Monday, March 14, 2011

Yakkity Yak Teeth Inventor Still Going Strong



Eddie Goldfarb created his famous chattering teeth (Yakkity Yak Teeth) in 1949 and he still going strong with his latest creation being the Lego Creator Game.  I had the pleasure oif interviewing Mr. Goldfarb for the Playing Around book.  Not to give anything away, but Mr. Goldfarb's favorite toy almost meant he was going to be a toy inventor from day one.
Healways knew he wanted to be an independent invnetor, but he didn't decide on toys until he was stuck on a submarine during World War II.  He and his two man crew maintained all of the electronics on the submarine including the radar.  During his doiwn time, he would read books andPopular Mechanics magazines as well as sketch and write down ideas.
When the war ended, Eddie was all set to go with a notebook full of ideas and the skills to bring those ideas to life.  He licensed Yakity Yak Teeth in 1949 and has been going strong ever since.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Dueling Dice Box Designer on Board

Design Edge, the designers of the Dueling Dice game box, available for backing the Playing Around book on kickstarter, has come on board to back the book project.  Thanks to Design Edge's President Matt Nuccio and his support and willingness to get the word out.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our Charity Partner - More News

Exciting news, we have official confirmation that Feed My Starving Children will receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Playing Around book.  This is a wonderful organization that has a mission statement of feeding hungry children in body and spirit.

In addition, I will be interviewed by Minneapolis/St. Paul newspaper City Pages on the current state of the American Toy Industry.  Also, tomorrow I will be sitting in on a design review of the University of Minnesota's new Toy Design Class.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Book Update

As you all may know we have currently raised $1800 to fund the Playing Around book project. Several notable toy & game designers have already agreed to be interviewed for the book and we are expecting to hear back from a few more in the coming days. Tim Moodie will be sitting in on a review of student toy design projects for a class at the University of Minnesota. He will also be interviewed by the City Pages Twin Cities Newspaper for an article on the current state of the toy industry. Please spread the word on the book project and share the link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1092958220/playing-around-how-what-we-played-with-shaped-who
Thanks to everyone for your support!