Tumblebug

It seems strange to be strutting my stuff in public without a toy or two, especially when the kids come in. Didn't I used to be a toymaker? So I figured I'd dig into my old bag of tricks and conjure up a simple plaything. The first toys were very basic: a block with four wheels, or a crude caster on a long handle. The elements of these devices evolved into more elaborate mechanisms, and took on representational forms. That block might become a rabbit, with eccentric rear wheels to make it hop. So I thought I could go back, take a basic design, and -- Hey Presto!: a plaything for the gallery. Maybe a potential low-priced sales item. How long could it take?

Six hours later I had manufactured a variation on an old tumble-toy design: a Tumblebug. This cylindrical-shaped toy can roll over on its back and come up on its wheels. In theory. In fact, it only works in reverse. What's the message here? The toymaker can't make a simple toy anyone can afford to buy for a kid, and when it's done, it works backwards. Think again, Bryce: toymaking is retro.

Then again, folks who came into the gallery on other business tumbled for the bug, were amused by the fact it was retro, and offered me $100 for it. Sold.

[See it in action below]