The Focus Spiral
A printed spiral focus toy that opens flat and folds into a cone. Made in Estonia.
Current price and delivery on Amazon.de
One piece, printed in a single run. Ribs turn out from a square hole in the middle to eight points at the edge, and every one of them moves against the next.
Press the centre and it domes. Twist it and it folds up into a cone. Let go and it settles back flat.
It is about as wide as an adult palm, and flat enough to go in a pocket.
There is no mechanism inside it. Nothing spins and nothing lights up.
Drawn and printed in Tallinn.
Scroll for more.
How it moves.
-
Open it flat.
It lies in a palm as a web of ribs and it will stay there.
-
Fold it.
Push one edge past the other and the whole thing rises into a cone.
-
Work it back.
Between two hands it opens and shuts, over and over.
Why people keep one.
- Somewhere for your hands to go while you listen
- No click and nothing to press
- Works in one hand, and sits below a camera frame
- Nothing to charge and nothing to plug in
- One piece, so there is no part of it to lose
- Made in Estonia, in the studio that drew it
What it is.
Noise
Audible on a hard floor. Drop it in a quiet room and everybody looks up.
- Movement
- Opens flat, folds into a cone, and comes back
- Construction
- Printed in one piece. Nothing glued, screwed or clipped to anything else
- In the hand
- One-handed. About as wide as an adult palm
- Colour
- Printed in a colour-shifting filament, so no two come out quite alike
- Power
- None. It takes no battery and there is nothing to charge
- Safety marking
- Not suitable for children under 36 months. One piece, no small parts
- Made in
- Estonia. Drawn, printed, finished and packed in Tallinn
Looking after it.
Wash it with soap and water, and let it dry.
It is printed plastic rather than rubber, so the thing that will spoil one is being stood on.
Safety and age.
The safety page says what we know about the material, and what we do not know yet.
Colour.
They are printed in filament that changes colour along its length, so the pattern shifts as the spiral turns and no two come off the bed quite the same.
There is no premium edition and no limited run.
Questions.
Is this just a fidget spinner?
No. There is no bearing in it and no moving part: it is one printed piece, and it does nothing at all unless somebody is working it.
It is 3D printed. Is that a prototype?
No. Every one we sell comes off the same printers in the studio. There is no later version made some other way.
Will it break in a week?
No. It is printed as one piece, so there is no seam to split and no fixing to work loose. Standing on one will spoil it, and so will forcing it across the ribs. Neither is a week of ordinary use.
Will it go slack?
Nothing in it is sprung or stretched, so there is nothing to tire. The surface will mark with use. The movement does not change.
Will it annoy the teacher, or the office?
In a hand it is close to silent, and there is nothing on it to click or rattle. Dropped on a hard floor it is audible, and that is where somebody gets noticed.
Is it safe for a three-year-old?
It is not suitable for children under 36 months. There are no parts at all to come off: it is printed in one piece. It is rigid plastic with defined edges and it is not made to be chewed. The safety page says what we know about the material, and what we do not know yet.
Only one product? Are they a real company?
One toy, drawn and printed by the person the company is named after. There is a second design on the bench and it is not ready to sell.
“Made in Estonia” usually means designed there.
Drawn, printed, finished and boxed in Tallinn.
Is this a therapy product?
We make no therapeutic claims. It is an object that gives hands something to do. Occupational therapists and support staff use ours because it is quiet and stays in one piece.
What does it cost, and why is it not sold here?
Whatever it costs on Amazon today. We do not run a shop here, so the price, the delivery and the returns are all Amazon's.
Current price and delivery on Amazon.de
Current price and delivery on Amazon.de