Toymaker's Statement

I love meditation. Practicing it has given me space and a ton of energy.

With some of that energy, I make toys. They often live at the intersection of fun and seriousness.

Meditation can feel severe, and it’s probably not helpful for your practice to become another source of judgment or a new adversary. Making friends with meditation is better.

Sometimes, as I’m making these toys, they start to feel precious. They drift toward the realm of art. They’re beautiful to me, but when they get close to becoming aware of their own artness, I try to fix them. I invite them back to the land of toys, and they usually come willingly.

Meditation and toymaking have also brought me friendships. I keep making toys to make new friends and to go deeper with existing ones. Self-expression is nice, but for me, friendship is where it’s at.

Once, I scribbled a note to myself: make friends with art. I meant it as “befriend art-making; don’t struggle so much with the process.” But just as I finished writing, another meaning popped up, like the head of a gopher. Make friends with art also meant making friendships through art.

If you replace art with toys, or with meditation, that’s what I’m working on.

Make friends with art.
Make friends with meditation.
Make friends with toys.

This shop exists to make buying these toys easy, for yourself or as gifts. Everything is meant to be inexpensive. If you really want something and can’t afford it, email me and we’ll figure it out. If you’d like a bunch to give away at an event or to a group, reach out and I’ll get them to you at cost.

And please email me with your reactions. I’d love to hear from you.

Eric Antonow    
antonow@gmail.com