the museum. 12/
Patronizing is close to the right word for what was experienced in the museum, but it’s also hard for an adult to grasp the varied emotions of a child, so it's not entirely that owner's fault. It was one of the worst days, disappointments layered on each other. 13/
The spinning top collection kept on growing, though the museum was not visited again. And one day, well after college, the child looked up the childhood hero, “The Toycrafter” and called him. That hero proved a kind human, a faithful (now-retired) toy crafter indeed. 14/
A decade on, the child reached out to the hero once more, to see whether any more tales or tops were to be found. “The Toycrafter” had sold his collection: now at least two top museums existed in the world, both in the Midwest. 15/
A year later, the child saw that “The Toycrafter” was still selling old copies of “The Little Book of Tops: Tricks, Lore, and More,” along with a build-your-own activity kit. And so the child bought a few, for gift and (much-slower-growing) collection. 16/
“The Toycrafter” sent an email inquiring about shipping and the child responded and added a question about whether any of those old tops from “The Toycrafter” were still around to be purchased, just one or two. 17/
No reply came. But when the box arrived today, it was filled to the brim with tops galore. Tops the child had never known “The Toycrafter” made and tops the child had treasured, but with new designs. 18/
“The Toycrafter” and his infectious curiosity might have been the biggest influence on my childhood outside of family and dear friends. I’m happy to say he’s still influencing me with his creativity and by so generously sending me those gifts. 19/
The world’s tough enough right now. But there are a few bright spots. I wanted to share one of those that would be typically overlooked. And if you’d like to support his work & share joy with any young ones you know, here's a link to his present work: https://louisesdaughter.myshopify.com/products/paint-n-make-spinning-top-kit-to-make-12-tops.
