Thursday's Visual Treat - Day 4/ Objects of Desire













Peeps,



This week's theme is 'objects of desire,' and it's day four; with great pleasure I present children's toys, and more specifically windup toys.  I have always been attracted to toys with wheels, or toys that are mechanical and thus have movement in the form of skipping/jumping/gliding/running/turning/zooming/zipping and so forth.  We can all remember as kids we had a little wooden horse that made a click-click-clack sound as it was pulled by our eager hand(s) across the floor and invariably onto the rug where we quickly realized that the sound was absent, and so back onto a hard surface where the click-click-clack sound resumed and again delighted our impressionable minds.  Interestingly, I still love that sound and whenever I find myself in the company of these delightful objects (in a home with children, or in a toy-store which offers the charming and lovingly hand-made models that I remember from my childhood, or scavenging the basement tables at an estate-sale) nothing comes close to the joy of hearing as well as seeing magic in motion in the form of elephants, bears, dogs, tigers, cars, trucks, carts....

On my unending quest for beauty, art and inspiration I had the good fortune of meeting the charming owner of The Toymaker of Williamsbug, VA, namely Sara Gunn.  She and her knowledgeable staff have carefully selected and presented a wonderful array of delights such as board games, teddy bears and other stuffed creatures, toy soldiers, wooden building blocks, replicas of weapons such as sabers/swords/bayonets/muskets, building sets, books and other delightful learning material.  With a selection of treasures unequaled in these parts, and within walking distance of Colonial Williamsburg, the experience is quite magical.  If you are in that area, drop in and introduce yourself as a fellow peep; or late in the evening, stare through the windows and drool (as I usually do).  I have also included a link to the shop's website:  http://www.toymakerofwilliamsburg.com/.


Enjoy the day and thanks for tuning into the peep-show.

Sincerely,
Shane

PS:  The Paya Bugatti (pictured above) was made in Spain approx 1920's, and belongs in Sara's personal collection of vintage and antique toys--therefore not available.  Happily, other equally cool, inspiring and beautiful objects can be found in her shop and other independent toy-stores. Join the fun (and let the inner child come out again). 

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