Spooner Valentine’s Heart

Valentine’s day brings a new Paul Spooner edition of 13 hearts titled  “Be Still My Blinking Heart”.

Turn the handle and the heart blinks in anticipation.

Paul remarks: ‘It is an opportunity to donate an organ to a loved one. The blink mechanism is a spin-off development of owl technology and to get the oak for the base I had to saw up our bed.”
size: Width 4.5cm Height 8.5cm Depth 4.5cm

Price 97.50+VAT.

Buy it here.

Collector’s Piece

A one off piece from Carlos Zapata.

The ‘Collector’ is admiring his latest acquistion the little figure does sit-ups in the palm of the collector’s hand. This piece from 2005 has recently been on exhibition in North America, and is now available to buy.

Height: 56 cm
Price: £895.00

This is available to buy from our Online Store.

Nude with Concertina

We have a couple of new works from Paul Spooner as he warms up for his Virtual Exhibiton later this year.

The first is ‘Nude with Concertina’ (pictured), an ingenious mechanism moves the skeleton’s arms, and a delicate origami-paper concertina is played. There are two of these. To buy or for more information click here.

We also have a one-off piece, ‘Exercising One’s Demons’. Spooner plays with words and tricycles in this one – lovely. Click here for more information or to buy.

Movable Illustration is Back

Automata – Movable Illustration by Aquio Nishida. Imported from Japan, this is a delightful book from automata maker and director of the Contemporary Toy museum of Japan, Aquio Nishida. There are plenty of drawings and photographs. The text is in Japanese with only partial English translations. However it’s still of great interest to the automata enthusiast and contains many examples of Mr Nishida’s work along with his ideas, tips and plans for making automata.

Price: £20
Buy it now in our Online Store.

Goat in the Bath

To celebrate our new website we have commissioned a new edition (only 2!) of a couple of old favourite from the Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Firstly, the Goat in the Bath left.

This humorous scene presents a symphony of subtle motion – legs pumping, arms beating, ears flopping, a duck swimming. The goat runs a bath and the bath literally runs away! (Don’t keep it too near the bath though), and secondly The Hula Hooper. Japanese artist Kazu Harada has a new piece too, the wonderful Cat.

Applause Machine

Martin Smith’s wonderful Applause Machine is now being produced by Laikingland (a creative collaboration between artist Martin Smith and Engineer Nick Regan) It is available in 5 different colours. (Choose – if you can! – from the list below when ordering).

What better way of congratulating yourself when there is no else around. Also, a lovely idea as a wedding gift (or two for mutual admiration). Materials: Powder coated steel, brass, walnut wood, plastic and motor, battery operated – (2 AAA batteries included). Height: 450 mm (approx 17 inches)

£165.95 – Click here for more info/to buy