“We could make this play pattern aspirational again!” Make It Real’s Dominique Roy on the origins of the Polish & Shine Tumbler

Dominique, we’re discussing two exciting launches for Make It Real. Let’s start with your Polish & Shine Tumbler. How did this come about?
We’re always interested in inventor proposals and creating products that are inspired by well-proven play patterns, but ones that have not been innovated for years. That’s what led us to tumblers… There are many rock tumblers out there – and they haven’t changed for years. It’s a simple process to explain, but one that’s often long and fruitless.

Do your best for us, Dominique!
Normally, you put rocks into a barrel, along with a polishing agent and a bit of water. You let it spin for days, weeks or – in some rare cases – months. If you are apparently lucky, you get smooth, polished rocks. Now, people may presume that this mostly attracts dads and uncles, but we felt there was an opportunity to make this play pattern aspirational again, for boys and girls as well. If the outcome is cool, any budding jewellers could be interested in it.

So with this, you’re more quickly transforming unpolished pieces of natural stone into beautiful beads that you can then use as jewellery?
Right! Rock tumbling can take a long time, so we’ve made it a faster, more predictable process. That said, we have an option that requires three weeks of tumbling to get the desired result!

The play experience divides in four levels: Beginner, Maker, Master and Explorer. Explorer, the most advanced level, invites kids to ‘find rocks in their backyard’ and tumble them – using the tumbler in the classic way. It was important that even if a child has used all the supplied beads, there’s still a use for the Tumbler.

There are strong links between the traditional experience and the types of jeweller-crafting products Make It Real specialises in: anticipation, transformation and a sense of pride in a finished item…

Exactly. And there’s some striking parallels with the toy space. Every kid on the planet has, at some stage, collected rocks. It’s universal wherever you are in the world because rocks are available. And to your point – yes, the processes are the same. You take the ultimate commodity and, with some patience and anticipation, transform it into something precious.

Dolly Parton once said: “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap”. Did it take a lot of hard work to craft the simple-looking ‘rough’ beads? The ones that transform in the Tumbler?
Ha! She’s a bright woman and the analogy makes sense – but with a slight difference… We worked hard to keep it cheap but look great! Natural stones like agate, marble and amazonite are expensive when compared to plastics. We worked hard to keep our proposal sound from a cost standpoint. That’s important to me because I’m a product designer that happened to create toys…

This means I have a lot of respect for the people who play with our products. I feel like surrendering when someone says “This is just a toy!” to justify sub-quality functionality. We had to get this right – and wanted to control how much time you need to tumble in order to get a predictable end result. We did a load of experimentation before getting rewarding results. Among these tests, we played around with the level of polish on the supplied beads and came up with a custom formulation for the polish agent.

Great. Let’s move into your Swift Clicks Heishi Bracelet Maker. Where did the idea for this come from?
We’re doing great with Heishi beads; they’re still trending. We wanted to provide kids with a different way to make a bracelet – a faster way that’s more fun! So what used to take 15 minutes now takes five. The designer’s original idea was inspired by those multi-coloured clicker pens, which you can see in the architecture of the product.

I can absolutely see that now!
It was a huge technical challenge for the team. To get the precision right, so that every time you press the button, one bead will thread onto the threading stem. It had to be perfectly aligned; the designer needed seven prototypes in order to get to that final version… And all using normal toy manufacturing technology and, inevitably, financials – we’re not NASA!

Ha! So it has to perform well and looks beautiful. Did those two aspects align organically?
It’s a very good question. I can’t take credit for the design of this, but I fully endorse what the team came up with… As mentioned earlier, I’m first and foremost a product designer. Kids are now surrounded by iPhones, electronic goods and products that look very good. In this case, it’s more about form following function than smoke and mirrors. Kids aged eight and older appreciate a more mature design these days, as opposed to a ‘toyish aesthetic’.

Also, we can capture an older audience because our product is not, say, shaped like a unicorn! I believe that approach to aesthetics can be the difference between a triple and a homerun. It’s ultimately a bet and I’m hoping a larger audience will adopt this product because of that.

–

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent Interview

Hasbro’s Jennifer Schroth on bringing Play-Doh and Barbie together for a line of new playsets

“It’s the perfect fusion of two iconic brands”: Jennifer Schroth – Design Manager for Play-Doh and Creative Play at Hasbro – takes us inside Play-Doh’s Barbie collection.

“It flings the door wide open for counterfeits and knock-offs”: The Toy Association’s Greg Ahearn talks tariffs

Greg Ahearn, CEO at The Toy Association, discusses the potential impact of tariffs – and how to successfully collaborate with those in government to tackle them.

King of the Water Blaster? In conversation with Spyra co-founder Sebastian Walter

On a mission to make the world’s best water blaster: Spyra’s co-founder Sebastian Walter.

EXG Pro’s Alan Fenwick on the rise and rise of Cable Guys

Alan Fenwick, CEO and Co-Founder at EXG Pro, on the origins of the company, the success of Cable Guys – and knowing when to kill an idea.

As Blue Orange turns 25, Thierry Denoul discusses the company’s origins – and bright future

As Blue Orange celebrates its 25th anniversary, President Thierry Denoul discusses the company’s humble beginnings – and bright future.

Dyce’s Jason Exum discusses brand collaborations with Care Bears, Miraculous and more

Jason Exum, VP of Brands and Partnerships at Dyce Games, on exciting new collaborations with Care Bears, Miraculous and Wiz Khalifa.